MAY 12 • 2022 | 55

PHOTO CREDIT

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THEATER

N

ot too many high school-
ers’ moms have kvelling
rights to their sons star-
ring on Broadway in the title role
of Evan Hansen from Dear Evan
Hansen. In fact, the elite group is
exclusive to a population of two,
both discovered at the National
High School Musical Theatre
Awards, or Jimmy Awards. And
both Jewish.
First, there was Andrew Barth
Feldman. Next, there is Sam
Primack, who, at 18, started on
Broadway in June 2019 as the
understudy for all three male
teen characters — Evan Hansen,
Connor Murphy and Jared
Kleinman. He then starred on the
Dear Evan Hansen national tour as

the Evan Hansen alternate, per-
forming the role during Saturday
matinees and Sunday evenings.
One week before he was set to
perform at the Fisher Theatre,in
front of a local fan base in March
2020, all tours were canceled, and
Broadway shut down.
“The week of March 8, Sam
had taken a scheduled time off
from the tour to go on our family
vacation to Costa Rica. While we
were there, that’s when COVID
became a reality,
” said Allyson
Ochs Primack, who grew up in
Farmington Hills and now lives
in Scottsdale, Ariz., along with
her parents, Carole and Larry
Ochs. “By the last day of our trip,
we found out that the tour was

suspended for several weeks. We
were all devastated.
”
Sam came directly home to
Arizona from Costa Rica to wait
for news. By August 2020, when
it was clear that the Dear Evan
Hansen tour would not be resum-
ing any time soon due to COVID,
he enrolled at Arizona State
University and completed his
first year of college in May 2021.
Primack started back on tour in
December of 2021.
This was not the first time that
Dear Evan Hansen interrupted
Primack’s schooling.
In March 2019, with one
semester left until high school
graduation, Primack moved to
New York and started his amazing

theatrical journey. He was able to
come back to Scottsdale for two
days in May 2019 and graduate
with his classmates at Chaparral
High School. And on June 19,
2019, he opened on Broadway.
“Getting noticed and discov-
ered at the Jimmy Awards is a
huge stepping-stone to so many
students who become Broadway
stars. I was lucky, and I am grate-
ful that I got that experience. It
truly changed my life in ways that
I never expected,
” Primack says.

BACK IN MICHIGAN
Primack will finally be coming to
Michigan with Dear Evan Hansen
at the Wharton Center in East
Lansing, May 17-22.

Sam Primack is on tour in the role of Evan Hansen.
Broadway-Bound

JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sam Primack stars as Evan
Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen
at the Wharton Center in East
Lansing, May 17-22.