You Will Be Found

Dear Evan Hansen

By now, this angst-ridden musical is pretty well known, especially among younger aficionados. But for the few theatergoers who aren’t familiar with the story, Evan Hansen is a painfully shy high school senior who suffers from a host of personal problems. The young man has very few friends, is terribly insecure and suffers from a poor self image. Heidi, Evan’s single mother, works as a nurse’s aid while studying at night to become a paralegal. Somehow she finds the money to send her son to a therapist, on a weekly basis. Heidi has to work hard to provide for both herself and Evan, while strictly budgeting her money and the time she can spend with her son. 

In addition to medication, one of the exercises that Evan’s therapist prescribes is writing positive letters to himself every day. One of these letters gets stolen from the school printer by Connor Murphy, another friendless loner with personal problems, who enjoys bullying Evan. Shortly after he mockingly signs his name on Evan Hansen’s cast, we learn that Connor has committed suicide. Evan’s purloined letter is found in the boy’s pocket, leading his grief-stricken parents to conclude that Connor may have had at least one good friend in this world. In the letter, which Evan wrote to himself, he mentions Zoe, Connor’s pretty, younger sister, to whom Hansen is secretly attracted.

The Murphys invite Evan to their home in an attempt to learn more about the hidden social life between Hansen their deceased son. When questioned about their friendship, Evan tries to set the record straight; but the young man soon realizes that, by stretching the truth a little, he can ease the pain for Zoe and her parents. Quickly the lies snowball and soon other classmates latch onto the story and the fictional friendship between Evan and Connor. Thanks to some fabricated emails, created by Evan’s “family friend,” Jared, and Lana, an overzealous classmate looking to promote a cause, the story goes viral. Suddenly Evan finds he’s achieved overnight popularity and is buoyed by his new success. But that’s when Evan’s life completely derails.

When this intensely moving and very topical musical opened on Broadway six years ago, one of its strongest selling points was that it was completely original. Unlike almost every other show on Broadway, this musical was fresh and groundbreaking because it wasn’t based upon a popular movie or novel. Steven Levenson’s heartbreaking script, with a dramatic, contemporary-sounding musical score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, touched the souls of theatergoers of all ages. In particular, this stunning, poignant play spoke directly to today’s youth, the adult theatre audiences of tomorrow. The show went on to win six Tony Awards in 2017, including the coveted accolade for Best Musical. And, like “Hamilton,” it continues to continually attract new theatergoers and play to sold-out audiences. Now, after touring here several years ago, Chicagoans have another opportunity to experience this affecting, heartbreaking musical for themselves.

Directed with the same integrity and passion that he achieved with “Rent” and the original Broadway production of this show, Michael Greif creates the feeling of immediacy by bringing the story downstage toward the audience. Much of Evan’s dialogue and songs break the fourth wall and are delivered, like a Shakespearean monologue, directly to the audience. With this kind of staging, Evan’s story takes on a personal, almost confessional and cathartic quality. To make Evan Hansen’s tale seem even more timely, the impact of social media is represented through David Korins’ abstract, expressionistic scenic design. It’s augmented by an overwhelming multitude of continually moving projections, representing computer images and smartphone text messages, all provided by Peter Nigrini’s projections. The inclusion of colorful, moody lighting, by Japhy Weideman and Nevin Steinberg’s spot-on sound design adds yet another layer to the overall effect.

Michael Greif’s talented cast deserves accolades for their performances. Anthony Norman, a multitalented actor/singer/musician from Chicago, appeared on Broadway in “The Prom” and in the National Tour of “Newsies.” Mr. Norman makes a believable Evan Hansen, an earnest and likable young man who easily wins the hearts of the audience. He convincingly plays this social outcast, the nerdy kid who just wants to belong and be liked. Norman expresses this disconnect with the world in his song, “Waving Through a Window.” In the first act finale, Evan discovers his first glimmer of hope, singing the show’s pullout hit, “You Will Be Found.” And later, when all the lies are exposed and everything falls apart, Evan admits to himself that “Words Fail.”  

Heidi, Evan’s mom, is exquisitely played here by Coleen Sexton. This lovely, likable actress makes everything look and sound believable, natural and earnest, much like Mr. Norman. She creates an honest, deeply devoted mother who’s survived a lot and continues to move forward. Heidi has sacrificed and done everything for her son. Ms. Sexton especially brings every ounce of passion to her eleventh hour ballad, sung to Evan, “So Big/So Small.”

Alaina Anderson is fresh, youthful and natural as young teenager, Zoe. When audiences see her bright smile and hear her lovely, crystal clear voice, it’s easy to understand what attracted Evan to her. Quite often, however, Ms Anderson disappointingly tends to whisper some of her lines and lyrics, making it difficult to hear her words. Talented Lili Thomas, in the role of Cynthia Murphy, creates another heartbreaking character. She’s a mother who feels she failed her rebellious son and possibly driven him to suicide. She’s no longer able to connect with her daughter, Zoe, and finds her husband, Larry (beautifully played by John Hemphill) remote and unreachable. Mr. Hemphill’s touching duet with Ross, “To Break in a Glove,” is one of the highlights of this production, and guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of every father in the audience. Together with a wonderful young actor/singer, Nikhil Saboo, touchingly playing Connor, the Murphy family is represented by four gifted, very competent musical theatre actors.

Completing the cast and filling out the ensemble are Pablo David Laucerica, as Evan’s “family friend,” the annoyingly manipulative Jared Kleinman. As a mercenary kid, whose computer skills enable him to become invaluable to Evan, Laucerica, a recent Northwestern graduate, is sensational. Micaela Lamas makes her professional debut as Alana Beck, Evan’s geeky schoolmate who hitches her devotion to Evan and his secret friendship with Connor Murphy. She helps him keep his buddy’s memory alive with their money-raising, online Connor Project. Together these two talented actor/singers round out the cast of high school students and add vocal dimension to the company.

This highly-accoladed show, which debuted on Broadway in 2016, is still a masterpiece in many ways. It profoundly illustrates what Winston Churchill said about lying: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” The musical also plays into our obsession with smartphones and computers. It’s illustrates the power of technology and the profound effects of social media on individuals. 

“Dear Evan Hansen” is one of the most honest, emotionally moving and truly contemporary pieces of theatre since “Next to Normal.” For that reason, this production is often weakened by many exaggerated performances. When overacting is substituted for honest emotion, is diminishes the truth of the story. But, on the positive side, this is still an original musical that’ll appeal to audiences of all ages, but particularly speaks to younger theatergoers. It’s so important to cultivate new audiences and this is a show that will hook even the most reluctant patron. Promising to both entertain and release a floodgate of forgotten emotions, “Dear Evan Hansen” is sure to continue its popularity with audiences of all ages.     

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented December 6-31 by Broadway in Chicago at the Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago.

Tickets are available at all BIC box offices, at all Ticketmaster retail locations, by calling the Broadway in Chicago Ticket Line at 800-775-2000 or by going to www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Further information about this and other area productions ican be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.