Jared Goldsmith Has Performed in Dear Evan Hansen Over 500 Times, and He's Not Tired of It

Jared Goldsmith has played Jared Kleinman, the best friend of the main character in Dear Evan Hansen, more than 500 times. He first did it on the national tour of the musical, straight out of college, and now he’s currently performing it on Broadway. “I remember when I found out I'd be doing it on Broadway, I'd already been performing the role for probably over 100 or 200 times,” he told Broadway.com’s Ryan Lee Gilbert on #LiveAtFive. “I had this very confident feeling that I knew I was ready to make my Broadway debut in a role that I already knew, which was so reassuring.”

Though they share a first name, Goldsmith says he’s quite different from the character he plays. For one, he’s not a schemer. In the musical, Jared Kleinman helps Evan Hansen (now played by Jordan Fisher) concoct his fake friendship with Conor Murphy (David Jeffery), which then leads to some ethical and emotional dilemmas. “I'd like to think I'm a better person than Jared Kleinman,” said Goldsmith. “I have a lot more confidence, a lot less insecurity.” 

Goldsmith also enjoys playing with the comedy, since Dear Evan Hansen can get dramatic and teary for both the audience and the actors. “The comic relief of the show helps to keep things light and fresh,” he said. “I think it's tougher for some of the other characters in the show that don't have funny lines because they don't always know if the audience is with them. But this is like a good, audible tell if people are listening or not, and if they're really getting it.” 

Now that Goldsmith has done Dear Evan Hansen in 25 different cities, including in theaters that seat 5,000 people (“It was like a pop concert!”), he’s realized how much his character has touched viewers. “A lot of people connect with Jared Kleinman as a character because I think a lot of people are familiar with that type of character who has this know-it-all-ism,” Goldsmith said. “The text is so well written. Every joke is so well set-up, that I think people just really identify with it. They're like, ‘Oh, Jared Kleinman's my spirit animal, and I feel so much for him.’ They feel bad when they see him get hurt and all that.”

In his spare time, Goldsmith has a lot of hobbies and side gigs: He draws, he loves watching cartoons, he does voiceover work, and he’s writing his own musical. That’s a piece of advice he’s usually giving younger artists he meets, which is “really try and create that own opportunity for yourself,” he explained. “If it's writing a song, or writing a show for yourself, or a play, or a cartoon, or whatever it is. I think creating that opportunity is really important.”

Watch the rest of Goldsmith's #LiveAtFive interview below.