Dear Evan Hansen (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"The marvelous young actor Ben Platt is giving a performance that’s not likely to be bettered on Broadway this season. What’s more, this gorgeous heartbreaker of a musical has grown in emotional potency during its journey to the big leagues...The musical finds endless nuances in the relationships among its characters...Under the superb direction of the veteran Michael Greif, the show has been subtly refined, its brasher comedy softened, and the performances have grown in delicacy."
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"Platt is giving one of the greatest leading male performances I’ve ever seen in a musical, and the thrillingly modern and moving 'Dear Evan Hansen' is worthy of it...The musical benefits mightily from Greif’s dynamic direction, Korins’s vivid set design, Nigrini's cascading projections and an excellent cast...Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s score brims with tuneful and thoughtful songs...And Levenson’s book is unfailingly smart...'Dear Evan Hansen' must be seen to be believed."
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"So fine in its craft and rich in its gathering of themes that it rewards being seen again—and again...Platt imbues the character with so much pathos and lively detail that he succeeds as the story’s engine despite being almost pathologically passive...That Levenson has been able to find spots for humor at all in this grippingly sad story, and that Pasek and Paul have been able to turn those opportunities into songs of comic relief is a sign of the size of the ideas in play."
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"What's perhaps most distinctive about Pasek and Paul's melodic emo-pop score is how beautifully it captures the peaks and valleys of adolescence, in the thoughtful lyrics and in the music itself...Playwright Steven Levenson matches the musical components beat for beat in his terrific book, which sets up with persuasive conviction what could easily have been a contrived premise...Across the board, the ensemble is superb, each of them registering rich moments of emotional complexity."
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"It’s not simply that the songs are tuneful. It’s that they have a way of instantly piercing your heart and burrowing into your consciousness, while also illuminating character and propelling the plot (no small achievement!)...Credit librettist Steven Levenson for creating such a believable young character, from the anxiety meds to the self-deprecating dialogue. It also doesn’t hurt that Platt possesses, on top of a powerhouse voice, a seemingly limitless reserve of charm."
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"Not since 'Next to Normal' has a score tapped so deeply into the troubled psyche of its needy protagonist...The lyrics go beyond the spoken thought and reach for the unspoken feelings hiding behind the words. Better yet, there’s not a hint of sentimentality...Under the thoughtful direction of Greif, Platt goes beyond physical specificity to get under Evan’s skin and into his unsettled mind. And the introspective, gentle score becomes the language of his troubled thoughts and yearnings."
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"It’s smartly crafted, emotionally open-hearted and ideally cast. What’s more, it’s pitched to and has been embraced by millennials...yet its appeal is universal...Michael Greif has staged 'Dear Evan Hansen' with fluid, fast-moving simplicity...The score is not quite as strong as Steven Levenson’s ingenious book...Still, the songs work on their own terms, and the book is strong enough that it could be done on its own as a play...The best musical to open on Broadway since 'Hamilton.'"
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"The score by Pasek and Paul is packed with engaging tunes and insightful lyrics. The book by Levenson portrays teen angst taken beyond the normal boundaries with compelling dignity...Platt plays the title role in a movingly sensitive, career-making performance...Platt seems more to inhabit Evan than to merely portray him...The score soars, bringing us along with it. 'Dear Evan Hansen' is an intimate show with a gigantic heart."
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"'Historic' is an adjective I’ve rarely used to describe a performance, but a review that does not invoke it for Ben Platt’s incandescent turn in the ravishingly bittersweet 'Dear Evan Hansen' would be doing it less than justice...Under the crackerjack stewardship of director Michael Greif, the cast of eight guides us with a gentle deftness...The delight here is that Pasek, Paul and Levenson do understand how to make this seemingly unmusical idea sing, and sing grandly."
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"Platt's performance...is as profound and heartbreaking a portrayal of a 17-year-old as one might ever hope to see. It is the heart of a superbly crafted and performed show that is unafraid of complexity and ambiguity...This plot, which rarely strains credulity, brings up a veritable plethora of people in pain, and Pasek and Paul have penned a banquet of ballads of anguish and confusion, but they somehow avoid sentimental exploitation."
