PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Murphy
It’s immediate upon walking into Uihlein Hall that Dear Evan Hansen is a contemporary musical unlike no other today. The set, which remains the same for the entire production, is a series of tall columns with rear screen projections showing snippets of text messages, Instagram, Snapchat, names, words. The sounds are notification blips and dings and beeps. And its main character? A high school senior who suffers from severe social anxiety and has no friends.
That is until one of his classmates, Connor Murphy, commits suicide. And Evan Hansen, through a series of spiraling events, becomes popular by lying about being his dead classmate’s best friend. This Broadway hit and modern-day theatrical phenomenon is the first to deal directly with social media, the life of teenagers and just how much pressure they’re under given today’s world which smears the lines between what’s real and what’s not.
In its first national tour, Dear Evan Hansen (the title comes from a therapist’s requests that Evan writes letters to himself) immediately connects with its audiences. This is due in large part to the excellent musical score and lyrics by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek (it’s based on a real-life situation from Pasek’s high school days). The storyline, like the music itself, does deals directly with Evan’s relatable teenage challenges and the pressures surrounding him. How to talk to a girl he likes (Connor’s sister), how to make eye contact with others, how to even connect. Those tall columns symbolize the “walls” created by social media today, entrapping those that get easily pulled in to the screens, rather than the world surrounding them.
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Director Michael Greif has created characters that resonate throughout, be it the grieving parents, the other high schoolers, or Evan’s single mom who tries desperately—and awkwardly—to connect with her son. And the eight-member ensemble do a fine job of fleshing out these roles, in particular an incredible performance by Stephen Christopher Anthony as the title character. The rapid talk to get through a moment, the nervous twitches, the awkwardly angled movements are a true testament to this young actor’s multi-faceted talents. And the range of emotion in his voice, along with the entire company, allows songs like the Act One closer, “You Will be Found,” to rise above the pain of loss and the constant pressure to be increasingly heard—and seen—online.
There are no spoiler alerts here. Evan gets caught up in the events which come crashing down around him; a house of virtual cards while those columns remain steadfast, always filled with images, always blinking and bleeping.
It’s at the show’s end, when the columns lift and we finally see clear light and blue sky, that Dear Evan Hansen discovers its true resting place. “All we see is sky for forever,” sings Evan. “Let the world pass by for forever.” By looking up from the screen and into the world, Evan and Dear Evan Hansen finds their true selves.
