Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Durham Performing Arts Center

Stephen Christopher Anthony illuminates the stage as Evan Hansen on the Dear Evan Hansen National Tour.

Anthony, formally Elder McKinley's understudy on Broadway, currently acts as the alternate for Evan as well as the understudy for Connor and Jared on the tour. In the March 15th matinee at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Anthony played Evan.

The part of Anthony's performance that stood out the most was his attention to detail when portraying Evan's severe anxiety and social awkwardness. When an actor portrays a character with certain quirks or a medical condition, it can come across as quite unnatural and planned. However, Anthony's small anxiety ticks such as speeding up his speech when he is nervous or excited and the way his eyes widen when he starts talking about trees made Evan truly come to life.

Because of Anthony's Evan being so realistic in design, he creates a character that is relatable to the audience, especially those with anxiety disorders. Kids around Evan's age can look at Anthony's performance and say I do the same thing when I am nervous or when I feel alone. This is particularly important with this show because of its message that no one is alone in the world.

Anthony's singing voice matched the show perfectly. No note was out of place or forced. Every song you could feel the emotion that he put in every word.

Whenever a scene became extremely emotional, which is quite often in this show, tears would stream down his face instantly, his nose would run and his face would turn red. You could tell Anthony was putting his all into his performance.

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