Hull New Theatre – until 26th April 2025
Reviewed by Dawn Bennett
5*****
The Nottingham Playhouse production of Dear Evan Hansen is based on the book by Steven Levenson with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. And it’s an ATG Productions and Gavin Kalin Productions.
I didn’t really know what Dear Evan Hansen was about before I went last night to Hull New Theatre. I was given a rough outline of the plot while we waited for it to start and I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it as the storyline seemed a bit dark and gloomy. But I really enjoyed it, it was brilliantly performed by a very talented cast. Yes, the storyline is dark, as it is about suicide, but it is very uplifting, funny and the music is fabulous.
I think everyone probably knows an Evan Hansen, or maybe you’re him yourself, the person at school who doesn’t quite fit in with everyone else, they’re quirky, nervous, speak too quickly and a loner.
Evan Hansen (Ryan Kopel) lives with his mum Heidi (Lara Beth-Sas). His Mum is really busy, working and attending college so Evan is left a lot of the time by himself. His mum has sent him to therapy and tells him that his therapist wants him to write a letter to himself, saying what kind of day he’s had. He doesn’t have any friends, apart from Jared Kleinman (Will Forgrave) who only talks to him so he gets his car insurance paid and anyway he’s just a “family friend”. On the first day back at school we see Evan with a plaster cast on his arm, he tells people he broke it falling out of a tree and wants people to sign it but struggles asking people to do it. In the computer suite, at the end of the day, he has typed up his letter to take to his therapist when school misfit Connor Murphy (Killian Thomas Lefevre) takes it from the printer, grabs his arm and writes his name on the cast. Connor, is violent, another person who has no friends, earlier that day he had pushed Evan into the school lockers which was witnessed by Connors sister Zoe (Lauren Conroy). Evan asks Connor for his letter back but he refuses.
The next day Evan is called into the principal’s office and in there are Connors parents Cynthia (Helen Anker) and Larry (Richard Hurst) they are very upset and tell Evan that Connor had taken his own life and that in his pocket was the letter. Connors parents think that he had written it to Evan. They just presume that they were friends. Evan, not wanting to upset them even more, says that yes, they were friends. The stories that Evan tells the Murphy family get bigger and bigger over the following weeks and months, giving solace to the family. Alana Beck (Vivian Panka), another student from the school, gets involved, trying to keep Connors memory alive. When the lies start to unravel, as lies tend to do, Evan has to decide what he should do, should he tell the truth?
The set (designed by Morgan Large who was also costume and Co-video designer) was very effective and really added to the story. The band under Musical Director Michael Bradley were outstanding.
Thes cast are all fabulous all of them triple threats, their singing was sublime. Ryan Kopel plays Evan with such heartfelt feeling, what a brilliant actor, the absolute stand out performance for me.
I think everyone should try and watch Dear Evan Hansen; it shows the power of social media and how it works for good and also for bad. A must-see production.