St. Louis Review: "Dear Evan Hansen" National Tour

Erin Karll, Contributing Critic - St. Louis

erin karll

Sat, Oct 26, 4:54 PM (4 days ago)

to me

Today is going to be a good day and here is why...the national tour of the Tony Award winning musical Dear Evan Hansen stops at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St Louis. The show follows high school senior Evan Hansen as he navigates life after tragedy and lies. Suddenly popular for all the wrong reasons he struggles to find the truth and himself.


The show is an amazing piece of work. Beautifully written and expertly performed. There is some serious subject matter like drug use, bullying, and suicide. These topics are presented with truth and compassion by the talented cast.

Steven Christopher Anthony (Evan Hansen) held the large audience in the palm of his hand from the opening line. The crowd was alive with the nervous energy we felt from ‘Evan’. Noah Kieserman (Connor Murphy) shows amazing depth going from villain to guiding point many where characters center themselves. Connor’s sister and Evan’s crush Zoe Murphy, played by Stephanie La Rochelle, is a power house showing fully the struggle of grieving and forgiveness. Family friend Jared Kleinman, played by Alessandro Constantinople, and close acquaintance Alysa Beck, played by Ciara Alyse Harris, bring much needed humor to the story, but are not just comic relief. And while the show does focus on the teens lives the adults shine and share amazing moments of chemistry. John Hemphill and Claire Rankin play Connor and Zoe’s parents Larry and Cynthia Murphy. The energy and pain that Hemphill and Rankin share with the audience is impressive. Jessica E Sherman plays Evan’s mom Heidi Hansen with such truth. The scene ‘So Big/ So Small’ was a powerful moment between Anthony and Sherman.

A stand out moment for me was ‘Waving Through A Window’ to see the set in full effect and the energy the cast had. Also ‘Sincerely, Me’ because it was fun, and let the audience know it was ok to laugh. Anthony, Kieserman, and Constantinople were so in sync in this scene it was great to watch.

The set (David Korins), costume (Emily Rebholz), and projections (Peter Negroni) bring you into the world of Evan so clearly. Many scenes include ‘windows’ where social media messages scroll across the stage take the show to another level of connection and emotions. The lighting had some troubles on my viewing. Some spots were missed and the finale was literally stunning and tear inducing due to the brightness.

I would recommend this show for those who like modern shows with deep messages and tough subject matters. If you’ve ever felt forgotten or misunderstood there is a scene for you in many parts of this show. It truly is an amazing piece of art that will have you thinking and feeling uplifted also at the end.

Dear Evan Hansen will run at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St Louis Missouri until November 3rd. For ticket and show information visit fabulousfox.com . For information on the digital lotto visit dearevanhansen.com