Review: Dear Evan Hansen at Grand Leeds Theatre

“…thought provoking…”

Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, Grand Leeds Theatre

by Helen Kelly

Dear Evan Hansen is an emotional play to watch for some as it revolves around suicide, mental health and bullying from the onset. Because of this, it comes with these trigger warnings and is only suitable for ages 12 and upwards.

The premise of the show is a boy at the school where Evan Hansen goes, kill himself, and is found with a letter in his pocket addressed ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. The truth is that Connor, the boy who dies, had taken the letter from Evan but his parents think the letter is from Connor to his friend. Evan does not tell the grieving parents that their assumption is false and soon the whole thing spirals as the parents use Even to help with their grief. Evan enjoys spending time with the parents as he does not get any attention from his mother, who is always either working or at classes to become a paralegal, or his absent father. His peers are also beginning to notice him because he is the friend of Connor. Evan is no longer invisible. It looks at the aftermath of how once someone dies by suicide, different people suddenly come out as their friend and care about the person.

This musical is inspired by a story at Benj Pasek’s school. He, along with Justin Paul, wrote the music and lyrics for Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered in 2016 and has since won many awards including Tonys and Olivier’s and it is now on its UK tour.

The cast were good, but for me the parents did not fully convince me they were grieving for their child, or that there was a bond with their daughter Zoe. Although, in the second half, things had improved. Both the interactions between the parents and Zoey became more natural, and the stress and the fractured relationship between Evan and his mum became more realistic.

I didn’t realise into much later in the play that the two families were from different economic situations. Evan Hansen’s a one-parent family whose mother works all the time, is trying to better herself by also going through college, but who also fears being made redundant. In contrast, the Murphy’s have lots of money and don’t need to worry about how their children will go through university. The production could have highlighted these differences more in the set design or small details like Heidi’s hair and clothes.

For me, the star of the show was Ryan Kopel, who plays Evan Hansen. His acting and singing were out of this world. He put feeling into every word he sang and he really made the audience feel the words he said. You felt empathy all the way along the play with him as he got caught up in the lie; you could feel his emotion come through towards the end of his performance.

This production did justice to the well-known songs like Sincerely Me, which I had heard a few times before. Now I have seen it with Ryan Kopel, Killian Thomas Lefevre and Tom Dickerson acting it out the song, it has taken on a completely new meaning to me and was thus enjoyable to watch. Killian Thomas Lefevre was excellent as Connor singing this song and waiting while Evan and Jarad decide how to write the emails. You will be Found was another song which should be highlighted not only for the singing but also for how the production brought out the use of social media messages and how they can be spread. Along with the ensemble, reading messages helped to feel the impact that the speech/song made.

Unfortunately, sometimes it was difficult to work out when Evan was on his computer to Jarad or Alana. Occasionally, a noise would indicate a message coming through or a connection, but I believe this could have been improved, such as how he was communicating e.g. message, post, video call. The issues were mainly during the first half, as later when they were raising money for the orchard, it was more obvious as Evan was on his bed on his laptop and Alana was sitting at a desk at a computer.

Towards the back of the stage, there was a frosted glass partition which was not a fully realised conception. For example, in the first song, it was used as a metaphor for the divide Evan feels, shown when singing Waving Through a Window, but he goes behind it where the ensemble are, which breaks that concept. It was then used when his mum calls and again when Alana posts about Connor’s death. On these occasions panels were open in the frosted glass which worked well in showing a divide, or them not really being there.

There was a problem with Zoe Murphy’s microphone, which stopped the production during the first half and took a little while to fix, but it was handled well by the theatre and production team. During the penultimate song from where we were sitting, there was a bright light that reflected off the mirrors used in the stage design. If you looked over to where Evan was singing, you couldn’t really see because the light was blinding.

Overall, Dear Evan Hanson was thought provoking, but not in the deep way you would expect from this material. For a show that has a reputation for looking at heavy themes such as mental health and suicide I was expecting more of an impact, especially as it involves the younger generation. As a mother myself, this just missed the mark for me.

Dear Evan Hansen is at Leeds Grand Theatre until Sat 9 November 2024. Book tickets online at leedsheritagetheatres.com or call the Box Office on 0113 243 0808.

Helen Kelly wrote and published her first Romance book in 2022 after being inspired by completing three master’s degrees in history. She has now written three books and various short stories. In her spare time, Helen loves to visit various parts of the country, some of which have been an inspiration for her books. Helen is a mother of two grown-up daughters living in North Yorkshire. She loves to read and to visit historical places and theatres. Find out more about Helen at www.helenkellyauthor.com