Critic’s notebook: Review of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at Shine! Theatre
At the Warnors, a small but mighty ‘Evan Hansen’ soars
Runs through May 17, Warnors Center for the Performing Arts. Presented by Shine! Theatre. Directed by tony sanders.
Laurence Conley, left, as Connor Murphy, and Jason Bionda as Evan Hansen, in the Shine! Theatre production.
Before I walked through the doors of the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts last Sunday, I think a big part of me had given up on “Dear Evan Hansen,” the Benj Pasek/Justin Paul musical that was the “it” ticket in New York a decade ago. It wasn’t that I was predisposed to dislike the show. In fact, I’d been in the audience for the very first preview performance on Broadway, having nabbed a single ticket online during a Denver layover on my way to New York, drawn purely by the pre-opening buzz. I loved it.
But in 2026, I worried that the show wouldn’t age well – that the savvy way it depicted the pitfalls of the internet, a theme that seemed so on-topic and cutting-edge for its time, would come across now as old and clunky, like a computer monitor with a tube in it. I also wondered if the essential plot point of the show – in which a troubled teen becomes a semi-willing participant in a big, troublesome lie – would feel icky rather than plausible all these years later.
But after getting pulled into the emotional orbit of Shine! Theatre’s accomplished production, which runs at the Warnors through May 17, I was baptized anew in the healing power of this show. Led by a riveting, beautifully sung and achingly acted performance by Jason Bionda in the leading role, this version of “Dear Evan Hansen” feels timeless instead of stuck in an earlier decade.
Director tony sanders (who does not capitalize his name) has a knack for taking a tiny budget, duct tape and a prayer and pulling off productions with heart if not always compelling production values. This time around he’s staged one of his most handsome shows yet, in no small part thanks to Dan Aldape’s sensitive lighting design (working with an eye-popping series of projections rented to community theaters) . It still can still feel bare bones, and there are some flaws. (More on that in a moment.) But in terms of delivering a piece of theater that envelops you, that makes your heart feel a little bigger than when you started, this one soars.
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Key is Bionda’s turn on stage as Evan. He embodies the physicality of the role, giving us a twitchy anxiety that never seems overplayed: hands curling around each other, eyes darting back and forth, mouth twisting into apologetic smiles. Add in a tender tenor voice and flawless falsetto, paired with songs that swell with understanding, and his is truly a significant performance.
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Evan is very much a mess: He doesn’t have any real friends. His interpersonal skills are a wreck. As the story opens, it appears that he will flail his way through his senior year in high school, just as in years before. He’s somewhat buoyed by a hard-working and sympathetic single mom (Hannah Wehner in a role that blossoms into a moment late in the show that is utterly moving) and a family-friend student acquaintance (Josiah Hopfer in a nicely performed anti-sidekick role that brims with acerbity and helps cut the sentimentality). Overall, things are bleak. But in a twist, Evan finds himself playing a role of his own: that of someone who actually has a social life.
Teen suicide – not Evan’s – is a central theme of the musical, and when another boy in his class takes his own life, a weird misunderstanding combines with Evan’s passivity in a twist that upends everything. I think this is where I was most concerned about “Dear Evan Hansen’s” staying power, and it’s all because of the film version, which came out in 2021 and starred Ben Platt reprising his Broadway role as Evan. If ever you need an example of how difficult it can be to recapture the impact of a Broadway musical on film, this is it. The hazy and heightened illusion of reality created on stage is somehow more forgiving than film, letting you more easily burrow into a character’s state of mind and make their actions seem more plausible. It’s easier on stage to understand why Evan gets so caught up in his life. In film, the bare realism makes it harder for a viewer to be so generous. (That, and the fact that Platt practically looked old enough to be attending parent-teacher conferences as the parent, which added to the artificiality of the situation.)
