The award-winning Dear Evan Hansen is a joyous, thoughtful, emotional and poignant tale of teenage outsiders looking for acceptance, parents who don’t understand their offspring and an ever growing number of people’s increasing reliance on social media to earn validation as an individual.
This emotional rollercoaster of a show is packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, featuring a score by the Oscar-winning composers of The Greatest Showman and La La Land, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
So what’s it all about, you ask?
Well, Evan is an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in.
However, in his attempt to fit in, via a plot device that wouldn’t be out of place in a traditional British seaside farce, he doesn’t quite tell the whole truth about a terrible incident which rips a family apart.
As his lie escalates, fuelled by social media and a desire to be “normal”, Evan gets the family he always wanted, the girlfriend he desperately wanted and the social acceptance he craved.
But fitting in, comes at a cost and eventually Evan has to decide if the benefits are worth the burden of living the lie.
The uniformly excellent cast is led by the superb Ryan Kopel in the iconic role of Evan Hansen, alongside Lauren Conroy as Zoe Murphy and Alice Fearn as Evan’s mum, Heidi.
Killian Thomas Lefevre and Tom Dickerson are perfect in the key supporting roles of Connor Murphy and Jared Kleinman, with Vivian Panka portraying Alana Beck equally well.
This show deals with some pretty adult themes and sensitive topices relating to suicide, teenage relationships and more. Yet it handles these themes with a light and confident touch.
Local charities were on hand to give advice to anyone affected by those themes and the production is in partnership with The Mix, the UK’s leading digital charity for under 25-year-olds.
It is worth noting that huge credit should be given to theatre staff, cast, crew and audience members who handled a medical emergency near the end of the first half of the show. Thankfully, the individual concerned was able to leave the theatre of their own accord.
It is indicative of the cast and crew’s professionalism that the unforeseen disruption did nothing to distract them or the enthralled audience from the flow of this fantastic show.
Watch it with a teenager - as I did - and you will both see both sides of the teenage angst.
So is the show a fable, morality tale or metaphor for modern life?
At times it is all these things, but above all it is a fantastic way to spend a couple of hours and give at least a little time to thinking about some pretty big issues that we all push to the back of our minds.
The central message of the show is actually pretty simple - just be yourself and true to yourself. Not easy for anyone, but a great thought to keep in mind when, like Evan, your hands get sweaty for no reason!
So, if you already have a ticket to Dear Evan Hansen, or are lucky enough to get one of the few remaining for sale, to steal a line from Evan himself, today is going to be an amazing day.
To check times and to book tickets, visit the theatre’s website www.royalandderngate.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01604 624811.
Performances at 7.30pm daily, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets from £17.