MANSFIELD — Doug Wertz said the Mansfield Playhouse is honored to welcome Evan Hansen into the historic community theater in September.
The poignant musical “Dear Evan Hansen” kicks off the theater’s 101st season during national Suicide Prevention Month, a cooperative effort with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Richland County and other local mental health organizations.
“We chose this particular musical because there seems to be a more prevalent awareness of mental health concerns with more people,” said Wertz, the artistic director at the 95 E. Third St. theater.
“This show addresses how an individual is trying to deal with his own anxieties and other issues while discovering that he is certainly not alone in this world, especially among today’s youth.” he said.
“As with all things, Evan Hansen made some decisions in his attempt at coping, but he is led by his own choice in the wrong direction by misleading a classmate’s family by deceit,” Wertz said.
The musical launches a season that includes comedies, youth musicals and a Christmas classic. There are seven shows scheduled on the main stage and two on the more intimate Second Stage venue at Ohio’s second-oldest continuously producing community theater.
Here is a capsule look at the season that begins in September and runs through June.
‘Dear Evan Hansen’
Show Dates: Sept. 11, 12, 18, 19 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 20 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: July 25 and 26 at 3 p.m.
Book by Steven Levenson
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Dear Evan Hansen” is a modern musical that explores loneliness, anxiety and the human need for connection in the digital age.
Premiering on Broadway in 2016, the show was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 2017. It won six, including Best Musical. While some critics debated the morality of Hansen’s choices, many praised the musical for sparking conversations about empathy, forgiveness and the emotional impact of social media on modern life.
The Washington Post called it, “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.”
Centered on socially awkward high school student Evan Hansen, the story begins with a misunderstanding that spirals into a complicated web of lies after the death of a fellow student. What starts as an attempt to comfort a grieving family quickly grows into something far bigger than Hansen ever intended.
The musical became a cultural phenomenon because of its emotional honesty and powerful score. Songs like “Waving Through a Window” and “You Will Be Found” resonated with audiences, especially younger viewers who identified with themes of isolation, mental health struggles and the pressure to fit in.
“We are extremely excited to have been awarded the rights to perform ‘Dear Evan Hansen,'” Wertz said.
The director said it was also an opportunity to work with NAMI Richland County. The Mansfield Playhouse already works with the local mental health group in its Crisis Intervention Training with law enforcement and other first responders.
“We felt this was an opportunity to also grow our partnership with NAMI and other local organizations to help speak of this epidemic and make our own local resources known to those in need,” Wertz said.
“This is a marvelous show with both lightheartedness, laughter, and of course the roller coaster of emotions and the search for resolutions,” he said.
Main Stage productions
‘The Importance of Being Ernest’
Show Dates: Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: Aug. 29 and 30 at 3:00 p.m.
Written by Oscar Wilde
“The Importance of Being Earnest” is Oscar Wilde’s famous 1895 comedic play, a witty
satire on Victorian society’s absurd conventions, particularly marriage, class, and
morality, centered on two bachelors who invent fictional identities (like the name
“Ernest”) to escape social obligations, leading to hilarious confusion and romantic
entanglements.
‘Miracle on 34th Street’
Show Dates: Dec. 4, 5, 11, 12 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: Oct. 17 and 18 at 3 p.m.
Adapted by Mountain Community Theater from the novel by Valentine Davies. Based on the 20th Century Fox film written and directed by George Seaton
By chance, Kris Kringle, an old man in a retirement home, gets a job working as Santa
for Macy’s. Kris unleashes waves of goodwill with Macy’s customers and the
commercial world of New York City by referring parents to other stores to find exactly
the toy their child has asked for. Seen as deluded and dangerous by Macy’s vocational
counselor, who plots to have Kris shanghaied to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, Kris
ends up in a court competency hearing. Especially at stake is one little girl’s belief in
Santa. In a dramatic decision, the court confirms Kris as the true Santa, allowing Susan
and countless other children to experience the joy of childhood fantasy.
‘The Cottage’
Show Dates: Feb. 26-27 and March 5-6 at 8 p.m. and March 7 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: Jan. 9 and 10 at 3 p.m.
Written by Sandy Rustin
Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly
rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together.
But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she
realizes that this home-away-from-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward
and decides to expose her love affair to her husband and her lover’s wife.
With a tip of the hat to Noël Coward and sex comedies of the past, “The Cottage” endless laughs, hilarious twists, daring physical comedy and a happy ending for lovers everywhere. The true meaning of fate, identity and marriage are called into question as a surprising, hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculous, potentially murderous, uncharacteristically feminist 1923 British tale of sex, betrayal and love.
‘Farce of Habit’
Show Dates: April 16, 17, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and April 25 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: Feb. 27 & 28 at 3 p.m.
