Theater Review: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Tour at The Bushnell

HARTFORD - The North American tour of “Dear Evan Hansen” has made its Hartford premiere at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. This beautifully moving musical runs at the Bushnell through April 3.

“Dear Evan Hansen,” the winner of 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical with music by Ben Pasek and Justin Paul, is called “the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.”

The trajectory of the show’s book written by Steven Levnson (“Fosse/Verdon”) includes a letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, and a life that Evan never dreamed he could have.The high school student is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in.

“Dear Evan Hansen” has struck a remarkable chord with audiences since it opened at the Music Box Theatre to rave reviews in December 2016 and I have wanted to see it since soon after.

The score by Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman”) simply sparkles when heard as part of the story, as opposed to on the cast album, which won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, or Sirius XM Broadway.

The direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal) is tight and moves at a good tempo for the story elements. While the show certainly is based on a lie that Evan gets caught up in by circumstance, it becomes something in which Evan does the wrong things for the right reasons. It also takes a strong look at trying to do the best we can when dealing with the mental health of teens who are struggling. Yes, these are adult actors portraying high school students, but I quickly got past it.

Sam Primack, the alternate Evan Hansen, who also understudies Connor Murphy and Jared Kleinman, appeared on opening night in the title role and nailed everything about it. Primack is a Phoenix, AZ native who appeared on Broadway in “Dear Evan Hansen” and was a 2017 Jimmy Award finalist. Stephen Christopher Anthony, 30, who was on Broadway in “Dear Evan Hansen” as the Evan understudy and in “Book of Mormon,” shares the title role.

Jessica E. Sherman plays Evan’s single mother Heidi Hansen, and was the original Heidi in Toronto’s “Dear Evan Hansen.” She sings the role beautifully.

Claire Rankin plays Connor’s mother Cynthia. The actress originated the role in the Canadian production and then joined the US National Tour. Understudy James Moye covered the role of Connor’s father Larry on opening night. Moye has appeared on Broadway in “Tootsie,” “Aladdin” and Off-Broadway in Pasek and Paul’s “Dogfight.”

Nikhil Saboo, who was on tour with the Angelica Company of Hamilton and in the original Broadway cast of Mean Girls, takes on the tough role of Connor. Stephanie La Rochelle, a CCMA award nominated singer-songwriter who appeared in the original Canadian production of this show plays Zoe, Connor’s sister. Alessandro Costantini from Sudbury, Ontario Canada, plays Evan’s “family friend” Jared Kleinman.

Alyse Harris, a Miami Florida native, and recent graduate of the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), portrays well the student Alana Beck.

Fun fact: The show’s now-iconic blue polo and arm cast are part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

The scenic design by David Korins is the perfect match for the cyber tone of the show, with
breathtaking lighting designed by Japhy Weideman and projection design by Peter Nigrini. This is nowhere more apparent than in the number “Waving Through a Window.”

The costume design by Emily Rebholz is contemporary and flattering, with hair design by David Brian Brown. The effective sound design by Nevin Steinberg worked well in the Bushnell.

Music supervision, orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire at times has hints of the music of “Next to Normal,” perhaps an homage to the musical about mental illness. The musicians seated on an elevated platform on the stage are led by Music Director Garret Healey.

“Dear Evan Hansen” is performed with one fifteen minute intermission. Tickets are available by visiting bushnell.org, calling (860) 987-5900, or by visiting The Bushnell box office at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford, CT.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theater reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theater venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theater news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theater reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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