Amandla Stenberg on Dear Evan Hansen and Getting to Write a New Song for the Film

With director Stephen Chbosky’s (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wonder) Dear Evan Hansen now playing in theaters, I recently got to speak with Amandla Stenberg about bringing the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical to movie screens. During the interview, she talked about how they expanded her character’s role in the film, how she connects with Evan (Ben Platt) over what they are going through, getting to write a new song with Benj Pasek & Justin Paul for the film, and more. If you’re not familiar with Dear Evan Hansen, the high school-set film is written for the screen by the show’s Tony-winning writer Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by the show’s Oscar, Grammy, and Tony-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. The story is about a high school outsider (Platt) who gains friendship and fame by falsely claiming that he had a tight bond with one of his deceased classmates. The film and play is a powerful look at isolation, social anxiety, and grief and shines a light on the i