Written by Jones Hope Wooten
Comic fireworks explode in Farce of Habit, an absurdly funny Southern-fried romp that
takes us back to the “Reel ’Em Inn,” the finest little fishing lodge in the Ozarks. The
proprietor, D. Gene Wilburn, is looking forward to a peaceful weekend on the lake. But
there are only two chances of that happening: slim and none. Why, for example, has his
wife, Wanelle, picked these three days to white-knuckle her way through caffeine
withdrawal? Why is his son Ty’s marriage to Jenna falling apart so fast? Could it have
something to do with the French Cancan costume Ty is wearing? How on earth would
D. Gene’s feisty sister, Maxie, allow herself to get caught up in such a bizarre
undercover police assignment? And that’s just his family. If this isn’t enough to thwart D. Gene’s weekend plans, he’s got a gaggle of nuns who’ve converged on the Inn, hell-
bent on experiencing a nature retreat – which might be tolerable if D. Gene didn’t have
a chronic fear of anything in a habit. Add to this the presence of Jock McNair, a
nationally known relationship guru whose colossal ego threatens everyone’s sanity; a
shy retiree anxious to cut loose and embrace his “inner caveman” and a couple of wild
women who may or may not be who they claim to be. Throw in the storm of the century
that’s fast bearing down on nearby Mayhew, and D. Gene has no prayer of baiting a
hook any time soon. Oh, and did we mention there’s an axe murderer on the loose?
Second Stage productions
‘The Controversial Rescue of Fatty the Pig’
Show Dates: Nov. 13, 14, 20, 21 at 8 p.m.
Auditions: Sept. 26 and 27 at 3 p.m.
Written by Catherine Bush
Cherry Blevins’ house has burned down—her second house in five years. While trying
to help save Cherry’s 300-pound pet pig, Fatty, from the flames, Cherry’s brother Floyd
and his wife, Connie, are arrested for assault by local law enforcement officer Deputy
Dwight Omuhundro. But did they truly assault Dwight? And what started the fire? And
why in the world was Cherry keeping a pig for a pet?! As these four characters tell the
judge their version of what happened that night and why, they begin to reveal not only
the events leading up to the fire, but also all the lost hopes and dreams that make them
what they are today. In doing so, they realize that the disappointments of the past don’t
necessarily dictate the relationships of the future and that, by attempting to rescue Fatty the Pig, they may have miraculously rescued themselves.
‘Having a Wonderful Time, Wish You Were Her’
Show Dates: May 7, 8, 14, 15 at 8 p.m.
Auditions: March 20 and 21 at 3 p.m.
Written by Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore
This wild bedroom farce involves infidelity, double standards, midnight rendezvous and
a hungry bear. Danny and Kathy halt their night of sultry passion when Kathy reveals
she is dating another man. Paul and Jennifer play a mad slapstick scene of frustration
because she is reluctant to cheat on her husband. Bill and Mary, a couple about to
celebrate their twenty ninth wedding anniversary are at odds: Mary yearns for a night of
passion while Bill yearns to be left alone. To make matters more interesting, Paul’s best
friend is Danny who is married to Jennifer who is having an affair with Paul who is
dating Kathy who is Danny’s mistress and Jennifer’s sister. In Act Two they all weekend
at Bill and Mary’s!
Youth productions
‘How I Became A Pirate’
Show Dates: Jan. 22, 23, 29, 30 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 31 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: Nov. 21 and 22 at 3 p.m.
Book, music and lyrics by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman
Sail off on a fantastic musical excursion when a band of comical pirates lands at North
Beach looking for an expert digger to join their crew. Braid Beard and his mates enlist
young Jeremy Jacob as they look for the perfect spot to bury their treasure. Jeremy
finds that adventuring can be lots of fun, but also learns that love and home are
treasures you can’t find on any map! The whole family will love this delightful and
swashbuckling musical adventure.
‘Snow White and the Prince’
Show Dates: June 11, 12, 18, 19 at 7 p.m. and June 20 at 2:30 p.m.
Auditions: April 3 and 4 at 3 p.m.
Book, music and lyrics by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman
Snow White prepares for her birthday ball and dreams of finding her prince charming. When the star-crossed couple meets, it’s love at first sight, but the vain and evil Queen – who fears the princess’ beauty – will stop at nothing to be the fairest of the land. With the help of a trusted friend, Snow White is forced to flee into the forest.
This romantic and funny adventure has all your beloved characters and a few more beside: the raven-haired and resourceful Snow White, the very charming Prince Philippe, his kind and shrewd butler Rupert, the evil and devious Queen, a witty and slightly beleaguered Magical Mirror – and of course, there are the Dwarves. A clever retelling of a classic tale – one for children and adults alike.
