Good day…or not? Ryan Kopel’s Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen
DEAR Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, and here’s why. “Words Fail” may be Evan’s climactic song in this Nottingham Playhouse touring production of Benji Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levenson’s musical, but words will not fail this review’s praise of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy Best Musical award winner.
Pasek and Paul were the Oscar-gilded composers of The Greatest Showman and La La Land, and nine years since its premiere, director Adam Penford re-imagines this similarly impactful work through a contemporary lens.
He does so with an “exciting mix of musical theatre legends and rising stars”: his stellar company being led by Ryan Kopel (from Newsies) as Evan Hansen, Lauren Conroy (Into The Woods)as Zoe Murphy, although she was absent on press night, and West End luminary Alice Fearn (Wicked, Come From Away) as Evan’s mum, Heidi.
Kopel’s Evan is a friendless, bullied, 17-year-old American high school senior struggling with social anxiety and depression, who would like nothing more than to fit in and befriend Zoe Murphy (Tuesday understudy Lara Beth-Sas). Especially with his mother Heidi (Fearn) always being too busy with her nursing work and legal studies to see him, and his father long absent.
Evan’s therapist (the never-seen Dr Sherman) asks him to write letters to himself – the Dear Evan Hansen letters of the title – as a therapeutic exercise to explore his feelings and boost his positivity when courage and words desert him in the presence of others.
“Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, and here’s why,” each letter should start. Except that for Evan, they either don’t start at all or when one finally does, today is going to be anything but a good day. That letter is snatched off him by fellow friendless school outsider, Zoe’s brother, Connor (Will Forgrave, understudying Killian Thomas Lefevre), Dear Evan Hansen’s riff on Heathers’ JD.
It will be the last words Connor ever reads, spoiler alert. When Connor’s parents (Helen Anker’s Cynthia and Richard Hurst’s baseball-loving American jock Larry) assume it to be his suicide note, Evan tries to explain otherwise, but words fail him, and so, trouble this way lies…
…And lies and lies again as the lies pile up, a form of self-preservation that utilises the writing skills of Puck-like family friend Jared Keinman’s (Tom Dickerson) to concoct past text messages from the outsiders’ “secret friendship”, along with the relentless drive of social media “ambulance chaser” Alana Beck (Vivian Panka) to set up a fundraising appeal to reopen the orchard where the two teens met.
In doing so, he deceives Connor’s parents and Zoe, as she starts to warm to him. The thing is, it’s not that simple. Yes, he is lying, but he is doing so to comfort them, to make them feel better, to build a full picture that puts the destructive, nihilistic Connor in a better light.
You should find yourself at Dear Evan Hansen this week
The other thing is, it’s not that simple either, because suddenly he has Zoe where he always wanted her to be, with him. Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma! What would you have done in these circumstances?
Evan has an angel on one shoulder, but the heavier tug of the devil on the other, so how much does everything come down to him, or are Jared and Alana complicit too by seeing an opportunity to further their own popularity? Could the pre-occupied Heidi have done more to guide him?
Pasek and Paul’s wonderful songs and Leversen’s witty, sharp, probing dialogue addresses Evan’s rising predicament with admirable complexity. Not only his mother will tell him he is not a bad lad; chances are you will feel that way too, and the compassion that ultimately prevails does not seem unreasonable. Kindness wins out here; you wish it would more often in a world in such a rotten state.
Recalling Joshua Jenkins’s remarkable performance as neuro-divergent schoolboy Christopher Boone in the National Theatre’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time – although Christopher was incapable of lying – Ryan Kopel gives the outstanding lead performance of the year in a touring musical. So much pent-up energy, so much inner turmoil, expressed in movement, expression, vocal mannerisms and angelic, pure singing voice.
Beth-Sas’s Zoe is part rose, part thorn; Fearn brings West End star quality to Heidi, especially in her devastating showdown with Evan and her rendition of So Big/So Small, but Forgrave’s Connor could be darker (to match LeFevre’s haunting, gothic presence at Leeds Grand Theatre last November).
Dickerson amuses as scene-stealing prankster Jared, while Panka’s Alana is as persistent as a bee trying to escape from a window. You absolutely connect with Anker and Hurst’s struggling parents too.
Michael Bradley’s band are on top form, especially the beautiful strings, in a score of powerful, emotive, melodic song after song from the heart, topped by Waving Through A Window and You Will Be Found.
Top marks too to Penford’s exhilarating, emotionally-layered direction; Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s brisk, punchy choreography to rival her work in SIX The Musical; Morgan Large’s set (and costume) design, with its use of sliding, see-through doors, and the state-of-the-art video design by Ravi Deepres, complemented by Tom Marshall’s cacophonous sound design.
Do not miss this Generation Z musical with far wider appeal.
Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, and here’s why. You are going to book tickets NOW for a 7.30pm evening performance, tonight until Saturday, or 2.30pm matinee on Friday or Saturday. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
‘Together we can help shape a future where young men feel empowered, understood and supported,’ says Menfulness chief exec Jack Woodhams as York charity visits GOH
Menfulness team members meet the Dear Evan Hansen cast, including Ryan Kopel (Evan Hansen), centre, on the Grand Opera House stage
THIS week’s run of Dear Evan Hansen at the Grand Opera House offers opportunities to discuss often stigmatised issues such as mental health, loneliness and identity, especially among young people.
On Tuesday, the theatre’s nominated charity, Menfulness, visited the Cumberland Street venue, being on hand for members of the audience to talk with if they had any questions.
Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a teenager with a social anxiety disorder that inhibits his ability to connect with his peers. The York wellbeing and suicide prevention charity, dedicated to supporting men’s mental health, is campaigning to support young men as they navigate adulthood in the complex world of 2025.
The charity has received numerous requests to deliver workshops focusing on masculinity, choices and the challenges faced by this age group.
Menfulness chief executive officer Jack Woodhams says: “We believe we can make a significant and lasting impact through tailored workshops and reflective journals. These new projects will be co-produced with young men, ensuring their voices and experiences shape the content.
“The sessions will be designed to be delivered in school settings, fostering open conversation, emotional awareness and positive decision making. Together we can help shape a future where young men feel empowered, understood and supported.”
Grand Opera House venue director Josh Brown says: “We’re really proud to support Menfulness as our nominated charity for 2025, and Dear Evan Hansen is a fitting collaboration for raising awareness of the important work they do.
“Dear Evan Hansen is about mental health struggles in the modern world, and the importance of community and support to finding self-acceptance; work that Menfulness recognises and does great work to help people with.
“QR codes will be around the building, which visitors can scan to find out more about Menfulness, access support, or kindly donate. Mental health charities such as Menfulness are very much needed in the world, and we are delighted to help spread the word of the fantastic work they do.”
Dear Evan Hansen is a poignant coming-of-age story with themes of social anxiety, loneliness and grief, but also connection, support, self-acceptance and, above all, hope. Menfulness promotes support for young people, highlighting the message that they are not alone. A message that Evan ultimately comes to understand when he tells himself: Today is going to be a good day, because today at least you’re you. And that’s enough.”.
Menfulness team with Josh Brown (Venue Director), Kat Moir (Theatre Manager) and Emma Standley (Research Fellow at the University of York who is helping to co-ordinate the campaign)