Broadway In Chicago DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Evan Hansen (Anthony Norman) stands alone, center stage. Suddenly, we are the auditorium full of high school students at Conor Murphy’s memorial. Evan, holding a stack of notecards, begins his speech about Conor, his supposed best friend. He fumbles, and when he finds the notecards are out of order, the anxiety only escalates. Suddenly he drops the cards, and as he bends to make sense of his notes, he falls. The room is silent, and we all watch Evan on the floor, unsure of what he will do next. Will he run, or will he stick it out? Perhaps to everyone’s surprise, Evan stands. He looks at the audience and as the openings notes of You Will be Found begin to play, Evan sings.

“Have you ever felt like nobody was there?
Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt like you could disappear?
Like you could fall, and no one would hear?”

Slowly, Evan builds his strength. As his confidence grows, the song becomes louder. Norman’s breathtaking vibrato rings off the rafters of the Nederlander Theatre. If you are anything like this writer, you may gasp at the image as the ensemble joins Evan on stage – making him a little less alone.

Broadway in Chicago Presents Dear Evan Hansen

With book by Steven Levenson and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the story follows Evan Hansen (Norman), a student struggling to make it through high school with challenges around his anxiety.

When Connor Murphy (Nikhil Saboo) takes his own life and Evan is mistakenly confused as his secret best friend, Evan’s life suddenly turns upside down. As the web of lies grows, Evan finds himself surrounded by purpose, friends, and even a girlfriend – everything he ever wanted. However, the truth always has a funny way of rising to the surface, and Evan must figure out how to take control of his narrative before it is too late.

Directed by Michael Grief, this Tony Award Winning Best Musical features many well-known songs including favorites like Waving Through a Window, For Forever, Only Us, Words Fail, and You Will Be Found.

Jaw-Dropping Design

Evan’s lies in large part grow quickly because of the impact of social media on this high school community. The stage is covered in projection screens, and at any given time, the ensemble is surrounded by text threads, Facebook posts, videos, and Internet searches. These projections all move around them as the scenes take place. At times you too, like this writer, might even find yourself overwhelmed – unsure of where to look on stage with so many screens feeding you information at once. With this effect, Grief’s design team is successful in inviting us to feel the confusion and fast-paced energy that the characters themselves feel while participating in the social media.

You Will Be Found, Evan’s speech at Connor Murphy’s memorial, is the culmination of not only Act One. Evan’s classmates record him, and in the midst of the speech, the video goes viral. We see the number of likes on the video increase, and teens from across the country record their own responses that become part of the projections in the story. Evan may have felt alone at the beginning of the scene, but as the song progresses, we see the community literally multiply to a number we cannot even imagine. Video after video is posted online, and we witness the influence of social media in real time. If you are like this writer, you might also tear up at the emotional impact of all of these faces coming together on stage for the Act One closer – singing about how as dark as times might feel, “you are not alone… [and] you will be found.”

Emotional Storytelling

With the overwhelming presence of the projections and social media, the numbers existing outside of that online space become even more potent.

When Evan is feeling at his lowest, his mother, Heidi (Coleen Sexton) decides to share a memory. So Big, So Small offers insight into the story behind Evan’s father leaving the family so many years prior. As much as Heidi tried to put on a happy face for her son, she felt the heartbreak, and even navigated moments that the pain felt all-consuming.

In this scene, there is no social media playing on stage. The lights are dim, and Evan and Heidi sit together on a couch center stage. For so much of the show, the characters are rarely alone – someone is always posting, and someone is always listening. However, for the briefest of moments, Evan and his mom share this intimate moment – allowing themselves to fully cry and feel each other’s comfort. Even after the song ended, the Opening Night audience remained silent – demonstrating that this writer was not the only one lost in the emotion of the number.

Breathtaking performances, a jaw-dropping score, and an unforgettable story make Dear Evan Hansen a musical that will stick with you for days.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Run Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with an intermission

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CREATIVE TEAM:

Produced by Stacey Mindich, features scenic design by David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and hair design by David Brian Brown. Music supervision, orchestrations, and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire. Ben Cohn is the associate music supervisor. Vocal arrangements and additional arrangements are by Justin Paul. Danny Mefford is the choreographer. Casting by Tara Rubin Casting/Xavier Rubiano. Sash Bischoff, Adam Quinn, and Danny Sharron are the associate directors. Judith Schoenfeld is the production supervisor.