Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Arkansas Public Theatre in Rogers

I love visiting Northwest Arkansas, and when I was invited to see Dear Evan Hansen at Arkansas Public Theatre, I was especially excited because it meant I would finally get to visit the historic Victory Theater in downtown Rogers. Owned by the City of Rogers and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Victory is a beautiful piece of the city’s history as well as a home for live theatre. I had tried to make this visit back in 2024, but right before the show, a devastating tornado ripped through Rogers, striking the downtown area and damaging the Victory along with numerous homes and businesses. Eight lives were lost in north Arkansas during the storms that weekend, making the tragedy so much bigger than a damaged building or cancelled performance. Now, two years later, walking into the repaired and reopened Victory for the first time made this particular theatre trip mean even more to me. And then Arkansas Public Theatre gave me Dear Evan Hansen. Talk about an emotional first visit! With Brenda Nemec as Artistic Director, this production is directed and choreographed by Alix Barrett, with Cheri Hedrick as Music Director, and continues through August 30. From beginning to end, they took me through just about every feeling possible.

Featuring music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul with a book by Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen centers on a socially awkward high school student who desperately wants to connect with the people around him. Evan writes a letter to himself that is mistakenly believed to be the final words of his classmate Connor Murphy. From there, Evan becomes entangled in a lie that continues to grow. What initially seems like a way to give comfort to Connor’s grieving family gives Evan something he has long wanted, which is connection, acceptance, and a feeling that he matters. Unfortunately, the closer he becomes to the people around him, the more impossible it becomes to tell them the truth.

One of the things I appreciate most about Dear Evan Hansen is how unwilling the story is to give us perfect people. This is not an easy musical. It digs into loneliness, grief, anxiety, social media, complicated family dynamics, and the universal desire to feel seen. Because of that, the actors cannot simply rely on the beautiful Pasek and Paul score to carry them. They have to expose these characters emotionally, and Northwest Arkansas has so much talent that this cast absolutely blew me away. I had all the emotions watching this performance. There were moments that made me laugh, moments when I hurt for these characters, and plenty of times when I just wanted to reach onto the stage and hug somebody.

Judging by the people sitting around me, I was far from the only one feeling that way. During intermission, many of my audience neighbors were in tears. People were wiping their eyes and talking about how strongly the first act had affected them. That emotional response says a lot about what Barrett and her company have created onstage. She allows the quieter, more vulnerable moments to have just as much importance as the musical’s bigger numbers, giving the performers the room they need to make these characters feel real. The company fully commits to the vulnerability this musical demands, and you could feel that connection spreading throughout the Victory Theater.

Henry Aggus has the tremendous task of leading the production as Evan Hansen. Evan spends so much of the musical in an emotionally heightened state that there is very little opportunity for the actor playing him to relax. Aggus moves through the character’s awkwardness and loneliness into excitement as Evan suddenly finds himself welcomed into a world he has wanted to be part of, and then carries him through the mounting guilt as his deception becomes more complicated. Even when Evan continues making choices that you know are going to end badly, Aggus keeps you invested in the lonely teenager underneath it all. You want him to stop digging that hole, but you also understand why having people finally care about him makes it so difficult for him to let go.

London Omo has an equally complicated emotional journey as Zoe Murphy. Connor’s death does not suddenly erase the painful relationship she had with her brother, and Omo allows Zoe to wrestle with anger, confusion, grief, and the pressure of everyone else remembering Connor differently. At the same time, Zoe begins developing feelings for Evan, giving Omo and Aggus some genuinely sweet moments together. Of course, we know what Zoe does not, which makes those scenes much more complicated for the audience.

Elijah Taylor plays Connor Murphy, the young man whose death becomes the catalyst for everything that follows. Though Connor is gone early in the story, Taylor certainly is not finished with the production. Connor continues appearing as Evan’s imagined version of him, and his presence hangs over the entire musical. He becomes a son his parents are desperately trying to understand, a brother Zoe remembers much differently, the inspiration for a movement, and eventually a Connor largely created through Evan’s storytelling. Taylor gives him the intensity needed to remain an important part of the story long after the actual Connor is gone. Also, he gets bonus points for that emo eye makeup. I loved it! 

Thankfully, Reece Edwards as Jared Kleinman gives us opportunities to laugh. His sarcasm and comic timing provide a welcome release from some of the musical’s heavier material. Jared becomes Evan’s reluctant accomplice as the story grows more elaborate, and Edwards knows how to deliver those wonderfully blunt Jared moments without making him feel disconnected from the more serious world of the show.

Taylor Gere brings a different energy to Alana Beck, the accomplished student who initially appears to have everything under control. As we learn more about her, however, it becomes clear that Alana knows something about loneliness too. Gere captures both the character’s ambitious drive and the vulnerability underneath it, particularly once the Connor Project begins expanding beyond anything Evan originally imagined.

While the teenagers may be at the center of the story, the parents deliver some of its biggest emotional punches. Autumn Mitchell plays Heidi Hansen, Evan’s hardworking mother, who clearly loves her son even though work and other responsibilities have created distance between them. Mitchell allows us to see a mother who is trying, and that makes Heidi’s realization that she has missed so much of what is happening in Evan’s life even more painful.

On the other side is Connor’s family. Samanthe Burrow plays Cynthia Murphy, while Bill Burchit takes on Larry Murphy. Their characters are experiencing the same loss but processing it very differently. Cynthia searches desperately for anything that will help her feel connected to her son, while Larry is much more guarded with his emotions. Burrow and Burchit allow those different expressions of grief to exist side by side. As the Murphys begin welcoming Evan into their family and learning about a version of Connor they believe they never knew, the audience is placed in the uncomfortable position of watching them heal through information we already know is not true.

Then there is that score! Under Hedrick’s musical direction, the emotional power of Pasek and Paul’s music is front and center. “Waving Through a Window” gives us our first major glimpse into Evan’s isolation, while “For Forever” becomes beautiful and painful at the same time because we know the story Evan is telling never actually happened. “Requiem” is especially effective because it allows the Murphy family to demonstrate just how differently each of them is processing Connor’s death.

And then we get to “You Will Be Found.” That song gets me. Watching its message spread beyond the original people involved and become something much larger is one of the show’s defining musical theatre moments. Later, “Words Fail” strips away everything Evan has constructed until there is nowhere left for him to hide. These numbers demand more than good vocals. The performers have to live inside the emotions behind them, and this cast understands that responsibility.

After waiting two years to finally experience this venue, I was so happy to be there. The restored Victory was filled with theatre lovers, Northwest Arkansas talent was shining onstage, and my first Arkansas Public Theatre production turned out to be one I will remember. Dear Evan Hansen continues at Arkansas Public Theatre’s historic Victory Theater in downtown Rogers through August 30. Get your tickets now, because after everyone talks about how good this show is, it will sell out! Visit their website at https://www.arkansaspublictheatre.org/ for more information.

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