Review of 1/24/19 DEH National Tour at The Paramount Theatre
because ya boi has some THOUGHTS
NOAH KIESERMAN MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COST.
So soft. So good. His Evan was so sympathetic and sweet, and you could really tell he was just a lost kid who wanted to belong. In the beginning, you also got the feeling he was really trying to be more positive since his fall.
Ticks were played effortlessly but were every bit as endearing. His voice was that of an angel, and every note of every song he sang was heavenly. I can’t say enough good things about him.
Something that stuck out to me the whole show,,,,,,,,how small Jared was compared to everyone else,,,,,,,,,,,,
Well he came to stagedoor and yknow
I think we’re about the same height.
Jared was,,,,so,,,precious??? Full of energy and just overall very playful. Not unlike a puppy. Nothing he said really came across like he was trying to be hurtful. Moreso, it sounded like he was trying to take a running start to jumping into friendships that he hadn’t built a foundation to yet - “inside jokes” between he and Evan that only he (quite possibly unknowingly) was in on. Even with Connor’s “school shooter chic” it sounded like he was trying to appeal to Connor’s dark sense of humor, and though it backfired, even “you’re such a freak!” sounded light hearted and sarcastic.
Connor,,,,,my boy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the love of my life,,,,,,,,
Marrick is SO much different than Mike. And I loved it so. Much. I can’t even say one of them were better because the character came across as something so new. Whereas Mike’s Connor came across as sharp and paranoid in the performance I saw, Marrick’s was defeated and utterly exhausted. He’d given up. But there was still some light trying to shine through - in the computer lab, for example. Like his curiosity got the best of him and he reached out thinking, ‘Well, what if?’ But the letter of course changed that. And if he didn’t think he could be anymore broken, Evan proved him wrong. He might’ve even been impressed. He sounded like he was sobbing as he ran off stage.
DEH novel spoiler: THIS was the Connor who had been preoccupied with Miguel all morning and texted him “I miss you” after running off.
**Imaginary Connor was also different. He was a much gentler conscious to Evan, making it super complimentary to Noah’s performance.
Because of this though, it makes it a bit difficult to imagine a relationship where he was “abusive” to Zoe because Maggie’s portrayal is so cold and tense. The way I interpret it was this: With Mike and Laura, things were volatile between Connor and Zoe. Connor, being constantly paranoid, might lash out any minute, and it could likely fall on Zoe since she was the closest, ‘weaker’ person. Outside the home, Zoe still tried to be The Good Girl to make up for it, anything to show she was NOT like him.
With Marrick and Maggie - Connor was depressed. If the frays were splitting on the rope he was holding on to, he figured he was too far gone to try to stop them. The only people still arguing about it were Cynthia and Larry, so evidently they put much of their time, attention, and effort into “fixing” him. Zoe saw this and became bitter, jealous. Instead of taking it up with their parents, she blames Connor.
Another thing that stood out, though it was probably a slip of the tongue:
In the script, and in the Broadway performance, right before Word’s Fail, Cynthia says to Larry “the first time he threatened to kill himself-“
In this performance it became “the first time he TRIED to kill himself-“
It actually wouldn’t surprise me that tour Larry would still regard it with “He’s just doing it for attention”. In the first act, he was so stoic and out of touch that for a while had me thinking “Ok this really is a guy I do not like”. But then,,,,,To Break in a Glove happened, and the only place I wanted to be at that moment was in that garage. Classic dad-joke, BBQ grillmaster Larry Murphy, ladies and gents. Also, at one point while he was talking to Evan, he dropped the baseball. Another point during the song, he did some extravagant baseball throwing/basketball hoop throw with a towel into a bucket. I loved him.
I also loved,,,,Cynthia. My mother,,,,,
She tries so hard, but it’s clear the toll that raising Connor took on her. When keeping up appearances, she was basically a robot with all the traits of a 50s housewife. When she stopped to grieve, the whole world stopped with her.
A moment I looked for was her miming in Connor’s room during Requiem. On Broadway, JLT took Connor’s pillow and carefully cradled it like it was a newborn baby. Christiane, on the other hand, stroked the pillow a few times, smelled it, then pulled it into her arms, desperately rocking it with her whole body.
I want to say so much about our other favorite mom, Heidi, because she was absolutely fantastic. The thing is though, she was so much like Rachel Bay Jones in a lot of ways that at times I was like,,,,,unconvinced this wasn’t actually her. But like everyone else, there was a difference in portrayal. When RBJ interacted with Noah Galvin on Broadway, she had more of a snarky, sharp-wit attitude that complimented their performance together. Jessica’s Heidi, when paired with Noah Kieserman, was more of a nurturing presence. Even if Evan didn’t see it because she was away so much, this Heidi was without a doubt her kid’s number one fan, loved everything about him, and would do anything for him - overlooking the fact that what he needed most wasn’t just going to be solved by financial stability.
Last and most certainly not least - Alana. Phoebe’s Alana ALSO must be protected at all cost. She wasn’t robotic at all, hardly rigid - on the contrary, she had no problem expressing herself, being vulnerable to Evan, and overall, was much more believable as a person. Admittedly, Alana has been my least favorite character in the past, but in last night’s performance, she was an utter joy.
In my general opinion, in conclusion: if you feel like you’re settling by seeing the tour instead of the broadway show - my dude, my guy, you will want for nothing 👏🏻
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