Dear Evan Hansen at The Bristol Hippodrome
Posted on: 2025-02-11
Our rating:
..genuine appreciation of an exceptional performance, I could go as far as to say theatrical perfection. Five stars from me!
Vivienne Kennedy review of Dear Evan Hansen, playing at The Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 15 February 2025.
Dear Evan Hansen… you’ve broken me… you’ve broken my daughter… but we’ll forgive you, because you’re more than enough, you’re brilliant.
I don’t know too much about this show before watching tonight. I haven’t seen the film, and I’ve deliberately not read the Wiki page or any reviews, although I will confess to listening to some of the music on Spotify. That said, I know enough to make sure I have some paper tissues in my bag and boy do I need them!
Dear Evan Hansen is a musical about broken people, every single character has flaws at the very least and for most of them those flaws go deep. At the core of the story is an accidental deception, one that should be corrected immediately, but it isn’t, and it grows, and somehow it seems to start to fix some of the problems.
There is no denying the show is beautifully put together with a simple but remarkably effective set, great lighting, sound, and video design, and talented live musicians. But the stars are the strong story and songs (kudos to Steven Levenson who wrote the book and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul who came up with the idea and are responsible for the music and lyrics), and the way they are perfectly brought to life by the small cast of just 14 actors.
Ryan Kopel and Lauren Conroy, playing Evan Hansen and Zoe Murphy, are incredibly believable, with stunning voices, but there are no weak links at all. I have quite a soft spot for the character of Connor Murphy, brought to life and death by Killian Thomas Lefevre.
I could name every number as a highlight, but I’ll narrow it down to two: You Will Be Found, which closes the first act in a moment of positivity and joy, which you just know is going to be stolen from you after the interval, and So Big/So Small sung by Alice Fearn playing Evan’s mother Heidi.
That’s the song that completely breaks me, and I know that next to me my daughter is sobbing just as hard. She says afterwards that sometimes she gets a bit fed up with the single mother trope. As a single mother myself, I like to think it’s because, even though we make mistakes, we are such strong characters, facing constant challenges with a blend of pride, stubbornness, and pure love, that it’s impossible to resist writing about us. Heidi Hansen has those qualities in abundance; she’s very well written. This is the character that resonates most with me, but I feel sure most people in the audience will recognise bits of themselves in others on the stage.
As the show finishes, the audience rises almost as one, this isn’t one of those standing ovations that’s built into the show, a finale designed for everyone to join in with, this is genuine appreciation of an exceptional performance, I could go as far as to say theatrical perfection. Five stars from me!
I can’t resist finishing with one of Evan’s own lines: “Today is going to be a good day, because today at least you’re you. And that’s enough.”
For further information, and to book tickets, visit The Bristol Hippodrome website.
Article by:
Vivienne Kennedy says she lives and works in Bristol but sleeps in Weston-super-Mare, which is where she’s actually lived pretty much all her life. During the day, she is Head of Broadmead BID (Business Improvement District), supporting retailers in Bristol Shopping Quarter. Away from work, she’s been reviewing theatre, music and art in Bristol for more than 12 years and is rarely happier than when watching a good show at the Hippodrome or Old Vic.
