Stage Review - Dear Evan Hansen (Tacoma Musical Playhouse)
Stage Review - Dear Evan Hansen
Presented By: Tacoma Musical Playhouse - Tacoma, WA
Show Run: February 13 - March 08, 2026
Date Reviewed: Friday, February 20, 2026
Run Time: 2 Hours, 25 Minutes (including a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed by: Breanne Jensen
Dear Evan Hansen is a modern musical that took the world by storm when it came to Broadway in December of 2016 and later was turned into a movie musical in 2021. I had never seen the stage production and did not love the movie version, so I went in with an open but skeptical mind on what I believed to be a “teenager musical” from the outside looking in. Tacoma Musical Playhouse recently lost its founder and artistic director, Jon Douglas Rake, in December of 2025. As I entered the building, I expected the space he built with so many of his friends and colleagues to feel somber, cold, and disjointed, but I was surprised to feel and see that, just like the show I was about to review, I was seeing real life—grief, support, perseverance, love, and hope.
The show itself is about a 17-year-old boy named Evan Hansen who is in his senior year of high school and suffers from severe social anxiety, a lifetime of being bullied by his peers, and a desire for one thing: to be seen and accepted for who he is. His father is mostly absent from his life (from what the dialogue tells us), and his mother is a stretched-thin nurse who is constantly working long shifts to make ends meet, as most single mothers are tasked with. Just like a Greek tragedy, Evan must overcome all of this whilst applying to colleges, attending therapy, and recovering from a broken arm he received over the summer. His therapist suggests he write himself letters to encourage and inspire some hope into his negative way of thinking, and Evan reluctantly writes himself a letter prior to therapy one day in the library and prints it out. Connor Murphy, another senior at school who is also known for not exactly being seen or noticed (for any of the right reasons), stumbles upon Evan’s letter in the library and confronts Evan about why his sister’s name (Zoe Murphy) is mentioned in his letter. Evan explains that this was an assignment for therapy and begs him not to mention it to anyone else, especially his crush, Zoe. Connor leaves with the note in his pocket, and Evan has a sense of dread that is palpable through his anxious physical signs and the lyrics in his songs. The next day, Evan Hansen is called into the office, where he learns that Connor Murphy had taken his own life the night before, and they found what they believed to be his final words in a note in his jeans. The note reads “Dear Evan Hansen,” and before Evan can refute this, the Murphys thank Evan for being his one true friend and invite him in as part of their lives, as well as Zoe’s, and here enters the Greek tragedy of keeping up the lie. The rest of the story I’m not going to elaborate on because it’s delightfully surprising, and I don’t want to give it away.
I applaud co-directors Kayla Littleton and Christina Naficy on undertaking such a beloved and well-known show, but also the Pacific Northwest Regional Premiere. The pressure to create something others love so deeply, as well as put your own flair on it, and just after losing someone you all cared for, had to be a tremendous feat. The direction choices were superb, the costumes were modern and complementary, the set changes were crisp and quick, the lighting design was beautiful and simplistic (a highlight was when Evan gives his speech and it looked as if the light was beaming out of his chest), and the set design was thoroughly thought out, mixing both set pieces and social media, television screens, projections, pictures, and more. Being able to see the orchestra on stage as well was fun, fresh, and immersive.
This cast. This talent. I don’t know where to begin! The cast is impressive and polished; however, the younger cast playing the teens left me speechless. The diversity on stage in this cast is something I hope to continue to see here locally within our theater community as we continue evolving.
Jared Kleinman (played by Elijah Yale) is Evan Hansen’s family friend who is forced to be “nice” to Evan. Jared is rough around the edges, hilarious, and overall well-intended. Yale plays him in a way that makes you laugh every time he is on stage with his comedic timing, and his vocals are equally impressive. Alana Beck (played by Kaelynn Miller) is another lost soul in the shadows, eager to help and learn, just looking for a place to fit in, which she finds in Evan and holds him accountable when he isn’t being the best version of himself. Miller portrays Alana as feisty, vulnerable, intelligent, gentle, passionate, and loving. The acting, dancing, and vocals make Kaelynn Miller a triple threat and one to be watched.
