The touching and sometimes funny book by Steven Levenson is lifted to emotional heights by composer/lyricist Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. This is a small show about big feelings and the universal need to be “found.” Without fancy special effects or elaborate dance numbers, it comes to life framed in a flickering storm of social media projections, the backdrop of modern life.
Stephen Christopher Anthony is amazing as Evan, combining endearing geekiness with sincere longings, and real character evolution — along with an angelic, soaring voice. We saw new cast member Lisa Brescia as his mother - extremely touching for any siingle-parent who has struggled to be “enough.” Alessandro Costantini brought humor and a cynic’s eye to the tale as “family friend” Jared. We saw Haile Ferrier as the spunky go-getter Alana, sweeping Evan into a project beyond his intentions.
The Murphy family were all critical components in Evan’s journey. Nikhil Saboo was excellent as Connor, performing on two distinct levels. Stephanie La Rochelle was sincere and believable in the complex sister/girlfriend role of Zoe. We saw Keely Vasquez as their mother, and John Hemphill as their father, effectively creating both hostility and an idealized set of parents.
Haile, Keely and Lisa were replacement actors in this particular show.
Evan Hanson is a very affecting production exploring the mental health issues that evoke our essential humanity. It continues through May 22. Tickets at https://www.whartoncenter.com/events/detail/dear-evan-hansen
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Speaking of mental health issues, I just received this update from a person who had been looking for actors. Maybe some of you might be interested in future role playing:
I am sorry being so delayed in responding back. Tri-County Crisis Intervention Team training is this week, a full 40 hours of inyensive training for police officers in the tri County region to effectively deal with mental health and substance abuse crisis. I learned today that all of the actors are set for Friday s scenarios. However, I am hoping to chat after this training about engaging actors for future training which typically happens twice per year. Please let me know if there would be interest in observing the scenarios at least in part to understand what future actors would do. My phone number is 517-230-3515 - Margaret Keeler