Theatre review: Dear Evan Hansen touches with its beautiful message of feeling included and valued

Dear Evan Hansen

Base Entertainment Asia

Sands Theatre
Oct 31

Thoughtful and intimate, Dear Evan Hansen is probably the type of musical to watch when one is in a contemplative mood.

Its heavy theme of suicide and its grieving characters might trigger strong emotions among audience members who have encountered similar situations. Its music, while powerful and uplifting, is often performed against a backdrop of pain.

Yet, this musical has perhaps best captured Gen Z’s attitudes towards mental health, empathy and human connection.

Since it was first staged in Washington in 2015, and later on Broadway and the West End, the show has won fans and touched hearts with its beautiful message of feeling included and valued.

This is the second time it is being performed here. Its first staging was in 2024 at the Victoria Theatre by local theatre company Pangdemonium, which this reviewer also viewed.

Both productions use the same book penned by American playwright Steven Levenson, and the music and lyrics by American composer-lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

The works centre on the character of Evan Hansen, an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. And when he is mistaken for the only friend of a deceased schoolmate, events soon spiral out of control. 

One of the title’s major draws is its relatability, with its world of students, parents and communities connected by social media.

Its preoccupation with isolation also mirrors the loneliness epidemic sweeping some parts of modern society. In this context, it is not hard to see why the show’s most famous song, the hopeful You Will Be Found, has become an empowering anthem for people who feel they do not matter.

Yet, there are major differences in the musical’s first and second stagings.

Pangdemonium arguably clinched the first-mover advantage by putting on Dear Evan Hansen earlier and securing many of the musical’s fans as ticket-holders. It also featured eight mostly local actors in the more intimate Victoria Theatre.

But Base Entertainment Asia’s show features a larger, 14-strong cast direct from the United Kingdom.

Its lead character is played by English actor Ellis Kirk, who captures Evan’s yearning for connection in the song Waving Through A Window, and fear of rejection in the number If I Could Tell Her.

His tenor voice brims with joy on For Forever, and breaks with gut-wrenching sorrow on Words Fail. 

This understated approach keeps Evan likeable despite the character’s flaws and insecurities. Allowing the audience to appreciate Evan’s inner struggles is a tough call, but the boyish Kirk pulls this off. His experience as an understudy for the character in 2021 also helped.

Kirk is supported by actors Zoe Athena, Helen Anker and Hal Fowler, who play the family members of Evan’s deceased schoolmate. Their moving and nuanced portrayals allow their characters to be studies of grief – encapsulating denial and acceptance and everything in between.

Base Entertainment Asia’s staging also features a larger, more sophisticated set, featuring well-timed use of lighting and projections to indicate changes in register at key plot points.

Given these differences, I would encourage audiences who saw Pangdemonium’s show last year to also give Base Entertainment Asia’s staging a chance.

The songs may be the same, but their treatment and delivery are not. And in their own ways, both serve to colour this story of the outsider looking in with tenderness and warmth.

Book it/Dear Evan Hansen

Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue
When: Until Nov 16, 7.30pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays), 1pm (Saturdays and Sundays), 6.30pm (Sundays)
Admission: $68 to $188 via Marina Bay Sands’ website (

str.sg/E8yT

) or Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to

sistic.com.sg

)