I’ve heard some questionable things recently, so, in response, I’ve compiled a list of some of the actual, professional reviews of the critically-acclaimed musical Dear Evan Hansen!
amNewYork wrote… On the show: “a smart, deeply felt and altogether extraordinary new musical” On Pasek and Paul: “a young and extremely promising songwriting duo, have crafted a haunting soft rock score that is neatly integrated into Steven Levenson’s captivating book” On Ben Platt: “[he] is giving one of the most vulnerable and shaded performances you’ve ever seen. He is terrified, enigmatic and completely believable.”
The Chicago Tribune wrote… On the show: “For everyone, it will offer at least fleetingly renewed motivation to power down, disengage and look up and out, searching for the real.”On Ben Platt: “the astonishing star of the extraordinary new Broadway musical” “[he] is as profound and heart-breaking a portrayal of a 17-year-old as one might ever hope to see.”
Daily Beast wrote… “Dear Evan Hansen is beautiful to look at it, slickly directed, and moving, but also biting and subversive—and so may have more to say about teen suicide, parenting, and internet lunacy than the most finely worded op-ed column.”
Deadline wrote… On the show: “exquisite new musical” and “an intimate show with a gigantic heart” with “beautifully integrated musical supervision” and “spot-on costumes” with a score that “soars”. On Ben Platt: “Platt seems more to inhabit Evan than to merely portray him. The halting delivery of soulful lines, the arms that flutter out in birdlike spasms as if grasping for logic or reason and, most of all, with a voice that rises from assured tenor to plaintive falsetto all conspire to bring this character to life.”
Entertainment Weekly wrote… “Leaving a new musical with a great song or two running through your head is a rare but exciting thing. Leaving with about 10 great songs running through your head is pretty much unheard of. But that’s the power of Dear Evan Hansen.” On the music: “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!).” On Ben Platt: “It also doesn’t hurt that Platt possesses, on top of a powerhouse voice, a seemingly limitless reserve of charm.” Also: “And don’t be surprised if, to one degree or another, you see yourself in Evan.”
The Hollywood Reporter wrote… “A smart, soulful depiction of teen solitude graced by both gentle humor and raw feeling, this original musical graduates to Broadway after being honed in two earlier productions, scaling up its physical dimensions without sacrificing its piercing intimacy.” On Ben Platt: “Platt’s periodic flights in the number into the lightest of falsettos make it almost unbearably tender, and the actor’s vocal technique is as noteworthy as his wrenching honesty in the role.” On the music: “beautifully it captures the peaks and valleys of adolescence, in the thoughtful lyrics and in the music itself, given expressive orchestrations by Tony winner Alex Lacamoire” On the book: “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.” On the ensemble: “Across the board, the ensemble is superb, each of them registering rich moments of emotional complexity.” On Rachel Bay Jones: “the show’s secret weapon, matching Platt all the way, is the wonderful Jones as Evan’s frayed but loving mother. Her mortification when she discovers the degree to which her role has been usurped by the Murphys is devastating, as is her recognition of her own failure to see the depths of Evan’s unhappiness.”
Huffington Post wrote… “Don’t ask questions, just go see Dear Evan Hansen.” “[It] is absorbing, wrenching, heart-breaking, and at the same time exhilarating.” “This is a show that captures your attention immediately, enchants you with its characters and its songs, pulls you through emotional turbulence, and leaves you cheering and wanting to go back for more.” On the ensemble: “extraordinary acting company’s continued refinements and their apparent love and respect for the characters they inhabit.” On the music: “The songs are not merely tuneful and funny and touching; Pasek and Paul can plumb the inner depths of their characters and rip through emotions in words and music.” On the book: “[There’s] impressive book which tackles a difficult subject with warmth and consistent humor.” On Ben Platt: “[he] is altogether extraordinary in what is one of the most unconventionally difficult characters we’ve seen in a Broadway musical.“ The ensemble: “are universally excellent.”
Newsday wrote… “The show is superb — original, sensitive, provocative, endearing…[it’s an] important and seriously delightful addition to the 21st century musical.” On Ben Platt: “multilayered, genuine, star-making performance” The set “takes asymmetrical screens with internet projections far beyond cliche into something new and elegant.”
NY Daily News wrote… On the show: “thrilling and unforgettable” “original and up-to-the-minute” “The show’s so satisfying it deserves a thank you note.”
The New York Times wrote… “The rare Broadway musical not derived from or inspired by some other source, which is refreshing in itself.” On the show: “gorgeous heartbreaker of a musical” “never have I heard so many stifled sobs and sniffles in the theater”. On Ben Platt: “[he gives] a performance that’s not likely to be bettered on Broadway this season” “remarkable performance”. On the score: “haunting” On the direction: “superb” On Rachel Bay Jones: “immensely touching”. On the Michael Park and Jennifer Laura Thompson: “likewise excellent”. On Laura Dreyfuss: “sensitive, altogether lovely performance”.
NJ.com wrote… “[a show] with a critically-acclaimed run at Washington’s Arena Stage, followed by an equally acclaimed run off-Broadway last spring”
The Stage wrote… “How thrilling it is that Broadway, a place largely turned into a destination to make money not art, is still capable of producing shows that are genuinely bold, daring and confrontational.” “It’s a powerful, intimate, original, and redemptive story…[a] must-see”. On the book: “darkly textured and deeply nuanced”. On the music: “provocative…drenched in feeling and fearless commitment”.
Vulture wrote… On the show: “Indefinable”. On Ben Platt: “His sentences seem to die of embarrassment on their way out. His right hand operates independently from his body, as if it were the only confident part of him. (He sometimes talks into it, too, as if it were an ear.) Plucking at a cast where it touches his skin, he echoes the cringe induced when his mother tries to buck him up with an optimistic catchphrase or a chuck on the shoulder. That he does all this while also tracing the enormous arc of the character’s through-line, and singing beautifully through many ugly tears, makes the achievement even more astonishing. I would think it would be impossible not to care deeply about his Evan, or at least not to want to give him a hankie. “
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