Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Teatr Muzyczny Poznan

I always carry my little notebook to write my thoughts during the show (I know it’s dark but somehow I’ve mastered the art of writing without seeing the pen) and this time I couldn’t turn away from the stage for the first 40 minutes, even to take it out from my purse. The moment Marcin Franc (as Evan Hansen) is getting on the stage you are doomed as a snowman in a sauna. He’s pure musical. If his acting, stage presence, and dedication were a meal it would definitely get a Michelin, and when he starts singing you cannot believe that perfection can improve. His Evan is full of struggle, real, fragile, just wanting to come out of darkness and be seen. His social anxiety mixes with his desire to reinvent himself making him lost, and confused but Franc makes it all coherent, and most importantly, you don’t have pity on him.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s famous musical brought to the Polish stage by Pawel Szkotak is important, modern, and brutally honest. Amazing and moving music is one driving force, contextualization in the modern world is another, but the main power of this show is that you can relate to every person on the stage at some point, and that’s not always an easy ride. It’s about being lost, deep loneliness, hope, mistakes, and redemption, about the difficulty of being a teenager, a parent, a human being.

What is really important here is the fact that actors are not scared to be vulnerable and it resonates from floor to roof. The audience feels their emotions in every song and for the time being, we agree to be in their skin. What art! Urszula Laudanska as Zoe is rebellious but deep down she is looking for love with her trusty compass; Bartosz Soltysiak as Connor has this darkness that is uncomfortable but it is real as blood results, no room for fakery or pretense. Parents (Dagmara Rybak, Oksana Hamerska, Patryk Kosinski), Evan’s friends hyperactive Alana (Aleksandra Daukszewicz) and cocky Jared (Maksymilian Pluto-Pradzynski), all can be weak but they are always real. It takes great courage to show vulnerability and be willing to keep going, and this is what we can learn.

From where I was sitting I felt like the audience is part of the show and they respond lively to what they see and hear. The sobs, sights, enchantment, everything is there to make us feel that we can be ourselves even in this modern world, reminding us that compassion, kindness, and humanity can be guiding stars. Although I really appreciate the scene design and costumes by Natalia Kitamikado (I loved how quickly and efficiently it can change), lighting (by Paulina Goral), and multimedia projections (by Karolina Jacewicz and Mateusz Kokot) I feel the true power of the show is pure humanity through music that radiates from the stage.

This show goes straight to your heart, just keep it open.

Photo: Teatr Muzyczny Poznan

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