Up for Review: "Dear Evan Hansen" at the Morris Performing Arts Center

TW: mass shootings 

This is my third time seeing “Dear Evan Hansen,” once on Broadway at the Music Box Theater in 2018, once last year at the Wharton Center in East Lansing, and now for their final tour run of the show at the Morris Performing Arts Center. 

Being obsessed with this show since eighth grade, setting me on a trajectory of learning about and loving the community of Broadway, this show has not aged for me since the first day I heard it while I was on the bus to middle school. 

This tour felt extra special, pulling out all the stops on the production and storytelling for the final tour of the show, leaving the future of the show up to the audience to beg for it back within the next few years. With the presentation from the American Theater Guild, I believe it won’t take too many years before the show begins another run of a tour or even a revival on Broadway. 

The opening lines of the show is a nervous breakdown that Evan Hansen is having as he is trying to write a reflection letter about his mental health and making every day a good day. With this, Anthony Norman, who plays the titular role, showed off his acting chops immediately, depicting that awkward, yet charming atmosphere that I have seen other actors portraying Evan with. 

In Norman’s rendition of “Waving Through A Window,” the tone was set in the theater that emotions would be high and Norman would knock every song out of the park with his immense acting chops. 

However, if I had to pick one person out in the show that gave me chills with both singing ability and acting chops, it was Alaina Anderson, who plays Zoe Murphy. During “Requiem,” not only does her voice hold the pain of a song about a sister grappling with her brother’s suicide, but I could also see her facial expressions from the back of the theater, giving a performance that is likely to send her to Broadway sometime soon. 

Pablo Lauceria as Jared was also my favorite performance of this role that I have seen, displaying Jared’s wit without making it too harsh, depicting the character’s insecurities in every insult he spewed at Evan. I also appreciated the switch of his line in the beginning where he usually calls Connor “school shooter chic” to “troubled teen chic.” I didn’t think I would be so appreciative of a small switch in a script, but now seeing firsthand the climate of school shootings at my university, I thought it was a simple change that meant the world. 

Speaking of a sensitive subject like mass shootings, when I was driving back to East Lansing after the Michigan State University shooting, going back to my work at the State News, I listened to “You Will Be Found” from the show, sobbing and really listening to the words for the first time. Listening to that song that I have always appreciated, but never tacked that much meaning to it, I realized that this song was the perfect song to listen to, reminding myself that my community would find each other throughout this hard time, leaning on each other, being found in the company of others who had felt the same thing. 

Naturally, I cried like a baby throughout the whole song. The effect it had on me was the same as when I had seen it for the first time at the Music Box, hearing the dense harmonies across the whole theater. I still hold that “You Will Be Found” is one of the best Act 1 finales, even if I am now biased because the song holds a special place in my heart.  

On the other hand, I liked a song more this run of the tour than I have ever had before: “To Break In A Glove,” performed by Larry Murphy, played by John Hemphill. I thought Hemphill’s performance was the most dynamic I had seen, really seeing that character shift from a cold, detached father to one that truly feels the grief he is feeling. 

I am also always going to be a crybaby during “So Big, So Small,” and Colleen Sexton’s performance was beautiful, showing off her singing abilities, and of course like any other character in this musical, ability to cry and sing at the same time. 

I always skip over the final scene when I think of my favorite scenes in the musical, but with Anderson and Norman’s ability to evoke emotion in the entire audience, I thought it tied the show up with a little bow, making it more satisfying than I had felt in the past. 

While this show is ending its seven year run, I think this show is timeless from this point on, using Gen Z language in a way that caters to audiences that will continue to listen to the music and remember when they were an insecure teenager, waiting for a better day to come along and only see sky forever. 

The show breathes life into its themes of forgiveness, wanting to be better for the people around you, yet being accepted for who you are, and that you are never alone. This show is a beacon of hope for many, and I think that will be the legacy of this show.