Dear Evan Hansen | Short Review

Dear Evan Hansen has given us some of the most recognisable Musical Theatre songs in recent history, and now audiences can see them performed across the country in the form of a brand-new touring production from Nottingham Playhouse. 

The sets and staging may be different to the iconic Broadway and West End productions, but the essence of the characters remains the same, and the cast inhabit them beautifully. Ryan Kopel's Evan achieves the difficult feat of remaining likeable and sympathetic even when his actions are all but indefensible, and Alice Fearn is a highlight as Evan’s overworked but resilient mother. 

Kopel's heartbreaking, desperate version of the eleven o'clock number ‘Words Fail’ and Fearn's deeply vulnerable ‘So Big / So Small’ are perfectly pitched to leave the audience blinking back tears when the curtain falls.

Dear Evan Hansen is touring various venues across the UK until May 2025 – for more information, tickets and venues, visit evanontour.com

You can read our full-page review in November issue of Musicals magazine, on sale 26 October – consider subscribing today!

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Dear Evan Hansen by Justin Paul (music), Benj Pasek (lyrics) and Steven Levinson (book)

Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham, 17 September 2024

Starring Ryan Kopel, Lauren Conroy, Alice Fearn, Helen Anker, Richard Hurst, Killian Thomas Lefevre et al

Directed by Adam Penford