Review: Heartfelt DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Providence Performing Arts Center

This review contains spoilers and mentions of teen suicide.

We've probably all been in a situation where a white lie or a misunderstanding ballooned into something bigger and unexpected. DEAR EVAN HANSEN takes this idea and turns it up to eleven when teenage Evan Hansen becomes linked to a classmate who commits suicide. It's an interesting examination of how in mourning, we may try to rewrite the narrative of a dead person's life, but there's no way to get past the icky feeling that Evan's actions leave, despite catchy songs and excellent performances.

Evan Hansen is an awkward, socially inept senior in high school when one of his classmates, Connor, commits suicide. Evan and Connor barely spoke, but had a brief run-in right before Connor's death that resulted in a letter of Evan's being in Connor's pocket when he was found. Despite the fact that no one ever saw the two boys socializing, people assume that they were friends, and Evan does nothing to disabuse them of the notion. In fact, after other students make the initial assumption, Evan goes out of his way to make it seem true-to the point of eventually creating The Connor Project, to try to keep Connor's memory alive. Eventually the lies take on a life of their own, and the truth comes out.

Stephen Christopher Anthony is fantastic as Evan Hansen. He's charming and believable as a teen who is overwhelmed by seemingly everything, and some of the best moments of this show are when he's having awkward conversations with his peers. His singing voice is raw and compelling, and despite playing a character who seems like he doesn't want the spotlight on himself, Anthony commands the stage whenever he's on it.

The entire cast is excellent, but in particular Nikhil Saboo as Connor and Ciara Alyse Harris as Alana serve as brilliant foils to Evan. Connor reappears to Evan as a kind of ghostly conscience and eggs him on while warning him that he's in too deep. Saboo has the interesting job of playing Connor very briefly before his suicide, and then Evan's imagined version of who Connor is. Harris's Alana is the textbook overachiever who is president of every club, but who also struggles to create real friendships despite being constantly surrounded by other people.

The characterization of teenagers in this musical feels very sincere, unlike a lot of teen-centered books and movies, so it's easy to see why teen audiences have responded so enthusiastically. It feels very much like it's written for them, which may be part of what makes the messiness of the story overall somewhat difficult to reckon with. Writing anything that incorporates social media is always dangerous in that it can immediately seem dated, and this show has dealt with that rather well. Social media projections on moving screens comprise the bulk of the sets, and they're just generic enough that they get the point across without being explicitly tied to one particular platform. The use of lighting helps create excellent moments where Evan feels alienated from his peers, even when they are right there. It's impressive and moves quickly in a way that serves the story well.

It is incredibly difficult to conclude a story like this in a satisfying way, so it feels like the writers chose not to try. Evan Hansen is a sympathetic character initially, but he makes a lot of choices that have potential to ruin other people's lives. As an audience member, you're in a strange position of wanting him to face consequences for his actions, but also knowing that that would destroy him. Ultimately, the musical chooses to do nothing, and just fast-forwards a year to a time when things have settled down and everyone is generally ok. This feels like a pretty big copout, but since the rest of the musical is loaded up with catchy showstopper songs, perhaps the writers didn't think anyone would mind.

As a musical for teens and tweens, this production does exactly what it needs to do. It feels like this show is trying to be RENT for Gen Z, and that is a worthy goal. It was exciting to hear the cheers and applause from so many young people in the theatre, so even if the script isn't perfect, it still meets a need, and maybe that's enough.

Dear Evan Hansen runs April 5-10 at Providence Performing Arts Center. Tickets at PPACRI.org.

Covid Protocols: Proof of vaccination or recent negative test are required at the door, masks are optional.

Photo: Stephen Christopher Anthony photo by Matthew Murphy

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