David Mirvish & Stacey Mindich/Dear Evan Hansen, book by Steven Levenson, music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, directed by Michael Greif, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Mar. 23 to Apr. 14. Tickets available at TicketKing 416-872-1212 or mirvish.com.
Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway in December, 2016, and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning six including Best Musical and Best Score. In short, attention must be paid. This production is not an import, but an all-Canadian cast assembled for the run, and what an extraordinary group of talented singer/actors they are.
For starters, Steven Levenson’s book is a compelling story until it unravels at the end. Increasingly, musicals are tackling a wide range of subjects beyond boy-meets-girl, and the central core of Dear Evan Hansen is teenage suicide and its aftermath. The show is populated by so-called losers and outcasts, so the message of the creators is #youwillbefound, which is also the title of a big production number. Levenson’s book holds out a ray of hope to troubled teens that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Evan Hansen (Robert Markus) is a friendless, awkwardly social high school senior, and one wonders if there is autism there. His therapist has suggested that he write a letter to himself describing good things in his day ahead, hence, the Dear Evan Hansen title. In the computer lab, his letter is stolen by fellow senior Connor Murphy (Sean Patrick Dolan), a very troubled, drug-abusing loner known for his violent antisocial behaviour. In the letter to himself, Evan happened to mention his crush on Zoe Murphy (Stephanie La Rochelle), Connor’s sister, which puts her brother in a rage, and is his reason for stealing the letter. By sheer coincidence, when Connor commits suicide, Evan’s letter is found on him, and his parents Larry and Cynthia (Evan Buliung and Claire Rankin) think that Connor’s suicide note was addressed to Evan. They are thrilled to discover that Connor had a friend.
With a nod to Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 psychological thriller, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Evan pretends that he and Connor were bosom buddies, and so he begins a harrowing journey that will bury him in lies and cover-ups. Evan believes that he is helping Connor’s family with their grief by making up stories of happier times. The wealthy Murphys also represent a warm and loving home, which is the antithesis of his own situation. Evan’s single mother Heidi (Jessica Sherman) is a nurse’s aid attending paralegal classes at night, and so is never home. One does wonder, however, what the Murphys were doing all those years as Connor became a monster-child prone to erratic rages. Clearly, some sociopathic behaviour was afoot
There are two other key figures in the show, both students and outsiders. Alana Beck (Shakura Dickson) is so moved by Connor’s suicide, that she badgers Connor’s supposed best friend Evan to start a campaign to keep his memory alive. She too pretends to have had a close relationship with the dead boy. Jared Kleinman (Alessandro Costantini) is the musical’s comic relief. His family knows Evan’s, and he’s been told by his mother to be nice to Evan. As he is the closest thing that Evan has to a friend, Jared is roped in to create emails that supposedly Evan and Connor wrote to each other. Complicating the mix, is Evan’s growing romance with Zoe, and his estrangement from his mother.
While Connor was reviled in life, in death he becomes an icon, and the likes of Evan, Alana and Jared bask in his reflected celebrity, assuming important roles in a tragedy not their own. Jared makes money selling Connor wristbands, buttons and T-shirts, while Evan and Alana gain popularity for heading the Connor Project. Through Connor, the misfits have found a place for themselves. Now I realize that a story on teenage suicide needs a positive ending. There has to be a lifeline to troubled youth, but I think that Levenson copped out on what should have been a more logical and negative end. After building up the tension of Evan’s great lie, the story ends with a whimper.
The musical team, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, gained fame as the composer/lyricists of La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Thus, I knew that the score would be mostly melodious soft rock that provided opportunities for strong, showy belt outs , and that there would be a plethora of clever lyrics and rhyme schemes. In fact, the songs are exactly that. It’s a small ensemble, just nine musicians, but the glory of the score is Paul’s and Alex Lacamoire’s stirring vocal and orchestral arrangements which are calculated to get the juices flowing. Kudos to music director Elizabeth Baird and her ensemble for the strength of the accompaniment. The audience continually cheered after each cast member sung his or her guts out. Incidentally, the story of Dear Evan Hansen is apparently based on an incident that took place at Pasek’s high school.
David Korins’ minimalist set works well, with Peter Nigrini’s place-defining projections appearing on hanging panels. Rooms are denoted by small platforms with pieces of furniture that roll easily on and off. The stage picture is always shifting, so Japhy Weideman’s atmospheric lighting plays an important role. Director Michael Greif moves his characters effectively around the stage like chess pieces, reflecting the fact that they are engaged in a giant game based on a lie, and one that has spiralled out of control.
Markus’ gives a remarkable performance as Evan. He captures the teen’s motor-mouth nervous attacks with heart-breaking accuracy, and his ability to transform song lyrics into cries from the heart can’t help but touch the soul. As for the rest of the players, there isn’t a weak link in the cast. This Canadian production of a celebrated Broadway show is a class act, from start to finish.
LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
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