John W. Engeman Theater

By Julianne Mosher For too short a time, the ocean comes alive onstage at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport, where Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo takes audiences on a colorful, music-filled journey through the Great Barrier Reef. The production, based on Pixar’s beloved 2003 film, follows Marlin (Max Unlu), an anxious and overprotective clownfish who sets out across the ocean after his son Nemo (Ashley Huber) is captured and taken to Sydney. Along the way, Marlin meets a host of...

By Cindi Sansone-Braff Patch The John W. Engeman Theater opened its 2026/2027 Season with a bang, presenting “Dear Evan Hansen,” a Tony Award-winning musical. Let me take a moment to list the 2017 Tony Awards this not-to-be-missed musical received: a whopping six, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress, and Best Orchestrations. Written by Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “Dear...

By Julianne Mosher TBR Newsmedia There is something immediately uncomfortable about Dear Evan Hansen, and that is part of what makes the musical so compelling. At its center is Evan Hansen, a lonely high school student who desperately wants to feel seen and connected to the people around him. Evan struggles with anxiety and has difficulty fitting in at school. When a classmate, Connor Murphy, dies by suicide, Evan becomes caught in a lie after Connor’s family mistakenly believes the two were...