Theater review: Despite its flaws, or maybe because of them, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is a show worth seeing

The 2016 Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” is a show that sparks debate.

Is it insightful, or glib, in its treatment of teen mental health? Does it succeed in its portrayal of families in crisis or does it fall short? Is it a searing commentary on the role of social media in young lives or does it miss the mark? Is it cynical or earnest?

The answer to all of those questions is yes.

The winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical and best score, “Dear Evan Hansen” is playing at the First Interstate Center for the Arts through Sunday, as part of the STCU Best of Broadway series. The story centers on the perpetually nervous Evan Hansen (Anthony Norman) as he is about to begin his senior year of high school. He shows up for the first day of school with his arm in a cast and zero friends.

Meanwhile, classmate Connor Murphy (August Emerson) has his own struggles. His mother cajoles him to go to school, and to not go to school stoned. His father seems mostly checked out, exasperated by a million failed attempts to fix Connor and his problem. His sister Zoe is frankly afraid of him.

After Connor takes his own life, his family comes to believe that Evan was Connor’s friend. Evan attempts to correct them, but their grief is overwhelming, and soon Evan just feeds into the lie, enjoying being the center of attention. Other students, including fellow outcast Alana (Micaela Lamas) and Jared (Pablo David Laucerica), Evan’s “family friend,” also spin their relationships to Connor, from Alana proclaiming Connor her “closest acquaintance” to Jared’s plan to sell buttons with Connor’s face on them in a ploy to make money.

Then Evan’s speech about Connor at a school assembly goes viral and sparks the launch of a project dedicated to preserving Connor’s memory.

It’s … a lot. And things quickly spin out of control.

It also sounds like a downer, but it’s not really. There are moments of heartfelt emotion, especially from Connor’s parents, played by Lili Thomas and Daniel Robert Sullivan, as they work through their confusion and grief. Evan’s mom, played by Coleen Sexton, is struggling too, juggling job and school and a kid who needs help. She is slow to realize what’s been happening with her son, and when she does, it’s heartbreaking.

“Dear Evan Hansen” benefits greatly from fantastic music. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who won an Oscar for best song for “City of Stars” from “La La Land” and a second Tony in 2020 for “A Strange Loop,” are at the top of their game in “Dear Evan Hansen.” Every song is catchy, every song is in service of the story, and every song succeeds in conveying the emotion it’s intended to.

Evan’s first big number, “Waving Through a Window,” lets us see and feel Evan’s anxiety, his sense of invisibility. “I try to speak, but nobody can hear,” he sings, “So I wait around for an answer to appear / While I’m watch, watch, watching people pass / I’m waving through a window, oh / Can anybody see, is anybody waving back at me?”

By the time we get to the Act I closer, “You Will Be Found,” Evan is being seen. He’s found his voice: “Even when the dark comes crashing through,” he sings, “When you need a friend to carry you/ And when you’re broken on the ground/You will be found.”

And there are so many other compelling songs. “Sincerely, Me,” “If I Could Tell Her,” “So Big/So Small” are all pitch-perfect and performed beautifully by a talented cast.

On Tuesday night, it was clear that Norman’s shoulders can carry the weight of this show, because it all rests on him. His Evan is nerdy and awkward, and it’s easy to feel bad for him, even though he is in a disaster of his own making. As the Murphys, Thomas and Sullivan were wonderful, with Thomas especially making us feel her grief. The scene “To Break in a Glove” is a lovely tender moment between Sullivan and Norman, with the two grieving relationships they never had, the older man with his son, and the younger man with his own absent father.

In another touching family moment, Sexton shines in “So Big/So Small,” as Evan and his mom begin having the tough conversations they need to have.

As Zoe, Alaina Anderson displayed a lovely voice (although her mic seemed a bit low on Tuesday night), and Lamas is all teenage angst as Alana. Laucerica’s Jared showed himself to be a deft comedian in the comic relief role.

My biggest criticism of “Dear Evan Hansen” is that it’s a show that really doesn’t like its characters. The teens, with the exception of Zoe, all decide to exploit Connor’s death for their own gain. The Murphys are well-off, but mom’s a dilettante and dad’s a stick in the mud, and they can’t settle on a way to get help for their son, who has had anger issues since early elementary school. Evan’s mom is the stereotypical single mother who is so busy she can’t see what’s in front of her.

Evan is simply a liar.

But I can appreciate the intention of the show’s creators in wanting to spotlight these issues, even if they aren’t always so deftly presented.

It’s already entertaining. If “Dear Evan Hansen” can inspire conversations among families, then it’s doubly successful.

”Dear Evan Hansen,” reviewed Tuesday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, continues through Sunday. For tickets, visit broadwayspokane.com.

Editor’s note: Daniel Robert Sullivan played the role of Larry Murphy on Tuesday, replacing John Hemphill. This review has been updated to reflect that change.