This Beloved Broadway Musical Is Becoming A YA Novel

If you've been suffering from serious FOMO because you haven't gotten a chance to see Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway yet, don't worry, because soon enough, the show is coming to bookstores near you — sort of. According to a recent announcement from Little, Brown and Company, the Tony-winning musical is being adapted into young adult novel that expands on the show's original stories and characters. If you can't stop playing "Waving Through a Window" on repeat, you're going to want to make sure this upcoming title, which hits shelves in October, is on your radar.

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel will take the hit musical and turn it into a novel for young adults. It follows Evan, an anxious and lonely teenage whose entire life is changed when one lie about a recently deceased classmate being his secret best friend presents him with the opportunity to do what he has always wanted most: belong. Heralded for its portrayal of grief, mental illness, and the authentic coming-of-age experience, Dear Evan Hansen is a truly groundbreaking show that will, soon enough, be a groundbreaking book, too.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take an enormously successful entertainment property and translate it into an intimate, portable experience that can reach well beyond Broadway," Megan Tingley, Executive Vice President and Publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, said in a statement to EW. "Dear Evan Hansen is not just a musical, and the novel will not be just a book; Dear Evan Hansen is a movement, and we can’t wait for everyone to join it.”

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul, $19, Amazon

Slated for release Oct. 9 from Little, Brown, Evan Hansen: The Novel is written by the show's creators, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul, as well as author Val Emmich. According to an interview with the New York Times, Emmich was nervous to take on such a beloved show. “I realized how big of a phenomenon it was, and that scared me off,” the singer-songwriter, actor, and author of The Reminders admitted. Luckily for the many readers who don't live near Broadway or can't afford to see Dear Evan Hansen live on stage, Emmich decided to take on the challenge.

Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway in Dec. 2016 to both critical acclaim and commercial success. It quickly became a fan-favorite among musical theater lovers, and even gained the attention of A-list celebrities, including Beyoncé, Amy Schumer, Kerry Washington, Barbra Streisand, and Hillary Clinton. At the 2017 Tony Awards, it took home six of the nine awards for which it was nominated, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Actor in a Musical for Ben Platt. It also took home a 2018 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Dear Evan Hansen is currently still on Broadway, but the show will hit the road later this fall for a North American Tour that kicks off in Denver in October.

Whether you've already seen Dear Evan Hansen live, this new novelization promises to give readers front row seats to the show that has taken Broadway by storm. “For us, the most powerful and gratifying part of the journey of making this musical has been seeing the ways in which audiences have connected with these characters and their stories,” said Levenson, Pasek, and Paul in a joint statement to EW. “We are thrilled that this novel will be able to bring Dear Evan Hansen to even more people, and we hope that it will continue to spark conversation.”

News of the book's publication comes on the heels of another exciting announcement from Broadway: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt recently released a Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen mash-up, "Found/Tonight," the proceeds of which will be donated to the anti-gun violence organization, March for Our Lives. The collaboration is part of Miranda's larger Hamildrop series, the singer's plan to release new Hamilton music every month through December 2018, which he announced last year on Twitter.

Between this new track and the musical's Grammy award winning soundtrack, bookish Broadway plans have plenty to bop along to while they wait for Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel to hit shelves on later this fall.