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"Platt nails each shifting mood and tone as a socially inept outcast. Original and up-to-the-minute, the musical has a lot to say—about parents and children, social media, and more...Stirring ballads and rousing group songs in the vibrant, varied score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ooze emotions. Director Michael Greif excels at guiding actors through complex stories—and his work has never been better...The show's so satisfying it deserves a thank-you note."
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"A smart, deeply felt and altogether extraordinary new musical...Pasek and Paul have crafted a haunting soft rock score that is neatly integrated into Levenson’s captivating book. Greif presents a tight and compelling production built around finely-textured ensemble acting and a seamless visual design of shifting panels and floating video imagery. Platt is giving one of the most vulnerable and shaded performances you’ve ever seen."
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"Trensch claims the role in a unique way - adding nervous tics and vocal inflections that allow us to see a different if nonetheless equally compelling star turn...Happily, the rest of the cast stayed on and the performances have deepened believe it or not...But let’s not forget the humor, which has only become more pointed and rich...'Dear Evan Hansen' will touch you in ways you probably never expected."
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"Ben Platt is stripped down to his emotional skivvies for us voyeurs to judge, gawk at, and pity. His breathtaking performance in the show's title role is just one of the reasons Pasek, Paul, and Levenson's new musical moves audiences to their feet before the lights even come down...This musical offers a truly 21st-century story...The composers strike a balance between substance and popular appeal with memorable melodies and character-driven lyrics."
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"With Taylor Trensch...the character is decidedly less lovable and that's a very effective take. Trensch is certainly a fine actor and singer, and audiences are sure to admire the strength he brings to the role...This Evan has constructed thicker protective barriers; not just between him and the other characters, but between him and the audience as well...This realistic approach that requires the audience to work harder to feel empathy is a daring move."
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"The whole sorry story is treated by the authors with a remarkable double vision, keeping us engaged with Evan as he careens ever closer to disaster...The songs similarly combine real feeling with sharp-eyed observation as they briskly move the story along...Greif's staging is both well-paced and nuanced, never losing sight of the heartbreak at the story's center; he has also assembled a cast of performers who wear their characters like old clothes."
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"If I'm not quite prepared to say that Platt is giving the best performance I've ever seen a male actor give in a musical, it's darn close—undoubtedly in the top five. Alas, too much of the rest of 'Evan Hansen' fails to ascend to Platt's exalted level...Fancy staging can't easily conjure electricity from no component materials, and, compelling though Levenson's writing may be, it cries out for a charge Pasek and Paul simply do not provide...Platt, though, provides all he can and then some."
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"This isn’t your usual Broadway musical–it’s better! It’s funny, sad, tragic and filled with great heart. This is a powerful story of a young, high-school misfit played by the remarkable Ben Platt, whose physical and emotionally nuanced performance is so compelling and sensitive that one is in awe...Michael Greif helms the cast with a magical directorial hand...Many Tony nominations and expected awards for this one!!"
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"With its original team back for the move, it's settled very nicely into the Music Box. The staging has been expanded to fit the larger stage and theater, happily without succumbing to the over amplification, an all-too-common feature of big Broadway musicals. Ben Platt, who was such a terrific Evan last spring, is even better...The rest of the cast is again excellent...Given all of the above, everything I said when I reviewed the show last May still holds."
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"‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is a show that holds you tight with its honesty of story told in a way that delights you to your very toes. Every aspect of what you see, hear and feel hums in perfect harmony throughout the piece…Writer Steven Levenson has given us a story that could be told around a dinner table right now...Two hours and twenty-five minutes fly by and this musical poo-pooer wished there had been more."
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"Librettist Steven Levenson’s scenario is engaging, once you’ve suspended your disbelief about its more implausible components...Greif helps bring out some brighter undertones to the story during Act I, though the much-darker Act 2 at a certain point lapses into an unbroken orgy of tortured emotions. The songs, by Ben Pasek and Justin Paul, have the poppy-folky sound of a lot of contemporary musicals...The cast of eight does solid work."
