Gaten Matarazzo Returns to the Spotlight in Dear Evan Hansen

Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo has returned center stage to the hit Broadway show: Dear Evan Hansen as Jared Kleinman. With raving reviews from fans, the musical’s run ended on September 18, bidding farewell to the Tony Award-winning musical.

While Gaten Matarazzo is well known for acting as the lovable nerd, Dustin Henderson, from Stranger Things, long-time fans know that Matarazzo is also a skilled Broadway singer. 

Matarazzo began his musical career in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, at the ripe age of nine. In 2014, he debuted as Gavroche, a young boy who lives on the streets of Paris, in the revival of Les Miserables: The Broadway Musical. He would later enter the television world in a series called The Blacklist. However, his career would suddenly take off after his breakthrough role in Stranger Things, starring Dustin Henderson, garnering himself a large supportive fanbase.

On the other hand, that’s not to say he quit singing altogether. In Season 3 of Stranger Things, Gaten sang the chorus for “Never Ending Story” alongside actress Gabriella Pizzolo (Susie). In his most recent film, Honor Society, Gaten sings Alisha Keys’ classic love song called “Fallin’” to seduce Angourie Rice’s manipulative character, Honor. 

At the beginning of this year, Gaten Matarazzo was announced to be performing in Dear Evan Hansen on July 19 at the Music Box Theater.

After finally returning to the Broadway stage, Matarazzo expressed his excitement in a Playbill interview. He states “I’m also stoked to be back, especially in a show I love so much.”

On opening night, Stranger Things co-stars Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink visited Gaten in his Broadway debut. The musical’s social media account had reported the trio goofing off together, excited for Gaten Matarazzo’s anticipated performance. 

In an interview by Theatrely, Gaten elaborated on the significance of his role as Jared Kleinman. He claims his character is more than just comedy relief. He reveals Jared’s “sense of humor is a kind of defense mechanism.” He adds that every character in the show is “a representation of mental health issues and how people might deal with those in different ways.” 

Unfortunately, Jared’s coping mechanism revolves around pushing negativity onto others. This is a defining characteristic of his relationship with Evan. Gaten describes Jared as “an antagonistic figure, especially towards Evan. It’s a masking of one’s own insecurities through humor.” He claims he connects with the character through his fear of being truthful to himself, which has allowed Gaten to reflect on his emotions introspectively.

As the curtain closes, fans of the show have shown overwhelming support and praise for Dear Evan Hansen’s final performance. 

In 2015, I saw this small, new show called @DearEvanHansen in DC. It hit a nerve. The woman in front of me couldn’t get out of her seat from the tears.
Tonight, after 7 years (and probably many more tears), it takes its final bow on Bway. Congrats to everyone involved! pic.twitter.com/RWtp3FDer5

— Matthew Bresler (@MatthewBresler) September 18, 2022

Dear Evan Hansen showcases the nuances and hard-crushing realities of anxiety. The musical follows Evan Hansen, an anxiety-ridden high school student wanting to feel accepted and understood in the social media age. However, a letter he wrote during therapy would fall into the hands of a grieving couple whose son took his own life. Hansen would then embark on a journey of self-acceptance, lies, betrayal, self-reflection, and redemption.

Dear Evan Hansen began showing previews in November 2016 and then a total of 1,678 regular performances. Dear Evan Hansen would later become a Broadway hit, reaching the hearts of over a million audience members. The renowned musical was nominated for nine Tony awards, winning six of them for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and many others.

Before Gaten bid farewell to the Music Box Theatre, he took to Instagram on September 14 to pen his feelings about the show’s finalization. He posts “to be here when it wraps up its run is something that I don’t think will ever sink in. I wish I had a favorite memory, but it’s hard to specify when a new one gets made every day.”

Despite Dear Evan Hansen‘s run ending on September 18, fans should stay tuned to what’s next for Gaten Matarazzo in the next Stranger Things season. The date for its release has yet to be set. But fans are excited to see Dustin Henderson’s return to their television screens. 

In the meantime, fans can stream Gaten Matarazzo’s coming-of-age film Honor Society on Paramount+.