Dear Evan Hansen – Review – Grand Opera House, York
By Rachel Howard, June 2025
Leaving Hull and heading over to York after a busy midweek day at work isn’t something I do very often. But tonight isn’t any normal night… Tonight I’m finally getting to see a show I have coveted for some time… Dear Evan Hansen.
Having been on the road for the last few months, the show is hitting the stage at the Grand Opera House, and then finishing in Edinburgh, so now really is my last chance to catch the current run.
I’m not sure I have ever had a show more recommended to me than Dear Evan Hansen. I even have friends who are musical theatre stars in their own right telling me it’s the best musical they have ever seen… so it’s fair to say my expectations are high, despite not knowing a huge amount about the storyline.
So it’s with great excitement that I take my seat in the stunning Grand Opera House (another first for me, and hopefully not my last visit!) for a full-to-capacity opening night.
The curtain raises on two American families, both typical yet dysfunctional in their own way. The Murphy family comprises of mother Cynthia (Helen Anker), father Larry (Richard Hurst), daughter Zoe (Lara Beth-Sas) and son Connor (Will Forgrave). Amongst the chaos of the morning breakfast routine, Connor is shown to be the “difficult” character – moody, refusing to go to school, hinting at being high on drugs… the family are clearly exasperated by him.
“Tears to my eyes”
Enter stage left the Hansens… mother Heidi (Alice Fearn) and son Evan (Ryan Kopel). Evan, like Connor, is angst ridden. But where Connor lets it out aggressively in fits of rage, Evan internalises his emotions, resulting in a nervous, depressed, socially awkward young man. The Hansen family has a different dynamic – a stressed single mother, trying to show her love for her son but fighting against the pressure of work and law school. But the common theme between the families is immediately clear to see… a total lack of knowledge or understanding from the parents regarding their children’s pain.
From this opening scene alone, I am blown away by the talent on display. Ryan Kopel as Evan is quite honestly the finest example of stage acting I have ever seen. His characterisation has clearly been deeply researched, and his embodiment of the emotionally tormented Evan is breathtakingly good. The nervous ticks, the shaking voice, the awkward hand gestures… it’s all there. Whether he is basing his account on personal experience or not, I’m not sure. But either way, his portrayal is so authentic and accurate it brings tears to my eyes within the first ten minutes.
The anguish of Connor and Evan comes to a head when we learn of Connor’s suicide. Having never actually been friends, Connor’s family are quick to presume Evan was his best friend when they find a letter that looks to have been written by Connor to Evan. Unbeknown to them, Evan wrote the letter to himself, as instructed by his therapist. “Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day because…” is his therapist’s idea to boost his confidence and start each day on a positive note.
“Light relief and humour”
Lacking the confidence to set Connor’s family straight, Evan finds himself in an entanglement of lies, each one snowballing into the other. But with the lies comes a new found popularity at school. The students are all desperate to somehow link themselves to Connor (despite never bothering with him when he was alive), and the thought of Evan having a secret friendship with the deceased does wonders for his acceptance at school.
But of course, as we are all taught as children, lies will always catch up with you, and of course they do for Evan too. But what damage has been done in the process?
Dear Evan Hansen is not an easy watch at times, it deals with very sensitive issues – loneliness, mental-health struggles, suicide, grief, family dynamics and bullying. There won’t be anyone in the audience who can’t relate to something in the story. But that’s not to say there isn’t light relief and humour, and the first half in particular is full of laugh-out-loud moments and toe-tapping musical numbers.
‘Waving Through A Window’ and ‘Sincerely, Me’ are two of my favourite upbeat tracks, with the latter showcasing the comical character of Jared (Tom Dickerson) perfectly. Playing the family friend who helps Evan orchestrate his elaborate lies, Jared has the audience in stitches more than once, and his physical comedy is second to none. The soundtrack is entirely original, composed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (who also wrote ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman) and the cast absolutely do the songwriting justice with superb vocals that move seamlessly from gentle vulnerability to powerful, gut-wrenching sincerity.
“Understanding and kindness”
The set is a masterpiece created by Morgan Large. Cleverly using mirrors, projections and screens, the background is often used to display the social-media posts that haunt Evan – yet another glimpse into the strains of a modern-day childhood. Lighting by Matt Daw goes hand-in-hand with the set to bring Evan’s solitary world to life. It’s a creative triumph.
But music, set and lighting aside, the real achievement here is that of the writing and the cast. Based on a book by Steven Levenson, this cast manage to immerse the audience in a modern-day tale of human angst that is raw, authentic and incredibly special. The moral of the story is one of human interaction and how important that is in an increasingly digital and isolated world. Be that family interaction, friendships or relationships – the key is honest communication, understanding and kindness. It’s a tale as old as time, but one that has never been more prevalent, particularly in the difficult world of men’s mental health. In my humble opinion, it would be an excellent addition to the national curriculum for teenagers. It’s that good and that significant.
Dear Evan Hansen, today was an amazing day because…
… we got to hear your story in an unforgettable night of top-class entertainment at the Grand Opera House, which will stay with me for a long time to come.
Bravo!
‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is at York Grand Opera House until 28th June
images: Marc Brenner
After studying English at university and having a lifelong love of writing, Rachel, a full-time editor, came to On Yorkshire in 2017 where she started off reviewing theatre productions in and around the East Yorkshire area. That love of theatre soon expanded into hotels, restaurants and travel, not to mention becoming one of On Yorkshire’s resident beauty editors, reviewing the latest products, spas and treatments. Rachel loves to sample the very best Yorkshire and the UK have to offer in order to bring you the low down on the high life!
