Steve Fickinger: producer of the musical Dear Evan Hansen has passed away at the age of 62
Recent news reports state that Steve Fickinger passed away on June 17, 2018, at the age of 62. He was primarily recognized for his role as the producer of the critically acclaimed musical Dear Evan Hansen.
Jessica Roy, who was his niece, was the one who broke the news to the family that he had passed away. However, the reason for his passing is still a mystery, and his funeral will be held in Chicago, in addition to a memorial service being held in Los Angeles.
Now that Steve Fickinger has died away, it’s important to remember that if it weren’t for him, such beloved films as “Tarzan,” “Mulan,” and “Lilo and Stitch” would not have been made.
The Tony Award–winning Broadway production of Disney’s Newsies, which we saw, would not have been provided to us.
The news that my dearly loved uncle Steve Fickinger passed away last week has left me in a condition of complete and utter devastation. He was a beacon of positivity and vitality who made significant contributions to the field of entertainment.
Know about Steve Fickinger
Steve Fickinger was born in 1960, and he attended New Trier High School for his secondary education. During his employment there, he made a few appearances in commercials for Brown’s Chicken.
After beginning his career in the theater, he went on to take a job at Disney working in the temporary mail room. Later on, he worked his way up to the position of director of creative development at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he oversaw the production of some of Disney’s most well-known animated features, including Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch, and many others.
He went on to become the Vice President of Creative Development for Disney’s Theatrical Group, where he oversaw a number of successful Broadway musicals, including The Lion King, Aida, Newsies, and Aladdin.
In 2013, Steve resigned from his position at Disney and established his own theater production banner, which is known as FickStern Productions. Dear Evan Hansen was the first project that the business worked on, and it was a musical that was written by Steven Levenson, along with music written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
The story of the musical centered on Evan Hansen, a senior in high school who suffered from social anxiety and made up a part for himself to play during a tragic event. It was presented for the first time anywhere in the world at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and had its debut on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December of 2016.
The musical Dear Evan Hansen has been praised by the theater community and has been nominated for nine Tony Awards in the 71st annual ceremony. Later, a movie version of the musical was made, but it was a commercial and critical disappointment when it was shown in theaters.
The Rock of Ages revival that was produced in 2020 has Fickinger serving as the show’s executive producer. Before he passed away, he also finalized a project for Warner Bros. Studios that he was working on with director Jon Chu, actress Rashida Jones, and writers Rodney Rothman and Alex Timbers. This deal was finalized shortly before he passed away.
In addition to that, he was working on another musical that was going to be called Live at the Crescendo Club: An Evening with Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Pearl Bailey. In addition to this, he was a generous benefactor to a wide variety of charitable organizations and causes.