Before attending Opening Night of the Nashville leg of Dear Evan Hansen’s current national tour at TPAC’s Jackson Hall this past Tuesday, I didn’t really know much about the show. I knew the basics…it’s the story of a highschooler who doesn’t fit. I knew there was something about bullying and that it touches on the ever-increasing teen suicide epidemic, but beyond that, I was clueless. Shoot, I didn’t even listen to the soundtrack until I was getting ready to attend the show. My ignorance ended up being a good thing, as it’s refreshing to attend a show I’ve never seen.
Interestingly, the night of Dear Evan Hansen’s Music City premiere also coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day. Having lost a dear friend to suicide nearly a decade ago, I wasn’t sure how I’d react to the show, especially given the fact that upon entrance to the theatre, more than one friend in attendance suggested I have plenty of tissue on-hand as the show would likely ‘make my eyes sweat’ as my Uncle Gary would say.
While Dear Evan Hansen is indeed a surprisingly moving piece of theatre as it delves into the story of a teenage boy balancing a dysfunctional home life with being a loner at school, apparently I’m all cried out, as I only shed a single tear during the show’s eponymous Act 1 closer.
Don’t get me wrong, though. Everything about this show is spectacular, from the pre-curtain audio and visual clues that we live in an absolute social media driven world to the stellar performances of the entire cast.
On the subject of the audio/video, scenic designer David Korins, who’s worked on everything from Pee Wee Herman Show on Broadway to Hamilton and projection designer Peter Nigrini, along with lighting designer Japhy Weideman and sound designer Nevin Steinberg create a magnificently overly-stimulating muti-media backdrop, the perfect physical representation of just how overwhelming things can get for your average adolescent, especially in the ‘hate-like’ social media world we all now live in.
Ben Levi Ross is nebbishly nerdy Evan Hansen, presenting our stories hero/anti-hero with characteristics completely relatable to anyone who ever found themselves on the outside looking.
Cast as Evan’s mom, Heidi Hansen is Jane Pfitsch. She plays the parent oblivious to her son’s life with an equal balance of genuine concern and practical absence.
Seemingly juxtaposed to Evan’s and his mom’s life are the Murphy’s an affluent upper-middle class family consisting of dad, Larry (Aaron Lazar), mom, Cynthia (Christiane Noll), daughter, Zoe (Maggie McKenna) and son, Connor (Marrick Smith).
I say seemingly because it’s soon revealed that the Murphy’s aren’t exactly The Cleavers. I fact they’re far from it.
Regardless of how different the two family units are, the commonality is quickly discovered right at the top of the show when Noll and Pfitsch duet (from their respective homes) on Anybody Have a Map?, a tune that brings to the forefront the shared struggles of parenthood.
Next up, Waving Through a Window features Ross and company as the themes of isolation and being an outsider come to light.
Of all the musical moments presented in Act 1, Requiem is among the most gorgeously presented. Following the SPOILER ALERT sudden death of Connor, his family each deal with the tragedy in their own way. Requiem also serves to showcase three of the show’s most talented vocalist, McKenna in particular, who’s vocal skills seem, at lest to me, nestled beautifully somewhere between Sarah McLaughlin and Amy Winehouse.
Moving the plot along, in a bit of a contrived, but ultimately interesting way, Evan becomes embroiled in the Murphys’ lives following their son’s death. For you see, what was initially intended to be a writing exercise assigned by Evan’s therapist, mistakenly becomes thought to be Connor’s suicide note.
Fueled by his own insecurities, his need to please others and a desire to be part of a cohesive family unit, Evan keep silent about the mixup, even adding to the deception by creating an entirely fabricated friendship with the deceased young Murphy by way of faking back-dated emails between the two teen boys with the aide of Evan’s cousin, Jared (played by Jared Goldsmith) and a memorial social media presence created by fellow classmate Alana (Phoebe Koyabe).
As Evan’s web of lies expands, he not only gets in too deep to turn back, but he also experiences popularity at school, newfound friendships and an unexpected closeness with the Murphys, including a budding romance with Zoe.
Act 1’s Disappear, which features what is, in essence, Evan duetting with the deceased Connor proves one of the show’s most touching musical moments, starting somberly, then crescendoing to an interestingly upbeat number. Disappear is a perfect example of how the book by Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul find a gorgeous balance between the seriousness of the subject matter peppered with just enough lightness to keep the tears at bay for the most part. That said, I dare anyone to keep a dry eye during Act 1’s final number, You Will Be Found.
For Act 2, as Evan finds himself closer and closer to the Murphy’s To Break in a Glove presents the father/son moment he (and most) dream of as Mr. Murphy and Evan share a particularly sweet moment.
If To Break in a Glove is that idyllic father/son moment, Only Us, featuring McKenna’s Zoe and Ross’ Evan is the quintessential boy loves girl highlight.
The remainder of Act 2 explores Evan’s inner conflict as he wrestles with fessing up to being the one who wrote the note believed to be Connor’s suicide note, perfectly vocalized in Words Fail, an emotional number whose haunting lyrics are among those that will surely remain long after audiences leave the theatre.
Just as the show began with Evan’s mother questioning her abilities as a parent, the show ends with yet another touching tune, So Big/So Small, in which she comforts Evan in the wake of his deception exposed.
Dear Evan Hansen wraps its Nashville tour stop with a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. and a final early evening performance at 6:30 p.m. CLICK HERE for tickets or more information.
Following their Music City dates, Dear Evan Hansen continues its National Tour with upcoming dates across the US and Canada through September 2020. CLICK HERE to see when the show is coming to a theatre near you.
TPAC’s 2019/2020 Broadway Season continues with Once On This Island coming to TPAC’s Jackson Hall October 15-20. The SpongeBob Musical November 5-10, CATS November 19-24, Hamilton December 31-January 19, My Fair Lady February 4-9, Blue Man Group February 11-16, Jesus Christ Superstar March 3-8, The Color Purple March 27-29, Escape to Margaritaville May 5-10m Summer: The Donna Summer Musical May 26-31 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory June 9-14. CLICK HERE for more.
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