You Will Be Found
There are moments in theater when applause is simply applause. And then there are moments when it means something more.
Years ago, Michele Zofchak—known to generations of local students as Ms. Z—watched one of those moments unfold at Coral Shores High School.
For an all-school assembly, her theater students performed “You Will Be Found,” one of the defining songs from the Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. Jayden Ferrell, a blind high school freshman, stepped onto the stage to sing the opening solo while a video followed his character through a school day marked by isolation and exclusion. Then the chorus swelled, with nearly 70 performers joining him onstage as the story shifted from isolation to connection.
When the song ended, 750 students rose to their feet.
They kept cheering.
Later, even football players still dressed in their game-day jerseys approached Ms. Z to sheepishly admit that something had “gotten in their eyes” during the assembly.
That was one song.
This fall, The Key Players community theater is bringing the entire story to the stage—and then taking it on a local school tour.
Dear Evan Hansen follows 17-year-old Evan Hansen, an anxious and isolated teenager desperate to feel as though he matters. When tragedy strikes his school community, a misunderstanding and an increasingly complicated lie suddenly give Evan something he has always wanted: a place where he belongs.
But belonging built on a lie comes with a cost.
The Broadway musical, which won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical, does not shy away from difficult subject matter, including mental health struggles and suicide. The Key Players production keeps a teenage audience in mind, though mature themes remain.
But describing Dear Evan Hansen only by its heaviest moments misses much of what makes the show so powerful. Like adolescence itself, the show can be messy, absurd, heartbreaking and hilarious—sometimes within moments of one another.
It is also surprisingly funny. There are awkward teenagers, uncomfortable parents, misread social cues and plenty of comic relief—especially from Jared, Evan’s quick-witted friend, played in this production by a now-adult Jayden Ferrell. Years after singing “You Will Be Found” as that high school freshman, Ferrell found his way back to Dear Evan Hansen, this time as a cast member.
“You go through all the feelings with this show,” Ms. Z says. “Some people who feel alone realize there is more to their story. Others realize that someone sitting right beside them may be carrying something they never see. And everyone leaves with hope.”
For Ms. Z, that message has long been personal.
Like far too many families, hers has experienced loss to suicide. She has also known former students whose stories ended too soon. Those experiences make the musical’s central message—that despair does not have to be the end of the story—especially important to her.
“I want every kid to have that feeling of being seen and loved,” she says. “Even when something feels absolutely hopeless, it isn’t the end. There is more to be written.”
So when performance rights for Dear Evan Hansen became available to community theaters, there was zero hesitation.
“I jumped at the opportunity,” she says. “This story needs to be told, and it deserves to be told well.”
The cast has rallied around that message as well. Some performers understand firsthand what it feels like not to fit in, and even adult cast members are willing to miss work to help bring the production to students throughout the Keys. For many involved, this is more than another show; it is a message they feel a responsibility to carry beyond their own stage.
And rather than asking students throughout the Keys to come to the production, the production is going to them.
The project begins September 25–October 4 with community performances at the Coral Shores High School Performing Arts Center over the weekends and a student performance during the school week.
From there, the production will travel down the Keys. While the district is still finalizing dates, school performances are tentatively scheduled for October 16 at Key West High School and October 23 at Marathon High School. Students can see the show during the school day, while families can attend an evening performance in their own community—creating an opportunity for conversations that may not always be easy to begin.
Bringing the show directly into schools is intentional. These are the hallways, lunch tables and classrooms where many of the feelings explored in Dear Evan Hansen actually play out. By placing the story in front of students where they spend much of their day—and, when possible, incorporating familiar faces from local drama programs—The Key Players hope to make its message feel less like something happening on a distant stage and more like a conversation that belongs to them.
Ms. Z, a longtime MCSD employee and English teacher, created classroom materials aligned with Florida standards to help teachers explore character, themes and the deeper questions raised by the show. The goal is to keep the conversation going after the curtain closes, giving educators a framework to discuss empathy and what people may be experiencing beneath the surface.
The undertaking is particularly meaningful in Monroe County. In 2025, Monroe County School District (MCSD) became the first school district in Florida to earn designation as a Suicide Prevention Certified District, reflecting a broader commitment to recognizing and responding to students who may be struggling.
“This partnership with The Key Players is a proactive approach that uses theater and storytelling to reach those who need to be reminded that they belong,” says Daliana Goins, the district’s Threat Management and Harm Prevention/Mental Health Coordinator. “I look forward to a hope-filled, difference-making collaboration with The Key Players and all the partners who join in this effort. MCSD matters!”
Many of The Key Players’ performances also fall during September, National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
It is an ambitious undertaking for a community theater. Beyond mounting the production, The Key Players are coordinating school schedules, designing transportable sets and moving equipment throughout the Keys—all while keeping school performances free.
Bringing that vision to students, however, comes at a cost.
The Key Players are not charging the schools, but performance rights, royalties and transportation expenses remain. Grant applications have been submitted and community organizations approached for support, but Producer Jonelle Kop says community donations will be essential.
“We’re taking on something far beyond the scope of a typical production,” Kop says. “Bringing this show into schools and communities throughout the Keys comes with significant additional costs, and we’re relying on the support of our community to help us.”
Because somewhere in one of those audiences may be a student who needs to feel seen—or a parent, teacher or friend who needs a better understanding of what someone they love may be carrying.
That is the hope behind this production.
Click the link below purchase tickets or donate in support of Dear Evan Hansen’s school tour throughout the Keys. Follow The Key Players for performance dates, updates and more.
(Click here to purchase your tickets)
“This show is challenging. It’s funny. It’s heartbreaking. It’s hopeful,” Ms. Z says. “It’s a must-see.”
