Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen is playing at the Music Box Theatre located at 239 West 45th Street. It runs two hours twenty five minutes with one intermission. The musical is an open ended show.

It premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D. C. from July 10. 2015 to August 23, 2015. The musical then opened off Broadway at the Second Stage from March 26, 2016 to May 29, 2016.

Michael Grief is the director. He was nominated for three Tony Awards for If/Then (2014), Grey Gardens (2006) and Rent (2006).

David Korins is the set designer. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Hamilton (2016).

Michael Park won two Daytime Emmys in 2010 and 2011 for as the World Turns. He was in the show for thirteen years.

Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is talking to his computer. His mother Heidi (Rachael Bay Jones) comes in and asks him if he is writing a letter to himself which his therapist has told him to do. He is extremely shy and anxious and this is a way for him to express his feelings. Evan takes pills for his anxiety. He is practicing what he is going to say and do at school. The cast on his arm was gotten when he fell out of a tree. Heidi is a nurse and goes to school at night.

We meet another family. They are having breakfast. Larry Murphy (Michael Park) and his wife Cynthia (Jennifer Laura Thompson) are having a conversation with their children. Connor (Mike Faist) tells them he not on drugs, but you can see he is. His sister Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss) is hostile toward him.

At school no one will sign his cast. Connor pushes him, Evan falls. His sister apologizes to him for what her brother did. Later Connor says he is sorry and signs his name on the cast.

When Evan is in computer class he writes a letter to himself. The letter includes something about Zoe. Connor finds the letter and won’t give it to Evan.

Connor kills himself. When his parents find the letter Evan tell his parents they were friends and Connor had a secret email address. A friend of Evan family son Jared Kleinman (Will Roland) gave him the idea about the email account. He sets it up for Evan and makes up letters between Connor and Evan.

One lie leads to another. He talks at the funeral and it goes viral. He tells how he and Connor use to go to a Chery orchard and that’s where he broke his arm. A campaign it started to raise money to rebuild the orchard in Connors memory.

Another insecure student Alana Beck (Kristolyn Lloyd) helps him. She also barley knew Connor and said they were goods friends.

We learn more about each family and what happens.

This is a very touching, tender story of two young men whose lives come together briefly. One helps the other after his death. Evan helps Connors family cope from his death. By doing this it helps him come out of his shell.

Most of the cast has been in the show since it was at the Arena stage. Michael Park was not in the show at Second Stage. Kristolyn Lloyd was not in the first production.

The cast was touching in their roles. Ben Platt has a beautiful voice. His performance is touching, you feel for him.

The set design is minimal, A kitchen table, a bed is the main set. There are screens all over the stage that post different social media.

This is a must see show.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich

Photos by Annazor.

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