Dear Evan Hansen - Review

Dear Evan Hansen is a masterpiece that any human will enjoy and appreciate. The show is currently playing at the gorgeous Music Box Theatre on Broadway and I was lucky enough to see it. The genius story by Steven Levenson with Music and Lyrics from the dynamic duo that is Benj Pasek & Justin Paul is sure to spread light and warmth through your heart.

The Music

From catchy songs like 'Waving Through a Window' to heartbreaking ballads like 'Words Fail', Pasek & Paul have written something that you don't come across very often. In a world increasingly filling with darkness, the music helps pull you out. The stunning Orchestrations put together by Alex Lacamoire really entrance you. A personal favourite of mine has to be 'Sincerely Me' which takes place in Act One when Evan and Jared are writing pretend emails to and from Evan and Connor. It is like 'Master of the House' from Les Miserables, although tune wise they are completely different, it still gives you a humorous break from the hardship of the show.

The Story

Dear Evan Hansen is set as though it could be taking place right now. The clever use of social media really makes us relate to the story and understand it. The show is driven through lies. Lies that escalate and are impossible to break free from so they must be kept and made larger.

The Cast

Ben Platt (Evan Hansen) is the star of the show everyone is talking about. With a vocal range from the gods, he really gives a flawless performance. His acting skills make the show so real and the emotion in his eyes just makes you want to break down. Co-starring with him is Laura Dreyfuss (Zoe Murphy). Don't confuse her for a pretty face though, the character of Zoe is a really demanding role and Laura is absolutely perfect for it. She is a character who sort of goes along with the story and we don't really get to know much about until she starts opening up to Evan. Rachel Bay Jones (Heidi Hansen) and Jennifer Laura Thompson (Cynthia Murphy) who play “The Mothers” really do give a heart rendering performance. Any mother or child will relate to almost everything they say, the good and the bad. Mike Faist (Connor Murphy) also gives a gripping and very real performance, you can see the struggle he is going through literally in his eyes at some points.

Throughout Act One, we see Michael Park (Larry Murphy) as quite a typical businessman father, unlikely to show emotion. What is so nice about this character is we actually do get to see inside him briefly and it is so relieving to see him chilled out later on in the show. Evan seems to end up with 2 main friends from high school, Will Rowland (Jared Kleinman) and Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana Beck), the trio fall in and out of friendships during the show. Rowland's comedic timing and Beck's stereotypical 'nerd' performance brings light to the dark of the performance giving it a perfect balance.

The Verdict

I can't say this show is easy to watch, most parts I really did feel emotional, but in a really wonderful way. I learnt so much about myself from this complete masterpiece. I haven't actually cried so much in a show in a life, there were parts where it was uncontrollable and I just let it out (only problem was I cried the most at the end of act one, and then of course the lights came up for the intermission and everyone could see I was a mess!). The angelic melodies, mixed in with the gripping tale, then put all together with the gorgeously talented cast really does create something refreshing and new that the world of theatre has been looking for for a long time. I really look forward to this show being made available worldwide.

5 Stars