Dear Evan Hansen Manila Opens Its Arms Wider: A Sign Language-Interpreted Performance This October

Today really is gonna be a good day. Not just for Evan Hansen, or for the audiences who’ve found themselves weeping at his journey night after night, but for the community that has long deserved to experience theatre without barriers.

GMG Productions has just announced that their October 2 performance of Dear Evan Hansen at The Theatre at Solaire will be interpreted in Filipino Sign Language (FSL)—a groundbreaking step in making this Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning musical more accessible, more inclusive, and, frankly, more human.

A Bridge Between Worlds

Theatre, at its core, is about connection. It’s about that breath we hold together in the dark, the silence between notes, the collective exhale when the lights go down. For so long, Deaf audiences have had to sit at the margins of that shared heartbeat. On October 2, that changes.

Thanks to the collaboration with the Benilde Center for Education Advancement of the Deaf (CEAD) and the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies – Interpreting Education Program (SDEAS-IEP), the production will feature live FSL interpretation by Benilde’s own interpreters. Imagine: not only the lyrics of Pasek and Paul’s score, but the raw, wordless ache of its emotions, translated with hands, expressions, and presence.

This isn’t just theatre being watched—it’s theatre being felt, across languages, across worlds.

Why It Matters

Carlos Candal, CEO of GMG Productions, captured it best:
“Dear Evan Hansen carries a deep message, one that reminds us that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and understood.”

Accessibility isn’t just an add-on. It is theatre living up to its promise. It is a hand reaching out into the dark and saying: you will be found here, too.

The initiative doesn’t stop at interpretation. A dedicated orchestra section has been set aside exclusively for Deaf audience members and their companions, ensuring clear sightlines to the interpreters. Tickets for this section are offered at a 20% discount via the promo code ACCESSSEATS, with further PWD discounts honored at TicketWorld outlets for patrons with a valid PWD card.

It’s more than a gesture—it’s a structure of welcome.

A Story That Demands To Be Shared

If you’ve never seen Dear Evan Hansen, this is the story of an anxious high schooler who stumbles into a lie that grows too large, and the tender, complicated reckoning that follows. At its heart, it is a reminder that loneliness can feel insurmountable, but connection—messy, flawed, but real—can change everything.

That message has resonated across continents. And now, thanks to this FSL-interpreted performance, it will resonate across languages, too.

Curtain Call

Dear Evan Hansen must close on October 5, which makes this October 2 performance not just unique, but urgent. If you know someone in the Deaf community who has always wanted to experience live musical theatre—this is the time, this is the show.

Because theatre should never be a closed door. Because no one deserves to sit in the dark unseen. Because on October 2, the lights at Solaire shine a little wider, a little brighter, for everyone.

Tickets are exclusively available via TicketWorld, and you can stay updated on GMG Productions’ future initiatives at www.gmg-productions.com or by following @gmg.productions on social media.