L-R Alice Fearn, Richard Hurst, Lauren Conroy, Helen Anker and Ryan Kopel in Dear Evan Hansen at the Nottingham Playhouse and Touring. Picture: Marc Brenner
Dear Evan Hansen was reviewed at Nottingham Playhouse where it runs until 28 September 2024. The tour continues until 24 May 2025.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
American composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul may be best known to a wider audience for their on-screen work in The Greatest Showman and La La Land, but long before those successes, the songwriting duo had been making names for themselves on the stage. After garnering positive reviews for their song cycle Edges and the feature-length musical Dogfight, the pair hit the big time with Dear Evan Hansen.
The musical was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, with the Broadway and West End productions scooping up Tony and Olivier Awards respectively. A film adaptation didn’t fare quite so well, but fans of the musical will be thrilled to see the story back on our stages once again, as a new production is premiering now at the Nottingham Playhouse ahead of an extensive UK tour.
Inspired by events from Pasek’s high school days, the show introduces us to the titular Evan Hansen (played by Ryan Kopel), a socially-awkward teen who suffers from anxiety and depression. Evan is tasked by his therapist to write himself a daily letter, affirming him that “today’s going to be a good day, and here’s why”. One such letter ends up in the hands of the troubled Connor Murphy (Killian Thomas Lefevre), and soon Evan finds himself in the middle of a significant misunderstanding with Connor’s parents (Helen Anker and Richard Hurst).
As the well-intentioned charade begins to intensify, Evan finds himself drawn closer to Connor’s sister Zoe (Lauren Conroy), and estranged from his overworked mother Heidi (Alice Fearn), and his fears and insecurities begin to spiral out of control.
The West End production was a casualty of the pandemic, forced to close six months into its run and then unable to quite gain back its momentum after its eventual reopening, despite three Olivier wins. Its fate is somewhat ironic, given the themes of isolation and longing for connection that run so deeply throughout the show, themes which were heightened during those Covid times.
The show is certainly not an easy sell, being a young man’s struggle with his mental health in the middle of a family rocked by grief and loss, but that’s what makes Dear Evan Hansen such an incredibly powerful piece of theatre. Anyone who’s ever felt alone or cut off from the world will empathise with Evan and connect with him so strongly, and while no one could condone his actions, they will absolutely understand them.
There are interpretations which class Evan as a villain, a cruel manipulator who plays the Murphys to get what he wants, but this take couldn’t be further from the truth. Steven Levenson’s inciteful book goes to great lengths to show us Evan’s layers and reveal why he does what he does, even if the story could perhaps use a stronger epilogue, one that really shows Evan trying to make up for his actions (something the movie adaptation gets right).
Pasek and Paul have faced criticism that their compositions are too pop-influenced (although that is probably why The Greatest Showman dominated the 2017 charts in the way it did), but for Dear Evan Hansen this approach absolutely works. Immediately accessible and ranging from the beautifully simple (‘So Big/So Small’, ‘Requiem’) to the anthemic (‘Disappear’, ‘You Will Be Found), it’s a strong cohesive score that gives us character insights and melodic hooks in equal measure.
Director Adam Penford has stripped back some of the flashiness of the original London production, and it works well; this was never a “big” show, it was about character and story, and Penford’s version draws the focus in and keeps it where it should be. That’s not to say it doesn’t look good, far from it; the always-reliable Morgan Large does great work yet again and gives us an inventive set which is cleverly used, enriched by some striking lighting design by Matt Daw and excellent video design by Ravi Deepres, which are used sparingly but effectively, enhancing the story rather than detracting from it.
Evan Hansen is undeniably one of the toughest roles for a male performer, onstage for most of the show with few breaks, and running a gamut of emotions. Kopel does exceptional work here, getting the audience on his side within 20 seconds of the show starting and maintaining that throughout, even at Evan’s most misguided moments.
Kopel fully embodies the nervousness, awkwardness, fragility and ultimately desolation that makes Evan such a layered character, and it’s an extraordinary performance, even giving Olivier-winning-Evan-originator Sam Tutty a run for his money.
Fearn is also doing great work here, showing her strength as an actress (as well as sharing some of her terrific rock riffs in ‘Good For You’).
Tom Dickerson and Vivian Panka deliver strong supporting turns as Jared and Alana respectively, and Conroy also puts in a powerful performance as the embittered Zoe still burned by Connor’s past treatment of her. Conroy is all understated fire and simmering fury, and she plays it beautifully.
Dear Evan Hansen is one of the most powerful and important musicals to emerge from the genre in recent years, and as an exploration of grief and mental health, it is essential viewing. Like the complicated young man of its title, the show has its flaws, but it makes the audience feel something, which makes for a far more rewarding experience than yet another jukebox musical or ’90s movie adaptation. As the show says, “no one deserves to be forgotten”, and this is one musical that will certainly be remembered by those who take a chance on it.
Rob Bartley
- Cast note – Ryan Kopel is scheduled to play the role of Evan Hansen at evening performances only. Sonny Monaghan is scheduled to play the role at matinee performances.
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