‘Dear Evan Hansen’

MOSES LAKE — Some stage musicals are grand, brightly-colored affairs, with lots of dancing and flamboyant sets and unbridled joy. “Dear Evan Hansen” is not that kind of musical.

“There’s a lot of emotion,” said Basin Community Theatre producer Marion Wyman. “It’s going to make some people shed some tears. In fact, one of our adult cast members at (a rehearsal) sat down and just cried over the emotion he felt during the last song.”

“Dear Evan Hansen,” which opens tonight, is loaded with heavy-duty themes: bullying, mental illness, drug abuse and suicide. The story centers around Evan (Kaleb Stanberry), a high school senior who is beset with social anxiety and depression, with a single mother who works too many hours to provide him the support he needs. Evan’s therapist has him writing notes to himself during the day to cope with his problems. Meanwhile Evan’s school bully nemesis Connor (Gus O’Donnell) comes from an outwardly healthy family but turns to drugs to cope with his own depression. When Connor takes his own life, one of Evan’s notes is found in his possession and Evan pretends to have been Connor’s best friend in an attempt to comfort Connor’s parents Larry (Weston Beck) and Cynthis (Amy O’Donnell), and especially Connor’s sister – and Evan’s crush – Zoe (Emma Leavitt). The story is told partly through Evan’s internal monologue and narration by Connor’s ghost, as Evan’s pretense spirals out of control.

“(Evan) feels like he’s comforting (Connor’s) parents by telling them these lies,” said director Toby Black. “It’s just a rat race.”

“It’s very relatable in our day and age,” Wyman said. “You know how many single moms are out there right now trying to raise their kids and provide for them, and you know parents that are going through a child that’s committed suicide. It’s so relevant today that there’s going to be many kids who can relate to it.”

Despite the themes, “Dear Evan Hansen” isn’t a nonstop downer.

“It’s not dark,” Wyman said. “It’s really got a lot of humor (and) feel-good stuff.”

“The show ends happy, (even if) it takes you on an emotional roller coaster,” Black said.

Basin Community Theatre has cleaned up the language where possible, Black said, but there are some things that they weren’t allowed to change under the play’s license. The vocabulary is about at a PG-13 level, he said.

“(The play) should span everybody from 16 to 80 because everybody should be able to see our show and relate to something,” Black said.

“It really is a wonderful story and a wonderful message,” Wyman said.

‘Dear Evan Hansen’

7:10 p.m. May 7-9

1:10 p.m. May 9 and 10

Moses Lake High School Theater

803 E. Sharon Ave.

www.basincommunitytheatre.com

Cast

Evan Hansen: Kaleb Stanberry

Heidi Hansen: Robyn Valdez

Zoe Murphy: Emma Leavitt

Cynthia Murphy: Amy O’Donnell

Larry Murphy: Weston Beck

Connor Murphy: Gus O’Donnell

Jared Kleinman: Seth Martinez

Alana Black: Erynn O’Donnell

Ensemble: Alice Dale, Sheryl Cassella, Isabel Sica, LJ Beavers, Ted Mack, Paige Perkins, Elisabela Villalobos

An earlier version of this story misspelled Kaleb Stanberry's name. It has been corrected above.

    Larry (Weston Beck, left) and Cynthia (Amy O'Donnell) Murphy look for ways to cope with their son Connor’s suicide in the Basin Community Theatre production of “Dear Evan Hansen.”
  

    Jared (Seth Martinez, left) and Evan create a fake email trail in the Basin Community Theatre production of “Dear Evan Hansen.”
  

Evan (Kaleb Stanberry, left) and his mother Heidi (Robyn Valdez) discuss his difficulty making friends in the Basin Community Theatre production of “Dear Evan Hansen,” opening tonight at Moses Lake High School.

    Zoe (Emma Leavitt) sings about her conflicted feelings over her brother’s suicide in “Dear Evan Hansen,” opening tonight.