Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN, Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia - US National Tour
Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Winner of an incredible six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, Dear Evan Hansen is currently playing in Philadelphia for the very first time, after smashing multiple box office records and playing for over 1.5 million audience members nationwide.
Dear Evan Hansen is beloved by Philadelphians because it is written by locals Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and inspired by Pasek’s time at Friends’ Central School. While a deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical, it still manages to convey more hope and joy than sadness.
The musical follows the life of a bullied high school senior named Evan Hansen who is asked by his therapist to write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day. The very first letter falls in the hands of the tragic Connor Murphy who still has it in his pocket when he commits suicide a few days later. His parents find the letter and mistake as a suicide note and things spiral out of control from there. What starts as a fairly innocent mistake cascades as Evan builds lie upon lie to make it seem as though he and Connor are best friends, to the delight and scrutiny of their families, their local community and eventually the world as the Connor Project goes viral. The quintessential song, ‘Disappear’, spreads the beautiful message that no one deserves to be forgotten and that we all matter which is one of the main themes of the show. This story deals with intense themes like severe mental health issues, suicidality, bullying, dysfunctional families, and teen angst. The charm and emotional grit of the superb book and music endear it to audiences everywhere.
The cast is made up of only eight members so each line has to be delivered with intentionality. The national tour has Alaina Anderson as Zoe Murphy, John Hemphill as Larry Murphy, Micaela Lamas as Alana Beck, Pablo David Laucerica as Jared Kleinman, Anthony Norman as Evan Hansen (with Jefferey Cornelius on Saturday and Wednesday matinees), Nikhil Saboo as Connor Murphy, Coleen Sexton as Heidi Hansen and Lili Thomas Cynthia Murphy. Standout performances come from Saboo and Lucerica who both manage to play goofy teenage boys and the straight man. Their inflections bring comedy and much needed laughs to otherwise heavy and emotional scenes.
One of the best things about this production of Dear Evan Hansen is how visually interesting it is. The scenery is minimal with simple furnishings brought in on mini stages and a huge social media backdrop of texts, blogs, and other messages blurring by to show how quickly information (or misinformation) can be spread. The lighting is brilliant in both its functionality and the way it seems to highlight the internal struggles of the characters. Being able to see the octet play floating above the stage gives them an ethereal quality that gives the music the same power as the actors. “Dear Evan Hansen, this is going to be a good day,” and it will be if you go and see the show while it is here in Philadelphia.
Thought provoking and inspiring.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jamie Flowers
Dear Evan Hansen plays at Kimmel Cultural Campus until 28 August, with tickets available here.