Dear Central Magnet,

A Review of Dear Evan Hansen at TPAC

by Kaleia Branch

I’m absolutely in love with Broadway. The music, the dramatic performances, and the dancing truly makes me feel at home. So, when I got the opportunity to see one of my favorite musicals, Dear Evan Hansen, for my birthday, I knew I couldn’t pass that up! Dear Evan Hansen is an absolutely incredibly musical about an socially anxious high schooler named Evan Hansen. His therapist recommends that he writes letters to himself and, for his first day back to school, his mother, who has quite a hard time connecting with his son because of her busy work schedule, encourages him to have fellow classmates sign his cast. Evan longs to be a part of something and an opportunity comes knocking at his door when a bully of Evan, Connor Murphy, uncharacteristically asks to sign Evan’s cast. Unfortunately for Evan, Connor finds a copy of a letter Evan wrote to himself that morning, detailing how much Evan’s crush on Connor’s sister, Zoe Murphy, means to him. Connor, furious, walks out with Evan’s letter in his possession. After a few days, an incredibly anxious Evan is taken aback when he hears that Connor has unfortunately taken his own life. He is even more shocked to discover that he had Evan’s letter in his pocket, leading Connor’s parents to believe that the letter was written by Connor and that they were friends. Evan is caught in a conflicting whirlwind, his dreams coming true, with the aid of a family “friend” named Jared, a budding romance with Zoe, and connection with Connor and Zoe’s parents; yet guilt takes over his conscience. His world turns upside down, and within the chaos, Evan learns how to accept himself.

My mom and I went to see the show Sunday evening, September 15. We rushed frantically down the interstate in our Sunday best outfits to TPAC. As a fan of the musical album, I was incredibly excited to see the show, and fairly quickly, I could see I wasn’t alone in that department. When my mom and I finally found our seats in the Grand Tier, I studied the room. I could feel the excitement of thousands of people in the air, the energy magnifying every minute closer to 6:30. Finally, the house lights dimmed down and a cacophony of tweets, texts, and Instagram posts were seen. Then, in the midst of the chaos, a spotlight shines on Evan Hansen, and the noise stops. The audience cheers, unable to hold in their eagerness any longer for the last performance of Dear Evan Hansen in Nashville and Ben Levi Ross’s last performance with the touring cast. For the next 2 hours and 30 minutes I, along with the audience, sat in awe of the endless talent these actors, the orchestra, and the stage and tech crew possess. Even my mother, who had never heard of Dear Evan Hansen prior to the show, stated,“ This show choked me up!” Truly, this performance made me realize that the album, no matter how amazing, doesn’t do this show justice.

The visuals and transitions to each next scene were breathtakingly beautiful. At the end of the song “So Big/So Small” in which Evan’s mother reminisced on the day Evan’s father left, the platform that they were on moved off stage! How the screens showcased the Internet as a whole and how the orchestra sat on an elevated stage was incredibly creative. The actors’ performances were realistic and the music left me speechless. The actors who play Jared and Connor, Jared Goldsmith and Marrick Smith were hilarious in their rendition of “Sincerely Me,” a light-hearted song depicting Jared and Evan writing fake letters to prove to Connor’s parents that their friendship was real. Evan Hansen himself, Ben Levi Ross’s last performance also fell on Sunday, and it was GORGEOUS. The emotion he put behind every song and every line, his incredibly beautiful voice, and his breathtaking performance of “Words Fail” cured my depression. Indeed, “Words Fail” to do his work justice.

But what truly stands out in this show is its empowering message: You are not alone. In the hard-hitting masterpiece “You Will be Found,” Evan gives a speech about Connor, keeping the façade of his friendship with Connor and Connor’s memory alive. Even in the wrong, Evan does something right. He gives the students something to believe in and himself too.

“Even when the dark comes crashing through,

when you need a friend to carry you,

and when you’re broken on the ground,

You Will Be Found.”

These lyrics resonated throughout the theater and within the audience’s hearts. I couldn’t help but sit in awe and gratitude for writers and visionaries such as Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and every beautiful soul behind this production for telling a message that is often forgotten. To know that we truly aren’t alone is comforting today and gives us something to trust in. All in all, I truly couldn’t be more in love with this show. Congratulations to the cast and stage crew on a beautiful run in Nashville and to Ben Levi Ross on an amazing run and an incredible last performance. Anyone who saw this masterpiece in Nashville is truly lucky. I recommend checking out upcoming Broadway shows at TPAC if you have the chance. I guarantee you will be nothing less than “Satisfied.”

Sincerely,

Me