Connor Murphy, the angry and confused lone wolf (played by Will Chadek), thinks that his life has no meaning or purpose, so he takes it, not realizing that the sun does always rise again and that the loss of his life brought so many other lives together. Chadek is simply mesmerizing on stage, from his look, vocals, and natural stage presence; the sky is the limit on where life is going to take him. Zoe Murphy (played by Summer Mays) is Connor’s little sister, who is beautiful, smart, kind, and funny. Zoe is tired of being overshadowed by her brother’s troubles and sings a song titled “Requiem,” in which she battles with her inner thoughts and emotions that she doesn’t miss her brother Connor at all—she feels relief and freedom once he is gone. For anyone who has ever lost someone they loved and had a complex relationship with, this song hits that part of us that thinks the things we don’t speak, and it is rare that a musical breaks that wall. Summer Mays made her professional debut here in Seattle at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Mrs. Doubtfire at the age of just sixteen, and it is evident that every aspect of her performance is professional. Mays evokes and channels a range of emotions as Zoe—from rage, loss, grief, and disappointment to love and forgiveness—that the audience can find a bit of themselves in her, and that can only come from someone who is in touch with their inner emotions themselves. Mays’ vocals are beautiful, powerful, and purposeful, and her chemistry with her onstage counterpart had them both raising the bar one can tell they hold themselves to.
Lastly is Evan Hansen himself, played by 17-year-old Kaden Stanford. The first note that exited Stanford’s mouth had me and my guest at the show with our jaws on the floor. Kaden Stanford’s voice is stunning and every singer, especially for musical theater, dreams of being able to emulate it. His tone, placements, stylization choices, and upper register are all absolute perfection. Stanford’s acting is solid and evolves all the way through from opening to curtain. The subtle mannerisms and physical movements he uses to show his social anxieties and differences left me in tears. Stanford’s performance is vulnerable, devastating, wholesome, and dynamic, and leaves nothing else to be desired besides seeing the show again. While the original actor of both the stage and the movie musical, Ben Platt, is amazing, I would choose and encourage others to pay to see Stanford any day over Platt—this performer is Broadway-bound and beyond.
After the show, I tried to hurry out and beat the crowds and just happened to bump into Evan Hansen (Kaden Stanford) himself. I quickly approached him so he could attend to his adoring fans and let him know how magical he is and what he had created that evening for us as an audience. That type of performance can only be created when you are humble and able to be introspective, and it appears Stanford is both.
As someone who developed social anxiety during COVID as an adult, after being a social butterfly my entire life, a lover of musical theater, and having someone close to me with the same physical and emotional anxieties as Evan, this show changed my perspective—the perspective of hope, fear, connection, and gentleness to have with myself and others. Dear Evan Hansen is a reminder that at the very core of who we are, we just want to be found; we want to belong; we want to be loved, cared for, nurtured, and understood, even when we don’t understand ourselves. Humans long for a purpose and to know that we are not alone—we are not on the outside of the window looking in. We create our own windows and decide how we want to overcome what we endure.
This show is about real life—deceit, loss, self-discovery, disappointment, shame, self-hatred, mental health, bullying, and complex relationships between parents, siblings, and romantic partners. The subject matter may seem “dark,” but I assure you it isn’t—it reflects the reality of where our society currently is and how we can all show up to be better. But most importantly, it’s about hope—that no matter what, like the show says, “Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need a friend to carry you, and when you're broken on the ground, you will be found.” It will always get better, nothing lasts forever, and you are not alone—just keep going.
I implore you to go see Dear Evan Hansen at Tacoma Musical Playhouse; it will be a show that I remember “for, forever.”
Dear Evan Hansen runs on stage at Tacoma Musical Playhouse through March 8. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.tmp.org/.
Photo credit: Dennis Kurtz
