Samantha Williams, a junior musical theater major at Pace University, takes over the role of Alana Beck in Dear Evan Hansen on May 7. Williams succeeds Phoenix Best, who took her final bow in the Tony-winning musical at the Music Box Theatre on May 5.
Dear Evan Hansen marks Williams' Broadway debut. She has been seen on her university stage as Dot in Sunday in the Park with George and Caroline in Caroline, or Change.
Williams joins a current cast that includes Andrew Barth Feldman, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, Lisa Brescia, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Alex Boniello and Mallory Bechtel.
The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a Tony-winning book by Steven Levenson, a Tony-winning score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, direction by four-time Tony nominee Michael Greif, choreography by Danny Mefford and musical direction by Ben Cohn.