Dear Evan Hansen

It is almost ten years since the musical Dear Evan Hansen, written by Pasek and Paul, first opened on Broadway. It tells the story of how a letter, written to himself by an over-anxious Evan Hansen as part of his own therapy treatment, is found on the body of Connor Murphy, a fellow student who had committed suicide. It is a show that boasts a powerful score, and songs which confront issues relating to mental illness and the influence and pressure of social media. It went on to win in six out of nine nominated categories at the 71st Tony Awards. A West End production opened in 2019 with Sam Tutty in the lead role. Dear Evan Hansen arrives at Norwich Theatre Royal this week as part of a UK tour which opened in Nottingham last September.

Starring in the title role is Ryan Kopel, who brings the role of Evan to life with an undeniable passion, and who delivers the songs with absolute, albeit duplicitous, conviction. His 'Waving Through A Window' at the beginning of Act One is just a taster of what is to come. 'Words Fail', towards the end of Act Two, will have you in tears. The man is a star, make no mistake.

Partnering Kopel is Lauren Conroy who plays Zoe Murphy, the grieving younger sister of Connor, and the object of Evan's romantic desire. Her 'Requiem' delivers an early highlight of Act One. Alice Fearn, playing the role of Ryan's mother Heidi, captures our hearts, especially in the closing highlights with her moving 'So Big/So Small'. Even though Connor takes his own life early in the show, his ghost returns at key points to observe what Connor and Zoe , together with friends Jared and Alana, have created as The Connor Project becomes an internet sensation. Connor himself is played by a devilishly cool-looking Killian Thomas Lefevre. Tom Dickerson brightens the stage with both his humour and energy in the role of Evan‘s best friend Jared, and Olivia Faith Kamou stepped up from the dance ensemble to play fellow student Alana for this performance. Richard Hurst and Helen Anker take on the roles of Connor’s parents.

The show is performed in front of a simple, and largely geometric, stage framework, created by Morgan Large, and with simple set dressings being wheeled on and off as the action switches between locations. The frame serves as a spectacular grid for the stunning video collages (designed by Large together with Ravi Deepres) that appear at key moments, as well as providing smartphone-shaped windows for actors to perform the on-line chat sequences. Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography remains perfectly understated, with the dance ensemble, who fill the stage during the big musical numbers, never threatening to distract us from the plot, yet still delivering a big-musical sense of spectacle.

But ultimately, it is the highly emotive performances from this young and talented cast, led by Ryan Kopel, that ensures that Dear Evan Hansen is such a memorable experience. Brave enough to tackle subjects like mental health and suicide head-on in a world dominated by Facebook ‘likes’ and viral videos, brave enough to have heroes and anti-heroes who are both flawed, and brave enough to use music and song in a way that leaves us both uplifted and more aware of the world that today’s teenagers have to navigate, Dear Evan Hansen is most certainly a musical of our time.