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"'Dear Evan Hansen' has not lost any of its power and tension. It soars with an intense beauty that still captures our hearts and plays havoc with it all at the same time...Not much has changed with 'Dear Evan Hansen' beyond a tightening of its components. Visually it’s as perfect and awe-inspiring as it was Off-Broadway. Maybe even more so...I’m not sure if I will ever feel completely content with the final moments, but all in all, 'Dear Evan Hansen' delivers us a deeply felt rich story."
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"Suffused with narrative purpose and emotional impact, the lyrics of the songs crack open each character allowing us to know their real fears and worries…Platt is equally riveting whether singing Evan’s pent-up agony or walking in his anxiety-prone shoes…The book nicely balances some of the darker themes against a comedic lightness…Because so much of the musical moves with careful elegance, some bald plot machinations stand out in contrast."
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"Rarely does a show come along that sits in the pit of my stomach, evoking those intense waves of emotion that come at life-altering moments...Levenson’s book offers just enough twists to keep the audience engaged without diverting into too many subplots. His success is in the development of fully realized, nuanced characters...Ultimately it’s the ensemble of eight actors that delivers the impact of 'Dear Evan Hansen.' as well as a message of hope that we could all use right now."
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"Heart-stirring and often shattering. But it’s not just the show’s universal and topical subject matter, smarty explored by Steven Levenson’s mostly well-written book or Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s lovely, deeply felt score, that lends the work such pathos. What makes 'Evan Hansen' so special, and oddly lovable, is the brave and extraordinarily raw performance by Ben Platt...In the end, 'Dear Evan Hansen' is both a must-see musical and a tribute to the singular talents of its rising star."
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"'Dear Evan Hansen' has changed now that it’s on Broadway, in ways that make it an even more affecting musical. Ben Platt’s performance, impressive from the get-go, is even better...The transfer feels seamless. The unchanged score holds up, comprised of the same tuneful and moving songs...All give superb performances. Platt has toned down his nervousness – he fidgets less – which makes his performance all the more credible, all the more heartbreaking."
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"With its near perfect score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul...Subtle direction by Michael Grief, combined with a layered and truthful book by Steven Levenson, it has Tony Awards written all over it. Add to that the winning performances by the cast, especially Ben Platt, this musical will get under your skin and speak to you in so many ways...Here is an original musical that didn’t skip any steps, wraps its audience in its arms and allows the music, the story and the characters to do their jobs."
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"It’s a shame that a late and sizable script shortcoming lowers the rank of this tuner from surpassing musical treat to compromised excellence...The fair approach is to rave about 'Dear Evan Hansen‘s' outstanding elements, starting with Platt’s star-making performance. Surely, too, the place to start is with Levenson’s original book...Bolstered by Pasek and Paul’s energetic music...They all lack the courage of their dramatic convictions, and thus contrive for Evan an unearned redemption."
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"A major musical on Broadway that deserves to find a new audience...The entire show is marked by creativity both in staging and performance. Platt is outstanding throughout in the title role of the production, which has a clever book by Levenson and involving music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul...Grief has directed with expert meshing of the show’s many ingredients...Not only an enjoyable show, but an admirable one that bears repeat viewing to absorb all of its energy and imagination."
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"The show is superb—original, sensitive, provocative, endearing—about so many other knowing and loving things that it’s even possible to overlook the unearned happy ending...Everyone is a fully developed person in Levenson’s smart book, and the clever, sympathetic songs by Pasek and Paul have a pop intimacy that challenges expansive vocal ranges without seeming to show off. The production by director Greif brings out the real-life depth in the eight exhilarating actors."
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"What Pasek and Paul, and Levenson, who wrote the book, do is bravely revel in dramatic perversity and a much gnarlier set of emotional and cultural truths...There are some brilliant songs as this insanity unfolds...'Dear Evan Hansen' doesn’t do the obvious. Rather, it addresses, inconclusively, more complex questions over the meaning and importance of truth and significance of memory...'Dear Evan Hansen' is beautiful to look at it, slickly directed, and moving, but also biting and subversive."
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"A winning, insightful, and totally of-the-moment teen dramedy for the digital age. If its 'Heathers' meets 'Ordinary People' vibes don’t always combine in perfect harmony, its humor and extreme heart are sure strike chords with viewers of all walks...Director Greif does expert work in familiar territory...Pasek and Paul’s score is lyrical and emotionally rich, with an emo-pop, singer-songwriter feel that’s perfectly matched with the story, and offers Platt in particular many moments to shine."
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"The script ultimately backs off the issues it raises in the service of a happy ending...The evening is seldom lifted by the songs, which, with several notable exceptions, tend to a bland sameness, especially lyrically. And the direction, by Michael Greif, seems at times wrongheaded, better suited to a bigger story...When 'Dear Evan Hansen' is involving, as it certainly is at times, the great share of the credit goes to Platt and his prize-worthy performance."
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"While maintaining that improbable balance between pathos and audacious irreverence for over two hours, director Michael Greif expertly sets forth an intricately crafted plot...Benj Pasek and Justin Paul also make the familiar sound fresh by blending rock, country and folk rhythms...More remarkable still is the philosophical depth of Levenson’s book, which provocatively suggests a comforting illusion might be preferable to grim reality in the internet age."
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"A highly imaginative and moving musical…If anything, 'Dear Evan Hansen,' with the extraordinary Ben Platt in the title role, has grown in stature and lost none of the intimacy that made it so effective in the original…The material is well plotted, and it builds to a smashing climax which raises the stakes and gives Mr. Platt a chance to soar with eloquence…'Dear Evan Hansen' is a major contribution to musical theatre and the Broadway season."
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"On Broadway, 'Dear Evan Hansen' is creaming the competition, proving to be a thrillingly moving experience...A rivetingly dramatic study in ethics—at least until the somewhat pat ending—and it’s blessed with a rich feeling score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, which is easily their most mature and affecting work to date...Michael Greif directs persuasively...Ben Platt is a revelation, giving a star-making, richly sung performance."
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"With its wildly implausible story line and its repetitive score—I am mystified by the enthusiasm for it. Maybe the show's celebrants are responding to the creators' willingness to tackle such dark themes, or the admittedly hard-working performance of star Ben Platt. But ambitions can't disguise the fact that nothing about 'Dear Evan Hansen' makes very much sense...No actor could bring coherence to what, at its core, is a collection of teen angst cliches in search of a workable plot."
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"It is a musical of our time and for generations to come...Michael Grief has taken this complicated tale and directed it with the lightest of touches. He knows it’s a heady topic and he treats all the action and movements with the utmost respect. The book by Steven Levenson is brilliant; he combines teenage angst and pains with today’s social media and all its trappings. The score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul is a marvel."
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"Once in a while a new musical comes along with an original story, a book that exactly integrates songs, and characters who achieve emotional intimacy...Beautifully rendered through a smart, keen book by Steven Levenson, and music and lyrics with Sondheim-like sophistication laced with a pop-folk cool by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul...The tiny cast of eight is individually and collectively first rate."
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"The musical boasts a darkly textured and deeply nuanced book and provocative songs that are drenched in feeling and fearless commitment. It never sentimentalizes its subject, but feels constantly truthful...This show registers its emotions with a frank, fearless ambivalence. The tone of uncertainty and palpable unease is stunningly projected by Platt...There are equally impressive performances from the other seven actors in the tight ensemble of Greif's deeply felt production."
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"It’s Mr. Platt who earns the affectionate audience responses, not the character of Evan Hansen created in the one-note, one-dimensional pop tunes by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, or the unexceptional book by Steven Levenson that makes everyone sound like they’re reading from the cue cards on a television sitcom…It’s the kind of phony feel-good narrative that could bend toward parody and get boring fast. But thanks to Ben Platt, that possibility never comes up."
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"Intelligent, imaginative, and humane…If anything, Michael Greif's production has deepened its strongly rooted acting, while minor tweaks have tightened and tautened both Steven Levenson's script and the score…The parable, on its newly enlarged scale, continues to ring true, and happily, so does Platt's performance, which provokes empathic tears with the sparsest, most disciplined means. "
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"Although the show presents an ambiguously-disabled Evan Hansen, the character remains incredibly sympathetic...The score, while beautiful and full of belting and ballads, often falls flat, with all the songs sounding similar...A must-see. Go for the amazingly powerful and emotional acting performances or the beautiful ballads, stay for the poignant critique about technology and sympathy in the modern age."
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"An original, emotional, affecting musical, free of stunt casting, is on Broadway...Levenson's book is both funny and touching; Pasek and Paul's score features accessible pop and smart, raw lyrics that reveal depth of character. It's going to be a great day because Rachel Bay Jones knocks you out with her portrayal of a frazzled, trying mother, and because Ben Platt gives a stunning, star-making performance as the exposed nerve that is our title character...Platt is the real thing."
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"An exuberant, fresh, musical…The play gives a clear image of how humans can occupy center stage, even in a fast-changing and not altogether truth-speaking virtual world…The number that everyone will be humming is the show’s anthem, ‘You Will Be Found.’ When the crowded images disappear at an apple orchard that has become a memorial to the dead boy, the peaceful vision inspires hope, especially for the vibrant genre of musicals."
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"I was practically heaving with sobs by the end…Ben Platt is giving an extraordinary, star-making performance as Evan Hansen…His singing is first-rate, of course, but his complete immersion into this awkward, idiosyncratic kid is totally complete…The entire score is fantastic and I can't wait until I can get the cast album…The entire cast is incredibly wonderful…It made me think about so many things, alongside having the enjoyment of seeing a terrific piece of theater."
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"Full of heart, led by an extraordinary central performance from Ben Platt, and featuring a score of rapturous and rhapsodic joy, this is a wonderful, wonderful piece of theatre…It is splendid and moving, truthful and hopeful, tragic and humorous...There is not a single moment when energy or skill flags…'Dear Evan Hansen' is a masterpiece, a truly inspirational musical and a theatrical marvel...Completely different from, but ultimately better than, 'Hamilton.'"
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"An astonishingly moving new musical…Directed by Michael Greif with palpable sensitivity, Evan is brought to life onstage by Ben Platt, who gives an exhaustingly rich performance…Levinson’s book offers piercing insight into the practice of marketing off of personal tragedies…I was surprised by the speed at which the story wraps up at the conclusion, which felt like too neat and tidy of an ending...But any slight criticisms are soon forgotten in the wake of the importance of this musical."
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"Pasek and Paul's songs serve the characters, and the book brings the characters to a place where they can sing. They live harmoniously in the world of Levenson's book...The songs come from such a natural place and they grow out of the dialogue in the sense that you feel they're singing a conversation, not a song...In the hands of a less capable actor, Evan could have easily become a caricature or a joke, but Platt plays him with such honesty and humanity."
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"It’s a winner in every sense of the word. There is laughter and plenty of tears, soaring melodies, a brilliant scenic design and a message that teens and parents both will understand…Beautifully directed…With this performance, Platt will become a Broadway star. He may not have the most powerful voice, but it seems to be perfect for the role…The surrounding cast is excellent."
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“Maudlin and sentimental...One of the most ideologically backwards shows I’ve ever seen…A show that makes my flesh crawl with how ultimately harmfully it treats mental illness. However, at the center of this disaster is Ben Platt, who gives one of the most astonishingly good performances I’ve ever seen at the center of a musical. His performance is so extraordinary that the show not only becomes bearable, but actually required viewing.”
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"It’s tender and heartbreaking, but there’s not a single moment that feels preachy—instead, the story, from start to finish feels fully authentic, which makes the show’s messages really resonate...The show is anchored by Platt’s beautiful performance...He’s ably supported by Steven Levenson’s strong book, which capably navigates nuanced content, deft characterization, and hot-button issues without missing a step."
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"Delivers a classic Broadway theme of 'man vs. self' in a unique and updated way that is riveting, heartfelt, and immediate...This show is quite simply a brilliant piece of modern theater...Levenson’s book strikes me as a young Aaron Sorkin. It is quick-witted, purposeful, and insightful. The music and lyrics are all amazingly poignant...In the end, 'Dear Evan Hansen' will remind you that we all want something in life and that we all 'want to be found.'"
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