Despite the inconveniences of having to tour, “Dear Evan Hansen” performed by the traveling Broadway cast was an excellent experience due to the plot, emotion, relatability, acting and music. Anthony Norman, who played the protagonist, Evan Hansen, left the audience wonderstruck during his epic performance in “You Will Be Found” and left viewers in tears by the end of the first act. From the first song, viewers were captivated and amazed with the performance of “Dear Evan Hansen.”
This show was performed in the William Saroyan Theater in Fresno and could have been viewed Jan. 10 through Jan. 15.
“Dear Evan Hansen” follows the story of a friendless senior in high school who suffers from social anxiety and depression. Evan is presumed to be the best friend of the dead Connor Murphy (played by August Emerson), who committed suicide after seeing Evan’s assignment from his therapist.
His letter, starting with, “Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day and here’s why…” is thought to be proof of Evan and Connor’s close friendship. He creates emails and stories from Connor and himself, not wanting to let the Murphy family down and hoping to spend time with the girl he likes, Connor’s sister, Zoe (Alaina Anderson). Through the false reality he has created, Evan is finally recognized, finally liked and finally enough. He faces the difficult choice of giving up his popularity and everyone who cares for him or feel the pressure of living in a world made up of lies.
The musical brings to light mental health struggles, which so many face. Going into topics like suicide, anxiety and depression, the musical increases awareness and understanding. Because of this, “Dear Evan Hansen” left much of the audience in tears and left the audience with a new awareness of those around them. Additionally, the show lightly touches on the trials of divorce, parenting, finances, pressure, loneliness and addiction. With so many aspects of this musical being relatable, everyone could connect to the characters and could leave the theater feeling understood.
The musical combined the perfect amount of humor to balance out the heavy themes. In “Sincerely Me,” in which Evan and his family friend create fake emails from Connor, there is dancing and hints towards a possible gay relationship and many jokes about their individual interests. Through numerous inappropriate comments, the show inspired laughter among the audience.
Norman, who played Evan Hansen, performed extraordinarily, accurately representing all aspects of the main character. As Evan’s sense of self worth changes throughout the show, so does the actor. Representing Evan’s growing confidence, Norman’s posture improves and his stuttering lessens. Norman also accurately displayed the physical effects of anxiety and panic attacks. Through the excellent skills of all the actors and actresses, even the back rows of the theater could understand the characters.
The song writers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, included relatable music that touched the viewers. In the song “Disappear,” there is a line that promotes self love, saying, “No one should flicker out or have any doubt that it matters that they are here…No one deserves to disappear.” In “You Will be Found,” the song describes the feelings of being forgotten and influences people to be kinder to each other. With widespread topics like isolation, the lyrics hit close to home for much of the audience.
There were a few inconveniences of the musical having to travel such as a portable set and few cast members. The set pieces were very minimal, including a bed, couch, desk and dinner table. All of these slid smoothly across the stage and created easy scene changes.
The main cause of annoyance was the very small cast. Many wished it had a more musical feel, with larger groups of people dancing. In this performance, there were only eight actors and actresses. All of them performed extraordinarily, however the show was a little bit underwhelming.
For those still wanting to see “Dear Evan Hansen”, they can watch it on tour in San Francisco in the Orpheum Theatre. They can also rent the movie, by the same name, from Prime Video or stream it on HBO Max. The movie includes a better setting and close up views of the characters, though it lacks some of the most-liked songs from the show.
“Dear Evan Hansen” was a great show for many reasons, which outweighed the challenges of having to travel. The actors performed convincingly, the music was powerful and the story left an impact. This performance in the Saroyan Theater was entertaining, emotional and definitely worth the watch.
