Amy Adams has joined the cast of Universal Pictures’ “Dear Evan Hansen” and will portray Cynthia Murphy, mother of the characters Connor and Zoe Murphy.
“Dear Evan Hansen,” a Tony-winning musical, opened on Broadway in 2016. The story follows a high schooler with social anxiety who gets caught up in a lie after Connor Murphy’s family mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note. Kaitlyn Dever has been cast in the role of Zoe Murphy.
Universal acquired the feature film rights in late 2018. Stephen Chbosky (“Wonder”) will direct from a script by Steven Levenson, who wrote the book for the stage musical. Marc Platt (“La La Land”) and Adam Siegel will produce for their Universal-based Marc Platt Productions. Ben Platt, who originated the part and won a Tony for his performance, is expected to reprise the title role. He’s the son of Marc Platt.
Universal announced last week that Amandla Stenberg will appear as high school senior Alana — in an expanded role from the stage production — and will perform a song in the film.
Adams will next be seen in the upcoming “Hillbilly Elegy” and “The Woman in the Window.” She’s been nominated for Oscars for “Junebug,” “Doubt,” “The Fighter,” “The Master,” “American Hustle” and “Vice.”
Universal’s senior vice president of production Sara Scott and director of development Lexi Barta will oversee production on behalf of the studio. Adams is represented by WME, Linden Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. The news was first reported by Deadline.