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The cast of Cygnet Theatre\u2019s \u201cDear Evan Hansen.\u201d (Karli Cadel)<\/p>\nThere are two things about the musical \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d that Broadway fans love to argue about: Whether the title character Evan is too flawed to root for, and whether Evan is the hardest tenor singing role in contemporary theater.<\/p>\n
San Diegans now get a chance to decide for themselves. On Saturday, Cygnet Theatre opened the first local professional staging of the Tony-winning 2015 musical at its The Joan theater complex at Arts District Liberty Station.<\/p>\n
From my perspective, director Blake McCarty\u2019s dazzling, high-tech production succeeds admirably in delivering a very sympathetic Evan in the hands of talented actor Aiden Meyndert. He embodies longing, anxiety and loneliness better than any actor I\u2019ve seen in the part.<\/p>\n
But the punishing multi-octave belting vocal role led some of Meyndert\u2019s notes to land flat on opening night. Having seen Meyndert in three other musicals directed by McCarty in recent years, I know he\u2019s a very capable singer, but Benj Pasek and Justin Paul\u2019s score is famously challenging to sing.<\/p>\n
The cast of Cygnet Theatre\u2019s \u201cDear Evan Hansen.\u201d (Karli Cadel)<\/p>\n
In the musical\u2019s book, Evan Hansen is a lonely and awkward teenage boy with social anxiety issues, zero friends and parents whose attention is focused elsewhere. One day, cruel school bully Connor Murphy steals one of Evan\u2019s self-affirmation letters and threatens to humiliate him by sharing it online.<\/p>\n
But when the purloined \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d letter is found among Connor\u2019s things after he passes away a few days later, Connor\u2019s parents believe their son wrote it as a confession to Evan. To soothe the Murphy family, Evan begins spinning an ever-widening web of lies about how he and Connor were best friends. As the stories spread on social media, Even becomes popular at school. But eventually the lies catch up with him.<\/p>\n
In the past I\u2019ve found Evan\u2019s behavior unforgiveable and worthy of greater consequences. But Meyndert is so authentically crushed by his own actions, and his performances of the songs \u201cWaving Through a Window\u201d and \u201cWords Fail\u201d are so aching, that I found myself caring about his character\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
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Aiden Meyndert as Evan, left, Danny Holmes as Jared and Tyler Martinez as Connor in Cygnet Theatre\u2019s \u201cDear Evan Hansen.\u201d (Karli Cadel)<\/p>\n
The show\u2019s supporting cast is excellent.<\/p>\n
Nio Russell is an acting and vocal standout as Connor\u2019s deeply wounded and angry sister, Zoe, particularly in the song \u201cRequiem.\u201d Bethany Slomka, who plays Evan\u2019s loving but overwhelmed mother Heidi, gives a powerhouse vocal performance in the second-act solo \u201cSo Big\/So Small.\u201d<\/p>\n
Actors Tyler Martinez as Connor and Danny Holmes as teen computer nerd Jared deliver much-needed comic relief to the story, especially in the song \u201cSincerely Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
David S. Humphrey and Sydney Joyner are touching as Connor\u2019s devastated parents Larry and Cynthia, and Tash Gomez\u2019s Alana comically represents a teen girl with a desperate desire for online fame.<\/p>\n
The corrosive power of social media is a driving force in \u201cDear Evan Hansen,\u201d so Nicholas Ponting\u2019s mobile phone and computer screen-dominated scenic design, with projections by Sierra, is integral to the story and quite visually compelling.<\/p>\n
Caroline Andrew designed lighting, Grace Wong designed costumes and Ginger Chody designed sound. Theresa Maigue Bendorf designed choreography. Patrick Marion is the show\u2019s musical director and conductor.<\/p>\n
In the years since \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d premiered, American teen social media use has only grown, and the dangerous effects of cyberbullying, self-harm algorithms and viral trends have recently led many U.S. states to begin restricting usage for children under 16.<\/p>\n
This makes \u201cDear Evan Hansen,\u201d which ends with a note of hopefulness, especially timely in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u2018Dear Evan Hansen\u2019<\/p>\n
When: 7 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Through Oct. 4<\/p>\n
Where: Cygnet Theatre\u2019s Joseph Clayes III Stage at The Joan, 2880 Roosevelt Road, San Diego<\/p>\n
Tickets: $24.50-$78<\/p>\n
Phone: 619-337-1525<\/p>\n