It’s an award-winning musical celebrated across the globe, but for some unknown reason Dear Evan Hansen had never made its way onto my must see list.
That was until last night, when I was blown away by the talent on stage at HM Theatre, which brought such an emotive tale to life. It will now forever remain one of my all-time favourites.
It follows the rather elaborate story of a young Evan Hansen, who at 17, is struggling to make his way through high school with social anxiety and depression.
As a stereotypical nerd, Evan is encouraged by his therapist to write to himself every day, to remind himself he can have a great day.
But when one of his letters makes its way into the wrong hands, life starts to spiral for Evan in the most unexpected of directions.
It’s a story which explores some difficult themes, including suicide, loneliness, exclusion and mental health struggles, but the brilliantly written script, adapted from the book by Steven Levenson, tackles these issues brilliantly with sensitivity and humour.
However, in order to deliver this effectively, the right actors need to be on stage; and last night every single person on the stage shone so brightly.
The score is that of one of the best modern musicals I have heard, and without a doubt makes the performance what it is.
But with very little else in terms of smoke and mirrors the delivery of each performance, really relies on the strength of the actors.
Simple but effective staging and costumes, of course, add value, but the talent is what you’re paying your money for.
Each of the small cast deserves a mention, and the audience agreed as they took to their feet for a standing ovation the second the first member of the ensemble took their final bow.
But truly the stand out for me was Ryan Kopel in his role as lead Evan Hansen. I tried so hard to remember the last time I was so invested in a character as I was watching him last night, and I just couldn’t. His performance was a complete triumph.
A couple of weeks ago I started to flick through the pages of the book, to prepare myself a bit for what I was going to go see, and his interpretation of Evan was exactly how I had imagined the character to be, to a tee.
And it was clear the Kirriemuir born lad was having a bit of a homecoming last night from the reception he received from the stalls.
Dear Evan Hansen is on until Saturday at HM Theatre, I highly recommend you go and see it. You can buy tickets here.
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