Review: Rakas Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen – this autumn’s must-see musical

Last Saturday, I was at the Helsinki City Theatre’s Beloved Evan Hansen musical with a friend. I wanted to go to the show pretty much open-minded. The basic idea was clear, but I tried to avoid reviews, video clips and other more detailed dives before my own experience. I thought that the performance must be nice, it’s just a shame that I felt tired and wondered how the almost three-hour performance would carry me to the end. But oh my, I worry in vain! This was a musical that everyone should go see, and now I’ll tell you why.

Dear Evan Hansen at the Helsinki City Theatre

First of all, this musical has been made together with young actors who are still in school or who have just graduated. In fact, the young actors who have already graduated are all graduates of this decade. Most of them have a strong background in musical theatre and such a passion for performing on stage that you can’t help but dive into the story. Steven Levenson , who is responsible for the screenplay, has crafted a story that is at the same time extremely harrowing, hilariously funny and recognizable on many levels for all of us.

The story is about a young high school student, Evan Hansen, a young person who is anxious about meeting people and social situations, and who has been given the task of writing letters of encouragement by a therapist. One such letter, which is not so encouraging, but on the contrary depressing and discouraged, with the opening words “Dear Evan Hansen”, then ends up in the pocket of the school’s raggar, another outsider and anxious about life, Connor Murphy. When Connor then commits suicide with the message still in his pocket, Evan is caught up in a complex cycle of lies, fiction and imagined reality.

From Broasway to Helsinki

Beloved Evan Hansen’s premiere was on Broadway in 2016, and it immediately won a bunch of Tony Awards and charmed its audience time and time again during its more than six years of rotation. It’s hard to believe that the Helsinki City Theatre’s version would lose anything to the original. The young actors in vocally extremely challenging roles bring realism and earthiness to the performance, which is often lacking in musicals. Every actor’s way of being and gesticulating, talking and singing (as always happens suddenly in musicals) is so natural and certain that it would be easy to believe what is happening. And that’s what makes this such a touching story.

In our performance, the role of Evan was led by Petja Pulkkinen, with Julius Suominen taking turns in the role. Evan, who falters in his speech, reflects physical uncertainty and anxiety and hopes for a chance, is a challenging character, and Pulkkinen plays the role wonderfully. In my own eyes, one of the bright stars of the performance is Niki Rautén, who leads the role of Connor, whose movement, gestures and voice illuminate the stage with such a presence that the branches are removed. I can’t wait to see what this actor will accomplish. Special mention also goes to Samuli Pajunen in the role of Jared, who elicited constant laughter from the audience and threw himself into his role wholeheartedly. There were no weak links in this play, but the strong working group and community spirit with which the musical has been built were conveyed to the audience.

Hit and sunk

Before half-time, I found myself holding back tears with all my might and thought that this was going to be a surprising night at the theatre. This is a musical that everyone should go see. It does not underline, focus on clichés or dramatize otherwise dramatic topics, but takes them as part of this flow of life that we are walking, tells about them with touching and skillfully performed music and sinks deep into the soul.

Dear Evan Hansen reminds us how important it is for a person to be met, to belong to something, and what better place than a theatre audience laughing, crying and standing ovation. Performances are available until next spring – so do yourself a favor and get your tickets here asap. I promise you won’t regret it.