The Cast Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

The score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (known for the films La La Land and The World's Greatest Showman), is packed with winning songs–actual songs with beginnings and ends, not strains of melody that never quite work their way into a full-blown tune–and heartfelt lyrics that tap into the emotions of the characters. If you are susceptible to earworms, this show has several likely candidates. Steven Levenson's book provides an original but plausible narrative with dialogue that taps into the way people really talk, be they high school students with one another, parents with their angsty teenager offspring, or antagonized husbands and wives. Pasek and Paul's songs feel like extensions of conversations or expansions of interior monologues, never allowing an awkward space between where the play pauses and the song begins.

Evan Hansen is a high school student suffering from acute anxiety and rock-bottom self-esteem. It doesn't help that Evan's dad left him and his mother when Evan was just seven, pretty much disappearing from his life. Added to that, Evan's mother Heidi works extra shifts to make ends meet and takes classes to improve their family income. This leaves Evan on his own for long stretches, without family and with no friends.

There is no question, though, that Heidi deeply loves and worries about her son. She encourages his course of therapy, which includes Evan writing daily self-affirmation letters to himself that begin "Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a great day and here's why." Before heading off for the first day of his senior year, Heidi reminds him to write his letter and also suggests that asking classmates to sign the cast on the arm he broke over the summer could be a good ice-breaker.

The first day is not turning into the "great day" Evan's letter promises. He is badgered by sex-obsessed Jared, whose mother is friends with Evan's mother, and therefore requires him to be Evan's "friend." Alana, a Black student who feels invisible to her white classmates, is consumed with making herself seen through activities and events, and steamrolls over Evan. He humiliates himself in front of Zoe Murphy, on whom he has a hopeless unspoken crush. No one has signed his cast. To top it off, he is knocked down by Connor Murphy, a depressive, belligerent stoner and Zoe's brother. Evan feels like life is happening outside, and he is trapped inside, "Waving Through a Window," hoping to be noticed.

Later, Evan is writing his therapy letter in the computer lab when Connor shows up. He swipes the letter off the printer, then forces Evan to let him–of all people–sign the cast. After this, things take a strange turn forged by tragedy, freak coincidence, and the human tendency to believe messages that tell them what they want to hear. One thing leads to another and Evan becomes the face of an initiative called The Connor Project, masterminded by operative Alana, with Jared applying his tech skills to work magic on the internet.

Evan becomes known throughout the school and beyond. He is embraced by the Murphy family who, unlike his own family, have both a mom and a dad, have a home cooked supper together every night, and best of all, the object of his unspoken affection, Zoe. All this may seem too good to last and, of course, it is. The inevitable crash and burn incinerates Evan's dreams, but the authors have found a soft landing for Evan that feels both credible and earned, leaving the audience with a tone that is authentically hopeful.

More than any show that came before it, Dear Evan Hansen illustrates the centrality of the internet and social media in making social connections, championing issues, and establishing one's very identity. Both the benefits of these tools and the risks that they pose are on display. The physical production employs a constant barrage of projections that show messages and images scrolling on stage. Dear Evan Hansen opened more than three years before the COVID-19 pandemic that put everyone on Zoom business meetings and remote schooling, cementing in our consciousness what the show portends, so its presence here is more apt than ever.

Minnesota native Michael Fabisch is terrific in the title role. Fabisch has a beautiful voice, handling the challenging falsetto peaks in the Pasek-Paul score with ease, and creates a fully fleshed out character on stage who earns our understanding. Bre Cade makes a powerful impression as Heidi, painfully expressing her uncertainties in "Anybody Have a Map?," releasing anger and hurt in "Good for You," and delivering the show's most heartfelt song, "So Big / So Small," with heart-stopping tenderness. Hatty Ryan King is fresh faced and spot on as Zoe, a high school junior with a big brother who has always overshadowed her. Her voice is full and lovely. The bitterness she conveys in "Requiem" is chilling, while she and Fabisch share a euphoric duet, "Only Us."

Alex Pharo is persuasive as Connor, whose veneer of malicious detachment masks a well of inner turmoil. Caitlin Sams and Jeff Brooks, as Zoe's and Connor's parents, create full characters who demonstrate different ways of coping with the challenges of child-rearing, and of absorbing unthinkable loss. Brooks shines brightly in "To Break in a Glove," relishing the chance to be the kind of father he always meant to be. Gabriel Vernon Nunag is delightful, making his professional debut as Jared and handling a lot of the show's humor with verve. Makena Jackson is spot-on as Alana, who has never met a student activity she couldn't take charge of, yet conveys an underlying sincere belief that what she does matters, something that eludes the other students depicted in Dear Evan Hansen.

Dear Evan Hansen does not have an ensemble of singers and dancers, though the eight actors on stage provide back-up singing and movement to embellish musical numbers. It feels completely whole just as staged, with the perfect structure for telling its intimate story. Michael Greif's Tony-nominated direction of the original Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen has been recreated by Danny Sharron and Mark Myars to winning effect. The show moves seamlessly between scenes, with Japhy Weidman's superb lighting and Peter Nigrini's phenomenal projections design mainly responsible for establishing locations.

David Korin's set consists mainly of sliding panels positioned to receive the projections, and flats with a few pieces of furniture to create Evan's bedroom and several rooms in the Murphy home. Emily Rebholz's costume designs serve to reenforce each character's distinct persona. While not a dance-heavy show, Danny Mefford's original choreography for Broadway has been recreated by Mark Myars with movement that embellishes the musical numbers. The score is well played by a nine-member band led by music director Michael Hopewell, with Alex Lacamoire's orchestrations sounding as fresh as the first time I heard them.

I know that I was impressed by Dear Evan Hansen when I saw it five years ago, but was unprepared for how much I would be impressed all over again, and emotionally moved by its simple but profound story of a young person struggling to find a pathway on which to launch his life. The music, book, design elements and performance in this tour leave nothing to be desired.

Dear Evan Hansen runs through March 16, 2025, at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information call 651-224-4222 or visit www.ordway.org. For information on the national tour, visit www.dehtour.com/tour.

Book: Steven Levenson; Music and Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; Original Broadway Production Director: Michael Greif; Direction Recreated: Danny Sharron, Mark Myers; Original Broadway Choreography: Danny Mefford; Choreography Recreated: Mark Myars; Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Additional Arrangements: Alex Lacamoire; Music Director/ Conductor: Michael Hopewell; Scenic Design: David Korins; Projection Design: Peter Nigrini; Costume Design: Emily Rebholz; Lighting Design: Japhy Weideman; Sound Design: Nevin Steinberg; Vocal Arrangements and Additional Arrangements: Justin Paul; Music Coordinator: Talitha Fehr; Associate Music Supervisor: Ben Cohn; Casting: Murnane Casting --Chad Eric Murnane CSA, Amber Snead CSA; Production Manager: Gregg Damanti; Production Stage Manager: Anna Klevit; Executive Producer: Jayna Neagle.

Cast: Jeff Brooks (Larry Murphy), Bre Cade (Heidi Hansen), Michael Fabisch (Evan Hansen), Makena Jackson (Alana Beck), Hatty Ryan King (Zoe Murphy), Gabriel Vernon Nunag (Jared Kleinman), Michael Perez (alternate Evan Hansen), Alex Pharo (Connor Murphy), Caitlin Sims (Cynthia Murphy).