Evan Hansen: Real and Compelling

 

After many schedule changes and cancellations due to Covid, “Dear Evan Hansen”, by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is finally at East Lansing’s Wharton Center. When the musical opened on Broadway in 2016 it was a monster hit and still is.

Last night I understood its strong appeal, especially among teenagers. First off, I must say that I approached the show knowing very little about the story and musical style. Except for the hit song “For Forever,” I was unfamiliar with much of the music.

In many ways “Dear Evan Hansen” is the anti-Broadway musical, musical. It's a small show (eight characters) with no production numbers, very little dancing and no over-wrought love songs.

What we have is a show that has a compelling story (written brilliantly by Steven Levenson) about a teenage boy who is beset by anxieties, loneliness, lack of confidence, has no close friends and is being raised by a financially strapped single mom.

Evan Hansen (Stephen Christopher Anthony) is funny in a quirky way. The audience immediately understands him.  One of the great strengths of this show is that the characters are very real. These are people that we know and see in daily life. And the dialogue is authentic. 

The subject matter here is important and current. These anti-hero characters are immersed in real world issues such as teen suicide, mental illness and social media.

The word I keep going back to is “real”. The conversations between characters are real and use phrases and words that are common place. And the music is provided by an acoustic band that uses violin, viola, cello and a rhythm section.

When the characters sing a song, it is not telegraphed five minutes before.  The song, simply and elegantly, emerges from the dialogue. It’s lovely. In this musical, the music is an equal partner with the play itself. The voices are all excellent but understated.  

We first meet Evan Hansen, high school senior, hibernating in his bedroom. His arm was recently broken and is now in a cast. Anthony, as Evan Hansen, appears in most every scene and sings most of the songs. In this demanding role of sensitive acting and constant singing, Anthony is both extraordinary and convincing.

Another standout was Nikhil Saboo as Connor. He is a rough looking character but had a voice of gold. When he sings duets with Anthony, the two tenor voices melt together beautifully.

The story concerns Evan Hansen’s fraught relationship with his mom (Lisa Brescia) and his strange new relationship with a family whose son, Connor Murphy, commits suicide. In a quick series of events, the Murphy family is led to believe that Evan was Connor’s best friend.

In reality, Evan has NO best friends, which is why he does not want to let this mistaken impression go. As the story spins out we see how social media is so much a part of teenagers’ lives and how loneliness and friendship is such a driving factor in their lives.

Again, the story is everything here. The minimalist set does not intrude on the play but enhances it. The stage has a few set pieces but is mostly nothing more than a series of screens which are used for projections.  Often the characters sing directly facing the audience, although they are doing the scene together.  Somehow it works well.

This is a top-drawer production with excellent sound.  Although it’s a PG13 musical, I would recommend bringing your teenagers to see “Dear Even Hansen” to remind them that all musicals are NOT like “Oklahoma” or “Music Man”. The show will be playing at Wharton Center through Sunday, May 22.