Skip to main content

Review of Dear Evan Hansen at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

First performed in 2015, Dear Evan Hansen remains the musical of the modern teen's life, showcasing all the troubles in that generation of popularity and social media. And as this long UK tour of the West End and before that Broadway smash hits the Royal & Derngate, it offers a troubling mirror on modern society.

Before seeing this show, I had avoided all knowledge of the story Dear Evan Hansen tells, and with that came a joyful voyage of discovery as the captivating story evolved. Therefore, if you have also managed to avoid the story, skip the next paragraph and enjoy a new story to be found.

Evan Hansen is a troubled teen who struggles to fit into society and cannot find friends. As a result, his therapist has suggested that he write letters to himself, "Dear Evan Hansen." When one of these letters is found on the body of an equally troubled teen, Evan finds himself spiralling into a world of fictitious friendship, which gets increasingly out of control.

The story told in Steven Levenson's book and through Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's music and lyrics is very clever and absorbing. The audience can identify with different allegiances within the excellent cast of characters, whether it be the troubled Evan, the pressurised mother, Heidi, the sulky Zoe, or Connor, the equally troubled teen.

The story lives in the modern world, with social media behind many of the complex parts of the tale, and this was brought to the stage, never overpoweringly, cleverly, with Ravi Deepres' excellent video design. Also, Adam Penford directs lightly, emphasising character rather than movement; this is a very still production with often little character movement on the stage. The songs here are part of why this happens; many are just gentle ballads, good, but not with the ability for big stage numbers. This show is a non-showy stage musical, and some may find disappointment in it, but like Blood Brothers, this is a play at its heart that just happens to be told with songs.

The performances will not disappoint. Ryan Kopel's stunning performance as Evan, complete with all the nervous ticks of such a person, leads an excellent cast. He also translates these into musical performances using his superb vocals.

Alice Fearn is also immaculate as Ewan's mother, Heidi, primarily via her troubled solos and perhaps her best, So Big/So Small. Equally full of emotion are the parents of Connor, dealing with their impossible situation in very different ways. Richard Hurst, as Larry Murphy, is distant at times, while, as understudy as the mother, Jessica Lim's Cynthia, embodies the emotion visibly for the couple.

As Connor, Killian Thomas Lefevre is superb, emitting both the anger and high emotion his character is feeling, coupled with some brilliant comic timing during scenes portraying the fictional emails that Evan and Jared (a brilliantly funny performance from Tom Dickerson) create. Finally, from the cast, Lauren Conroy gives a captivating performance as Connor's sister, Zoe, who is confused and often distant as she deals with the many emotions life throws at her.

Dear Evan Hansen is an excellent show, but it falls short of my top mark due to a slight lack of musical variety and a somewhat simple ending that is too perfect following events. Also, although it has a solid and eventful story, it feels overlong by the end of its 140-minute running time. Despite this, though, Dear Evan Hansen comes highly recommended for its ability to tell a relevant and emotional story well.

A captivating musical play which you very much should find now.

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 14th January 2025 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.

Dear Evan Hansen is on stage at Royal & Derngate until Saturday, 18th January 2025.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets, see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Mark Brenner


Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Immune by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The cover note for the script of Oladipo Agboluaje's Immune describes it as "a challenging science fiction play with a large cast", and the word challenging in this case is not a lie. This is a fast paced, multi-cast changing script which leaves little room for error for its young cast in the performance. If the script isn't enough to handle for the young performers, director Christopher Elmer-Gorry and designer Carl Davies have made the situation even more complex for the actors with the set and stage work. Having to manhandle great panels on wheels and a huge cube, which also splits in two occasionally, during scene changes requires skill, coordination and cooperation of a high level. As if all this is not enough, the actual story is epic enough for the relatively small stage of the Royal. Attempting to form an apocalyptic world (albeit only happening in Plymouth) offers challenges in itself, but Agboluaje's script does that in a sort of apocalypse in the teac...

Review of Flashdance - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

For the second week running, the Milton Keynes Theatre is overrun by a wave of eighties nostalgia as Selladoor's production of Flashdance The Musical follows hot on the heels of An Officer and a Gentlemen. However, is it nice to have more of that classic decade upon the stage? The answer mostly is yes, despite the fact that the story driving Flashdance is that light and flimsy at times, you just have to sit back and watch the dancing and the bright colours to get you through. Welding genius, Alex Owens, has her sights set for a bigger thing beyond this tired and struggling factory in Pittsburgh.  Hoping to take her dancing beyond Harry's bar, she plans to make big, via Shipley Dance Academy.  Then, also drifting into her life comes Nick Hurley, who initially unknown to her, happens to be the factory bosses son, the scene is set for romance. Flashdance has a generally excellent cast led with a tremendously good performance from Joanne Clifton as Alex Owens. Those famil...