Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
ATG, Gavin Kalin Productions, Nottingham Playhouse
Palace Theatre, Manchester
February 18-22, 2025; 2hrs 20mins
(also northern dates at Chester Storyhouse March 18-22; Sheffield Lyceum April 8-12; Blackpool Grand May 20-24; York Grand Opera House June 24-28)
One of the downsides of a long life is that there is little new in the world of entertainment.
As Marx says of history, things happen twice, once as tragedy and then as farce. Which is why Dear Evan
Hansen is a reminder of a cult movie and book from the 60s, Billy Liar - someone for whom the world is not enough, so he creates a fictional world more fun than his real world.
Which is what happens to Ryan Kopel, playing the lead character in this musical based on the book by Steven Levenson. The major difference is that Billy had a private world but Evan, through the miracles of
modern science, the internet and a bully, has a mass viral world full of people who want to feed off and make money from, his grief. A Trumpian world, in "what I say is true" - even if it beggars belief.
The production needs a strong central character able to act and sing. In Ryan Kopel it has its man. A combination of sad, emotional and nerdish is hard to pull off, but Ryan manages to convince us as
he wanders through the strange hinterland of the social world of an American high school. He's baffled
and bewildered; a living example of the way in which mental health issues have become the plague
of Gen Z.
With the help of friends like Jared (Tom Dickerson), Evan manages to surf the crest of online emotion on behalf of a person he met twice. Friends like Tom are usually associated with statements such as "He would be all right except, for his friends", in court documents... With his mix of smiles and coarse sexual humour, he catches the intense smell of male puberty. Quite a friend, as he demonstrates the art of making money from grief.
The real villains of the piece are the two mothers; maybe it was ever thus. Alice Fearn catches the problems of a single mum perfectly; wanting to support and be with her errant son, but too busy working or catching up with her own social life. Helen Anker is the mother of the son that creates the drama – so
anxious to be sorry for any of her faults that she forces Evan into a relationship with her son. She illustrates why people approach mediums for support following a tragedy...
The audience on Tuesday clearly knew all the songs and responded to them with great applause, The creative team , led by director Adam Penford, will have been proud of the professional
approach of the entire cast and full house.
Kiam from Leicester was there with his two siblings and his mum. He thought it was "all right". His two sisters and mother thought it was great. That's the essence of the production, right there..
More info and tickets here
