REVIEW – The beloved Evan Hansen delivers a night to remember at the Birmingham Rep

THE ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ tour that came to Birmingham yesterday at The Alex was a musical I hadn’t seen before. I have to say the anticipation turned out to be a revelation!

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are arguably among the most revered songwriting duos in the musical theater world with a string of stage and screen Grammy, Tony and Olivier Awards to their names, however. “Evan Hansen” is not just his music and lyrics, it’s also his concept.

A story about the pressures of teenage life, lived in the instant light of an online spotlight, that explores grief, friendship and mental health is not exactly an easy project. In Steven Levenson, the duo found the perfect writer for the book: his structure is perfect, making us care about each character and their situation.

The narrative captures, informs and makes you think; likewise the lyrics of the wonderful catalog of songs.

Ryan Kopel leaps off the curtain line with all-consuming charisma as Evan Hansen, our young protagonist. He shares his journey, his troubles, joys and sorrows in both song and narration in a joyful and remarkable performance.

Alice Fearn is convincing as Evan’s mother, Heidi. She juggles being a single mother with a full-time career as a nurse. She knows and shows her maternal shortcomings, but her love for her son is never in doubt.

Killian Thomas Lefevre as the young man who commits suicide, Connor Murphy, is similar to James Dean in ‘Rebel Without A Cause’, grumpy and helpless (not a spoiler, it’s this incident that drives the narrative). It is through the sheer genius of the writing that Lefevre manages to continue developing his “doomed” character after he dies.

Murphy’s grieving family never understood their son’s suicide. His father Larry, mother Cynthia and daughter Zoe, played respectively by Richard Hurst, Helen Anker and Lauren Conroy, are individually remarkable and collectively perfect as they all adopt Evan as a replacement for their dead son.

Tom Dickerson and Vivian Panka add bounce and spark to the story as Evan’s eccentric college partners Jared Kleinman and Alana Beck.

Photo by Marc Brenner. s

Musical director Michael Bradley assembles a band that fuses music with story in a way I’ve rarely heard before, and as such I feel compelled to name-drop them. Phil James and Adam Smith on guitars, Gordon Davison on bass, Guy Richman on drums, Douglas Harrison on violin, Elizabeth Boyce on iola and Francesca Cull on cello.

Nottingham Playhouse director Adam Penford melds the entire company into a perfect triumph.

Dear Evan Hansen proved to be one of my most memorable theater nights ever, I’m still reeling the next day. A masterpiece!

Dear Evan Hansen is at Birmingham Rep until Saturday 26 October. Click here for timetables, tickets and more information.

Review by Euan Rose

Reviews by Euan Rose