There are flaws in the Shine! Theatre production. The first and foremost is the balance between the live music and singers. At the Sunday matinee performance I attended, the percussion drowned out not only some of the music but many of the lyrics as well. (The very funny song “Sincerely, Me” lost about 75% of its humor.) I love the fact there’s a live band, and Cari Earnhart’s musical direction is excellent. John Mendoza’s sound design is strong in terms of dialogue and non-percussion numbers. But the drums were just too loud. Enough said.
The second area for growth is in the confidence of the ensemble. Ashley Wilkinson’s choreography, which often sends ensemble members scurrying around the stage (all leading busy lives), works well – but every step by every ensemble member needs to be deliberate. The audience can feel when things are tentative.
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Besides the three strong performances I’ve already mentioned, other cast members contribute moments of impact in the show: the tenuous relationship of Jenny Myers and Harrison Mills as grieving parents, the zealous glee of Aunika Bull as the student busybody, the cloudy menace of Laurence Conley as Connor Murphy, whose death precipitates events. While singing strength varies, sanders as director coaxes precise personalities from everyone in the ensemble cast.
Finally, another standout: Gitzelle Villa in a finely etched turn as Zoe, Connor’s sister, who shifts from just plain angry to someone who can become vulnerable with others. Villa’s vocals are mesmerizing.
When I saw that first preview performance of “Dear Evan Hansen” 10 years ago, I marveled at how effectively its use of dozens of projections of scrolling social-media feeds captured the frantic, overstimulating toxicity of the internet better than anything I’d seen. A decade later, I’m not so impressed by the dazzle, mostly because I’ve become increasingly numb to the visual cacophony we’re treated to in daily life (amped up by AI, of course). But I think the show still has much to say about the technologies we’ve chained ourselves to: the way that fickleness is built into our algorithms now. The internet flits from this big thing to the next, and we sit there and consume. We don’t even have the attention span for a war.
What we are slower to ponder is that when any of us goes online, it is with some type of mask – some more elaborate than others – that becomes a dehumanizing barrier between us. One of the solutions is to interact face-to-face, in the moment, live and in person, and sharing the same space. I can’t think of a better place to do that than in a theater.
— By Donald Munro
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Steph
Like you I was there last Saturday night (I was told you were there) and I got ‘treated’ to an understudy showcase, one of my least favorite trends in theater. I get how hard understudies work and feel they really do deserve a performance as a reward for their dedication (and a solid set performance date ensures they actually have the role fully prepared in case a lead drops out).
No mention was made at the performance but after a sport while it became evident there were understudy’s afoot. So I missed Jason Bionda as Evan, but having no notice I didn’t KNOW I missed Bionda.
Your review is right on – there are flaws in some singing, the drums were a bit loud. And for me the projections made sense but often left the performers overly lit from behind, so facial expressions were lost.
Evan’s mother’s gorgeous song truly moved me as I watched Evan transform from tentative teen into the young vulnerable child in need of a mother’s care.
Like you I loved Aunika Bull‘s character and voice and silently wished she were playing Zoe (It was a two-show day and Villa’s pitch wandered at times while her acting was sincere).
Some understudy actors have Durant timing I give major kudos to the Dr Earnhart’s band direction. She stayed in sync and alongside the understudy flawlessly.
Of course I re-emphasize the biggest flaw of Shine – complete lack of marketing. This was a really well done production and deserved 500+ people each night. Last Saturday there were more like 40 people.
I hope word of mouth and this review spreads. These performers deserve to be seen!!
Steph
Durant timing = different timing
Sorry, voice to text did me dirty again.
SM
This is a community production that makes me so proud to be from and of this community. I went with two friends and we talked during intermission and we talked afterwards and I’m sure I’ll talk with them about it again. The production offers so much and that offering comes from so much heart and so much talent. tony sanders brought together a group of artists (actors, musicians, lights, sound, costume) and brought out a poignant slice-of-life story that does not necessarily provide a feel good parable ending. It’s complex but the complexity is delivered with an enchanting ease that engages you rather than shuts you down. Thank you, Shine!