Sydney theatregoers, who always keep an eye on the best to come out of Broadway, have been busy securing seats to see DEAR EVAN HANSEN, (book by Steven Levenson, music and lyrics by Ben Pasek and Justin Paul with orchestrations and additional arrangements by Alex Lacamoire), the Tony award winning musical that is now playing the Roslyn Packer theatre at Walsh Bay.
This is a very contemporary musical that follows the life of Evan Hansen, a socially anxious high school senior who struggles to connect with others. His therapist suggests he write letters to himself to express his feelings. This practice leads to an unexpected chain of events when one of these letters ends up in the possession of a troubled student, Connor Murphy.
Connor takes one of Evan’s letters after a chance encounter, and shortly after, he dies by suicide. Connor’s parents, finding Evan’s letter in Connor’s possession, assume that it was Connor’s final note to Evan, believing that the two were close friends. Evan, caught off guard and reluctant to disappoint Connor’s grieving family, goes along with the misunderstanding. He invents a fictional friendship with Connor, fabricating stories about their supposed time together.
As Evan continues with the charade, he gains acceptance and visibility in his school community, creating a social media campaign called “The Connor Project” to help others feel less alone. The hype around the campaign escalates. It is only a matter of time before Evan has to confess..
Whilst I found the plot a bit icky, unlike Connor’s parents, (if I was in their situation), I am sure that I would not be so forgiving of Evan and his fabrications, the theme is heart rending; that no matter how much you might feel that you are an outsider in the world, you will be found, and appreciated, and respected.
This is a very accomplished production by a homegrown Australian cast and crew, led by highly experienced music theatre Director Dean Bryant. The stage world has been meticulously put in place by Bryant along with his set designer Jeremy Allen, costume designer Isabel Hudson, lighting designer Matt Scott, sound designer Andrew Poppleton, video designer David Bergman, movement director Shannon Duras and music director Zara Stanton leading a fine orchestra.
Now, night after night, the cast of eight perform this big hearted play on their stage. David Bergman’s video design was particularly effective in emphasising the mesmeric spread of social media with people’s faces and voices popping out from everywhere.
I went last Friday night and saw a great show. The cast were in uniformly good voice, performing Ben Pasek and Justin Paul’s impressive score featuring a mixture of inspiring tunes along with some plaintive ones.
All of the cast gave tight, focused performances; Lawrence Hawkins impressed as Evan, particularly impressive to find out later than he was one of the two understudies. Harry Target played Connor (post death) who appears through the play, interacting in scenes.
Evan’s single mother Heidi, juggling parenthood with work commitments, is well played by Verity Hunt Ballard.
This fractured mother and son relationship was the play’s most heart rending, with Heidi so distraught that she didn’t pick up the level of her son’s distress.
Stage veteran Martin Crewes played Connor’s father, Larry with Natalie O’Donnell playing his mother, Cynthia, trying to make the best of their son’s passing.
Georgia Laga ‘Ala played their daughter, Zoe, who Evan has a crush on, and who didn’t have a good relationship with her brother. Evan makes their relationship better with the poignant fictional world he has created.
Carmel Rodriguez plays Alana Beck, an earnest but goofy, melodramatic classmate of Evan’s who involves herself in many activities to help her college chances.
Jacob Rozario plays Jared Kleinman, Evan’s family friend, the too smooth operator who works with Evan in creating this make believe world.
This is a highly emotional show. DEAR EVAN HANSEN, a co-production by the Sydney Theatre Company and the Michael Cassel Group, is playing the Roslyn Packer Theatre until 1 December 2024.
