Review: Dear Evan Hansen, Bristol Hippodrome – ‘Powerful moments, but a little underwhelming’

Dear Evan Hansen comes to the Bristol Hippodrome highly anticipated. Its original Broadway run took home six out of a possible nine Tony Awards in 2017, including best new musical, best score, and best actor for Ben Platt in the titular role.

In the UK, Sam Tutty – who recently appeared in the fantastic new musical Two Strangers Carry A Cake Across New York – won an Olivier Award for his interpretation. Much like Come From Away, its themes of isolation and a desire to belong have garnered a passionate and dedicated fanbase.

This touring version stars Ryan Kopel as Evan, a desperately anxious teenager who has been assigned by his therapist to write himself a reassuring letter each day. Fellow struggling teen Connor (Killian Thomas Lefevre) snatches one of these letters off the school printer in an argument with Evan, and it is still in his possession when he is found to have died by suicide soon after.

Dear Evan Hansen UK tour, Ryan Kopel as Evan Hansen and Lauren Conroy as Zoe Murphy

Connor’s grieving parents reasonably assume that their son and Evan must have been secretly friends – as they’ve never heard of him before – based on its contents, including a mention of his desperation to be noticed by their daughter Zoe (Lauren Conray) which they interpret as Connor’s alienation from his sibling. Their grief-stricken desire for answers and comfort leads Evan to give up attempting to explain himself and go along with the lie.

Kopel is a magnetically fragile Evan, getting the audience onside despite his manipulation and quaking awkwardness. Connor himself appears throughout the show after his death, chastising and encouraging Evan, while remaining compellingly enigmatic. However, the other supporting characters are unfortunately quite one-dimensional, which isn’t helped by occasionally forced-feeling dialogue and emotional beats.

Killian Thomas Lefevre as Connor Murphy

A notable exception is Jared (Tom Dickerson), who lights up the stage with a surge of energy every time he appears. As Evan’s best friend by default – and only because their families are friends – he’s well-rounded, if occasionally callous, and provides some much-needed comic relief. The most vigorous number, Sincerely Me, in which he, Evan and Connor craft the latter’s supposed email correspondence, is great fun.

In general, the composers (Benj Pasak and Justin Paul) tend towards the emotionally intense ballad or duet, which can feel a bit monotonous, although an effective counter to this is Zoe’s solo, Requiem, in which she reflects on her difficult relationship with the mercurial Connor. It is beautifully sung by Conray and lyrically strong (‘Cause when the villains fall, the kingdoms never weep’), although her character is somewhat thankless.

Full cast, Dear Evan Hansen

The staging is bright and light, with a set of high sliding glass doors creating a sense of space or claustrophobia as needed. There is also considerable use of screens, especially at key narrative moments, such as as You Will Be Found, which I found somewhat unconvincing. It is challenging to convey the overwhelming nature of a social media onslaught, whether positive or negative, and I don’t think the show fully manages it.

An additional challenge is communicating Evan’s deception playing out online, with the formation and progression of the Connor Project in his memory by classmate Alana (Vivian Panka) and the social media reactions to their classmate’s death and the narratives around it. However, the crisp ensemble is quite small and don’t appear often; consequently the online world feels rather separate from the onstage action.

Ryan Kopel in Dear Evan Hansen

The Connor Project, and the desire of Evan’s classmates to align themselves with the outpouring of grief, is an interesting moral dynamic – however this is one of the few areas where the film has the edge on the musical, as Alana’s character is given more depth and motivation in the former.

As we move into Act II, the inevitable reckoning with Evan’s actions comes closer and closer. It’s a mark of the forgiving nature of the stage that while the show skates close to the line, we still just about sympathise with him despite his actions (unfortunately the same cannot be said of the critically-panned film adaptation, starring a by-then 27 year-old Ben Platt.)

Full cast in Dear Evan Hansen

Kopel nails the inevitable emotional climax, becoming painfully distressed and singing beautifully (Words Fail), but overall the lyrics are a little underwhelming. The song doesn’t dig any deeper into Evan’s motivations and a final revelation or emotional insight might have added more weight to his contrition.

For me, unfortunately the climax of the show fell short of the intended impact; again in common with Come From Away, I felt that in too many moments, the show coasted on the vocal talents of its cast to create its power. Ultimately, I can see why the show holds such a special place for its fans but the considerable talents involved didn’t quite come together.

Photo: Bristol Hippodrome

Dear Evan Hansen is at Bristol Hippodrome on February 11-15 at 7.30pm with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available at www.atgtickets.com.

All photos (unless stated): Marc Brenner

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