Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

First ‘Evan Hansen’ Of Color, Roman Banks, Will Make Broadway Debut

Dear Roman Banks,

Today is going to be a good day. And here’s why: because today, today you’re you, and you’re making Broadway history.

20-year-old Roman Banks only made his professional acting debut a few months ago, but today he’ll be the first actor who is a person of color to play the title role in the blockbuster musical “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway, Broadway World reports.

The Tony winning box office smash musical, improbably about anxiety, depression, and suicide among tech-inundated teens, originally starred Ben Platt in the title role. Banks understudies Evan Hansen, currently portrayed by actor Taylor Trensch, as well as two other characters in the Broadway production. When he was cast, Banks, who had previously tweeted Platt asking “if there could ever be a black Evan Hansen on Broadway” told a reporter for his college, Shenandoah University, “I’ve gotten endless amounts of messages from people of color, both young and old, telling me how much it means to them that I’ll be playing the role. The show is gaining new fans out of their desire to see a person of color portray the iconic character.” Today, his dream will be fully realized.

“Dear Evan Hansen” was written by Jewish playwright Steven Levenson and half-Jewish songwriting team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and the character of Evan Hansen himself is Jewish, too. Seeing a black actor as the star of one of the biggest shows on Broadway is something. Seeing a black actor starring in one of the biggest shows on Broadway as an expressly Jewish character is even better.

As Banks told Shenandoah University, “People who had given up their dreams, due to the hardships that actors of color face, have been inspired again to pursue them. Fans who have already seen the show now want to come back and see it once more. It fills my heart with love and hope. I feel so blessed to have been chosen for such a special thing during such a difficult time for people of color in this country. It makes me want to do my best so that I can pave the way for those who wish to follow in my footsteps.”

Mazal tov, Roman!

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.