Dear Evan Hansen hits the stage of Glasgow’s King’s Theatre to bring the house down with the renowned and popular musical, running until Saturday 1st March 2025.
The performance from the off was full of life and energy, the cast and band set a good bar from the opening few scenes for what to expect for the rest of the show. The directing by Adam Penford was excellent, utilising the space and allowing the story to flow perfectly between scenes – making it a very easy and smooth watch for the two plus hours. The use of Morgan Large’s set was fantastic. The captivating visuals – helped by Ravi Deepres video designing and the amazing light design from Matt Dawson – were stunning. It really helped capture some moments throughout the story and helped highlight moments in the music that were crucial to characters or the storyline. The set was mixed between minimalist at the forefront of the stage and then intricately detailed and prominent the further back you go. This allowed the action to breathe whilst also having a visually eye-catching and modern design for the audience to enjoy.
The only downfall within this element would be the use of a zactrack instead of a manual spotlight with someone tracking. There were multiple times, predominantly in act one that actors ended up in the dark due to the zactrack spotlight being slightly delayed in the tracking of the actor on stage. An easy fix with a person physically tracking themselves.
Michael Bradley and the amazing band, from note one, never missed a step and were excellent in capturing the emotion and power in the music through the band.
The ensemble blended into scenes nicely and brought some great choreography – choreographed by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille – to songs that just added another nice visual for the audience and also added to the emotion on stage.
Ryan Kopel is an exceptional talent who brought the character of Evan Hansen to life in his own way. Kopel’s unique quirks and physical tics he added to the character emphasised the uncomfortableness and anxiety surrounding the character. The vocals from start to finish were outstanding and Kopel made each note look so easy with his incredible range. His comedic attributes had the audience in stitches and then there was not a dry eye in the house as Kopel was able to not just play on the heart strings of everyone but rip them out with the emotional journey he took them on.
The showcase of vocal talent was excellent from each cast member – and Lauren Conroy was an outstanding highlight vocally from the unbelievable ease she sang with. Conroy had a great rounded approach to the role of Zoe, taking us on a great character arc, not just for her character but for the relationships surrounding Zoe.
Alice Fearn, Helen Anker and Richard Hurst were able to play three polar opposite parents, highlighting the lives and struggles of three different individuals struggling with grief and worry and still manage to connect to the audience and give the viewers something so relatable to their own experience. Fearn, Anker and Hurst were all outstanding in their portrayals of Heidi, Cynthia and Larry – giving such wholesome heartfelt performances, joined by some powerhouse vocals from all parties.
Killian Thomas Lefevre had a great showing as Connor Murphy. Lefevre started slightly unenergized it seemed, leaning a bit on the monotonal persona of the character. However, after a few scenes and especially coming out for act 2, Lefevre boosted the energy, showcasing his great skill and technique, bringing the character to life. The accent did slip from time to time, this did slightly bring you out of the world of the play, however, it is an easy solve with some focus on dialect.
Tom Dickerson was hilarious as Jared Kleinman. His physical comedy and timing with his dialogue was spot on during interactions with every cast member. At points, it did seem as though the sarcastic, “filthy mouthed” aspect of the character was being held back slightly. Possibly a directional choice rather than a character choice, however, it may have worked even better allowing the character to be fully committed to those characteristics in the opening act, making his journey in act two even more prominent.
Vivian Panka was amazing as Alana Beck. Panka had some great comedic moments and had such a great understanding of what she wanted the character of Alana to be portrayed. Panka also showcased some amazing vocals throughout the musical numbers.
Dear Evan Hansen is an emotional rollercoaster for everyone. The journey the show takes you on is one of funny highs and tear jerking lows, but one thing that is certain – it is a rollercoaster you won’t want to miss.
Get your tickets here – https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/dear-evan-hansen/kings-theatre-glasgow/
Theatre Scotland 
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