Review Roundup: The Critics Weigh in on DEAR EVAN HANSEN's New Evan, Taylor Trensch; Updating Live!

Taylor Trensch's first "official" performance as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen was Tuesday, February 6, after he performed a few early performances on January 31 at 8 PM, February 1 at 7 PM and February 3 at 2 PM. Trensch took over for Noah Galvin, who replaced Ben Platt last year.

Written by the Tony-winning composing team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul- Oscar winners this year for their lyrics to La La Land's "City of Stars" - with a book from Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of of an anxiety-plagued high school loner named Evan who is paralyzed by the hyper-connectivity of social media and forced to watch the world from the outside looking in. Trying to improve his self-image, Evan writes himself a letter that is mistaken for a classmate's suicide note and rides that error to popularity. (The story is loosely based on an experience Pasek witnessed in high school).

Let' see what the critics had to say about Trensch's performance...

Jesse Green, The New York Times: Mr. Trensch - who recently finished a 10-month run as a zany Barnaby Tucker in "Hello, Dolly!" - is not playing his illustrious predecessor. (Noah Galvin took over the role during a two-month interregnum.) He has pruned Mr. Platt's armamentarium of tics and twitches to just a few blinks, a stammer and some wringings of the right hand. He is more naturalistically and intermittently troubled than Mr. Platt was, more apprehensible as an actual 17-year-old. This shifts the gravity of the story somewhat. Mr. Platt's expressionistic performance made Evan's descent into a hell of misrepresentation seem inevitable; someone so desperate would of course make those mistakes. He was thus, in a way, blameless and sacrificial. But because Mr. Trensch's Evan is less tortured, he is also more culpable. You can see him choosing, however ruefully, the wrong path.

Matt Windman, amNY: Trensch is giving a decent performance in a physically, vocally and emotionally demanding role. But compared to Platt, Trensch struck me as less vulnerable and overly aggressive, tensed up and irritated. Trensch also looked too mature for the role. The real beauty of my return visit was that my attention shifted to the deeply felt, shaded performances of the seven remaining original cast members: Rachel Bay Jones (who won a Tony for her raw performance as Evan's struggling, well-meaning single mother), Laura Dreyfuss, Mike Faist, Kristolyn Lloyd, Michael Park, Will Roland and Jennifer Laura Thompson.

Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast: Trensch as Evan is nervier and slighter than Platt. (You seriously worry for him when Connor pushes him over early on.) Yet, for as puppyish and lost as Evan looks, he's also acting as something of a weirdo, if not a sociopath. This the musical skirts in favor of farce. Trensch's skill is to transition in a blink from tormented teen, his body contorted like a pretzel, to the belting Broadway star (he previously played Barnaby Tucker in the Bette Midler Hello, Dolly!). One doesn't invalidate the other. But his astonishing singing voice reminds you why he is on stage.

Roma Torre, NY1: At first sight, there's a stark resemblance and I'm sure fans would be happy enough with a replicated performance. But Trensch claims the role in a unique way - adding nervous tics and vocal inflections that allow us to see a different if nonetheless equally compelling star turn. And when it comes time to pull out all the stops in those highly cathartic scenes, Trensch, like Platt seems to lose it - weeping full throttle without missing a beat. Happily, the rest of the cast stayed on and the performances have deepened believe it or not. The dynamic has shifted a bit, perhaps because a new star gives us reason to focus on the other characters more and they're all staking out an equal share of the spotlight.

Check back later, as we will be updating live as more reviews come in!

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy