Dear Evan Hansen at the Eccles

I really wanted to see Dear Evan Hansen so, even though I knew it was coming to the Eccles Theatre this season, I decided that I didn't want to wait that long and took a road trip to Las Vegas to see it at the Smith Center last year.  I thought the message that you are not alone was extremely powerful and I fell in love with the music.  I couldn't wait to see it again!  I had the chance last night and I loved it just as much!  Evan Hansen (Stephen Christopher Anthony) suffers from anxiety and feels insignificant and all alone ("Waving Through a Window").  Heidi (Jessica E. Sherman), his busy single mother, doesn't know what to do to help him ("Anybody Have a Map?").  His one friend, Jared (Alessandro Costantini), is only nice to him so his parents will pay for his car insurance and he is too scared to talk to Zoe (Stephanie La Rochelle), the girl he likes.  His therapist encourages him to write letters to himself to build his self confidence but Connor (Noah Kieserman), a deeply troubled young man, intercepts one of his letters from the printer because it mentions his sister Zoe.  When Connor takes his own life, his parents, Cynthia (Claire Rankin) and Larry (John Hemphill), find the letter and, assuming it is a suicide note written to Evan, reach out to him.  To comfort them, he pretends that he and Connor were friends ("For Forever").  When Cynthia and Larry press for more information, Evan asks Jared to create a history of emails between him and Connor ("Sincerely, Me").  Larry and Zoe struggle to reconcile Evan's version of Connor with the difficult son and brother they knew ("Requiem").  Zoe tells Evan that the only nice thing Connor ever said to her was in his suicide note, which Evan wrote ("If I Could Tell Her").  Alana (Ciara Alyse Harris), another lonely student at school, wants Evan to do more to keep Connor's memory alive ("Disappear") so they create The Connor Project.  Evan gives a heartfelt speech about loneliness ("You Will Be Found") at a memorial assembly for Connor and it goes viral.  He begins a relationship with Zoe ("Only Us") and bonds with her family ("To Break in a Glove") to the exclusion of Emily, Jared, and Alana ("Good For You").  When the truth is finally revealed ("Words Fail"), Evan realizes that he was never really alone ("So Big/ So Small").  Evan was played by the same actor that I saw in Las Vegas and I found him to be incredibly endearing.  His portrayal of a boy who doesn't feel like he fits in made me laugh and cry.  My favorite song from this show has always been "You Will Be Found" but last night I was particularly struck by "Waving through a Window" because I think we have all felt like outsiders at one time or another and the words to this song are so poignant.  I really like the use of social media, which is depicted on large moving panels, because, even though the world seems increasingly connected, so many people struggle to find a connection.  I love this musical so much and I highly recommend seeing it if you have the opportunity.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre through March 14 (go here for tickets).