Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham – until 10th May 2025
Reviewed by Jacqui Radford
5*****
Any opportunity to see this production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award winning musical should not be missed. It is a perfect example of the power of musical theatre and its impact on gritty content.
Directed by Adam Penford, the production focusses on Evan Hansen, an anxious teenager desperate to fit in. We meet him at the start of a new school term, accessing therapy prescribed by his mother to overcome his awkwardness and cowering in corners each time he encounters one of his peers. Inevitably, he is the butt of all jokes and a prime target for bullies.
My expectation was that we would follow Evan through his therapy via the letters that he writes to himself daily but the twist in the tale comes at the very beginning when one of Evan’s letters changes his course through young adulthood. Ultimately, Evan is set on a path to acceptance but gets tangled up in his desperation to find it; so much so that he is destined for more angst and shattered dreams than he could ever have dreamed of.
It must be said that the raw content of this production is dealt with incredibly sensitively and even throws in some humour along the way. Everyone in the audience connects with the themes that are explored and as such, the scattering of humour affords some respite from the intense emotion generated by stellar performance and moving musical renditions. The entire cast had the audience transfixed, experiencing a full spectrum of emotion. The auditorium itself was either respectfully silent, sobbing or laughing.
The creativity behind the set design adds a further dimension to the feel of the performance, including social media feeds and push notifications; acknowledging the positive and negative influence that social media has on modern family life and adolescence.
By the end of the performance everyone is left with their own take away; whether it is the poignance of the lyrics in ‘You Will Be Found’, the power of writing a letter to yourself or a reminder of negotiating your own adolescence. Seeing ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ will make any day a good day!