u/Dysquith-Number-9

Rachel Zegler is a phenomenal performer, and a traditional staging would certainly work. That said, the West End version generated so much buzz that it seems likely Jamie Lloyd tries something unexpected. Here are my three best guesses:

1. Rachel Zegler performs in Central Park, allowing an impressively large crowd to form. As Che starts singing "High Flying, Adored", the camera follows her getting into a helicopter, literally flying high above her adoring fans and then landing on the roof of the Winter Garden to continue the rest of the show.

2. The song starts center stage, appearing relatively normal. In the last 30 seconds, Eva takes off her mask and reveals that it's actually been Diego Andres Rodriguez as Che the whole time. He tears off the white dress and stands there in his underwear while an ensemble member brings on a hose and sprays him with 40 gallons of paint.

3. Every night, Rachel Zegler performs the song on the stage of a different Broadway theater, interrupting whatever's happening in that show. Maybe she sings it surrounded by Operation Mincemeat's Übermensch Nazis (historically accurate) or maybe Paddington gets a visit from a fellow South American icon. Every night is different, and no show is safe.

There's literally no reason to bring this up in 2026, but I can't stop thinking about it, so here we go. In Dear Evan Hansen, during the dialogue break of "Waving Through a Window", Zoe tries to shake Evan's hand. In almost every version I've seen, Evan goes to shake her hand and then pulls back suddenly, loudly saying "no!" It's funny, but it also reads as kinda cartoony and for me, doesn't fit the more grounded tone of the show's acting.

It's especially interesting that this acting choice has became so entrenched across different actors since Ben Platt doesn't do it. His Evan sort of talks into his hand when he gets nervous (like when he first introduces himself to Zoe), so when he tries to shake Zoe's hand, he realizes he did that earlier in the conversation, mutters "no" to himself, and quickly bails on the handshake to wipe his hand off. I haven't seen any other Evan build to the pull-away like this, so it usually just reads as an out-of-the-blue moment of Evan being exaggeratedly anxious and awkward.

It's such a small thing, but I think it exemplifies how lived-in and naturally Ben Platt was able to play so many moments in that show that could have felt over-the-top. This is absolutely not a dig at the phenomenal actors who came after him (Taylor Trensch, Andrew Barth Feldman and so many other Evans are some of my favorite performers), but in moments like this, you can really tell how much the writing was tailored to Platt's strengths as an actor.