Dear Evan Hansen | Live Show Review – TOP 20 MUSICALS 2024: NO 7

The blue polo shirt is gone; Evan Hansen has a fresh new image, though he still goes heavy on the stripes. Nottingham Playhouse and Adam Penford’s touring production of the Grammy, Tony and Olivier Award-winning show Dear Evan Hansen is not a replica of the 2016 Broadway and 2019 West End productions, but it doesn’t stray too far from the original. While the sets and staging differ, the essence of the characters remains the same, and the new cast inhabit them beautifully.

Leading that cast are an impressive pair of Evans: Ryan Kopel, recently seen as Davey in Wembley Troubadour’s Newsies, and newcomer Sonny Monaghan, who performs the role at matinees. Monaghan was discovered via an open casting call on TikTok, a smart move for a show that highlights the overwhelming impact of social media on teenagers’ lives. Here, TikTok increased casting accessibility and found the show a wonderful alternate lead, but in Dear Evan Hansen, we see the darker side of social media and its ability to spread toxicity as quickly as positivity.

The story centres on Evan, a teenager with social anxiety, whose therapist advises him to write letters to himself. When one of those letters is stolen by Connor Murphy, who later takes his own life, Connor’s parents mistake it for a suicide note. Reluctant to hurt the Murphys further, Evan invents a friendship with Connor and finds himself with everything he wanted: social acceptance, loving surrogate parents and the perfect girlfriend in Connor’s sister Zoe. But when his lies go viral, everything unravels.

The show has given us some of the most recognisable Musical Theatre songs in recent history, from songwriting team (and now EGOT winners) Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, also known for The Greatest Showman and La La Land. Their pop-inspired score is a mix of sweeping ballads, rousing affirmational songs and intimate character pieces, and here it’s performed beautifully by an eight-piece band. 

The songs rise organically from conversation in Steven Levenson’s book, which excels at capturing the way people in strained relationships talk to each other. A mother and son failing to communicate, a fractured family dealing with grief, and teenagers trying to shape their identities are all drawn beautifully.However, there are parts of the book that don’t feel nuanced enough in their depiction of mental health, and the ending is wrapped up too neatly – but there’s still plenty that will resonate.

In a show with a problematic main character, casting is vital. Evan needs to remain sympathetic and likeable even when his actions are nearly indefensible, and both Kopel and Monaghan manage this task perfectly, never coming across as calculating or cruel.

Sharing the role is sensible; it’s physically, emotionally and vocally exhausting. Kopel puts Evan’s anxiety at the forefront of his performance. His Evan is a bundle of jitters, delivering his dialogue in breathless run-on sentences, always scrambling for the next word. He picks his fingers and nods to reassure himself, smiling uncomfortably in quiet moments. He injects the nerves into his vocal performances too, giving them a tremulous quality without sacrificing clarity or strength. 

Kopel leans into the first act’s comedic moments, drawing laughs from both the book’s jokes and Evan’s awkwardness. This light, innocent approach makes it all the more devastating when Evan finally comes apart during Kopel’s desperation-laced version of ‘Words Fail’. 

While Kopel’s Evan always seems as though he’s on the verge of nervous laughter, Monaghan’s Evan often seems as though he’s swallowing back tears. His portrayal is more restrained, and though he lands the comic lines, he’s at his best when he’s tapping into Evan’s alienation and despondency. His bottom lip quivers throughout, and he looks like he’s carrying a great weight. It’s a well-judged performance that makes it easy to believe Evan has been suicidal.

Like Kopel, Monaghan handles the vocals with ease, with his slightly deeper, fuller voice reminiscent of the show’s Broadway originator, Ben Platt.

The rest of the cast offer excellent support. Alice Fearn stands out as Evan’s overworked but resilient mother, Heidi, and her deeply vulnerable ‘So Big/So Small’ leaves the audience blinking back tears. Killian Thomas Lefevre is perfect as Connor, switching easily from the volatile real version of his character to the malleable, comical puppet that Evan and Jared invent in ‘Sincerely Me’.

Lauren Conroy is a fierce, angry Zoe, and delivers an impressive ‘Requiem’, though there isn’t much chemistry between her and either Evan. Tom Dickerson delights as Evan’s ‘family friend’ Jared, rolling onto the stage in his gaming chair to emit peals of laughter at Evan’s latest missteps. Both he and Vivian Panka as extracurricular-obsessed Alana deliver bursts of dark comedy underpinned with their own sense of loneliness.

This production’s aesthetic departs from the original’s minimalist design. Everything from the costumes to the lighting is brighter, warmer, more colourful. There are fully realised bedrooms, kitchens and locker-lined school hallways, which ground the show in reality, but don’t capture the same feeling of alienation. 

Morgan Large’s set has a wealth of components: frosted glass sliding doors, strips of mirrors around the sides, and a light-up motherboard design on the floor, but the components don’t work together coherently. The staging can also be confusing, never making it clear whether characters are in the same room or talking online. 

Video screens are still present, with designs by Ravi Deepres, but they’re used sparingly, so don’t convey social media’s full intensity. Using the ensemble to voice the online commentary reduces the videos’ impact, as does the inclusion of stock images of buses and mountains. 

The addition of an ensemble is perhaps the biggest change, but sadly the staging and Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography don’t integrate them fully into the performance.

Although not all the choices in this revamp are successful, the casting and source material are extremely strong, and Dear Evan Hansen remains a deeply affecting show. This production is likely to satisfy current fans while also winning the hearts of new ones. 

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Cast Ryan Kopel, Sonny Monaghan, Lauren Conroy, Alice Fearn, Helen Anker, Richard Hurst, Killian Thomas Lefevre, Tom Dickerson, Vivian Panka et al

Direction Adam Penford

Musical direction Michael Bradley

Musical supervision Matt Spencer-Smith

Orchestrations, additional arrangements
Alex Lacamoire

Vocal arrangements, additional arrangements Justin Paul

Choreography Carrie-Anne Ingrouille

Set, costumes Morgan Large

Lighting Matt Daw

Sound Tom Marshall

Video Ravi Deepres