Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Intiman

Dear Evan Hansen premiered on Broadway in 2016 and won 6 Tony awards, including for best musical. In 2021, it was adapted into a film but did not have the same success as the film. Yesterday was the time for the Swedish premiere.

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical that I am torn about. I saw it a few years ago in London and was not as moved by them as I heard many were.

It is a musical with a depth that addresses social problems such as exclusion, loneliness and mental illness among young people as well as dysfunctional family relationships. Confirmation needs and the pursuit of likes and visibility on social media.

Evan Hansen attends High School and is one of the students who is an outsider and has trouble socializing. But unlike, for example, American high school movies, where usually the odd ones belong to a gang against the cool gang, those who are outside are not even friends. When Connor Murphy, one of the messier guys out there, commits suicide, suddenly opportunities arise for these people to be in the spotlight. They start a project to honor Connor. A project that is heavily based on Evan Hansen's accidental lie that he and Connor were secret friends. A lie created by a misunderstanding and then escalates out of control.

I am most impressed by the young male trio. Martin Stokke Mathiesen is brilliant as Evan, both in terms of singing and acting. In Evan Hansen's introverted character, he blossoms and owns the stage. 

Evan's family friend Jared, played by Joel Adolphson, is the character who provides the humorous elements with his well-timed lines and body language - the character who is a much-needed counterpoint to the heavy theme. Kristian Grundberg, as Connor, also impresses greatly.

Anna-Maria Hallgarn is brilliant as the upper-class mother who spent more time on her own self-realization than being there for her son Connor. When he commits suicide, the feelings of guilt and loss are awakened and the emotions tremble on the outside.

While it doesn't grab me in the way I'd like, it's a strong act. This Swedish production is incredibly well acted and together with the skilled musicians, under the direction of Nils-Petter Ankarblom, this is undoubtedly better than the West End!

If you're going to see any set of Dear Evan Hansen, it's this one.

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