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Dear Evan Hansen: Keller Auditorium

Last night, I got the chance to see Dear Evan Hansen at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, and I was BLOWN AWAY! I am a huge fan of musicals and plays in general, but rarely there is a play that affects me this deeply.

For the last year, I’ve heard tracks from Dear Evan Hansen mixed in with my Broadway station on Pandora, and I have loved the music- but I had absolutely no understanding of the story line until I saw it onstage. Dear Evan Hansen is about a teenager with severe social anxiety, and we quickly learn that his therapist recommends that he write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day. Hence, Dear Evan Hansen.

After a troubled boy, Connor Murphy, steals one of his letters, Evan Hansen is distraught thinking Connor will ruin his high school life by revealing his crush and anxieties. But his doesn’t need to think that for long, Connor Murphy commits suicide while holding onto Evan’s letter making his entire family think that the letter was mean for Evan, his “best friend.”

When Evan Hansen is brought to the principal’s office to learn about his death, he realizes this letter is helping Connor’s parents heal and see a side to their son they didn’t know about. So? He goes with the lie. As the days go on, he meets for dinner at the Murphy’s home and begins to tells more and more elaborate stories about their friendship. When they question how they contacted each other, Jared, Evan’s friend, convinces him to create fake backdated emails between the two of them to  prove his story.

As he gets deeper and deeper into the lie, he becomes happier and happier. His relationship with Connor’s sister, Zoe, starts to grow and become the one good thing in his life. He begins to feel more at home with the Murphy’s than he does in his own home with his mother who works herself to the bone, and is rarely around for Evan.

Every aspect of Evan Hansen’s life will be tested in this emotional, cheeky, and hilarious show. As you watch this young man’s high school life unfold, you will laugh, cry, and not be able to help but fall in love with every one of the characters. You will feel a mother’s pain when Heidi Hansen (Jessica Sherman) “So Big/So Small.” When she sings about his father leaving them, and moving out in a truck, she remembers when young Evan asked her if the next day a new truck will come to take his mommy away *cue the tears*.

You will wipe tears of laughter away when Evan and Jared write the fake emails in the number “Sincerely, Me” and Jared keeps telling him it sounds like they are lovers with a secret email account. And of course, the classics you have probably already heard like, “Waving Through A Window,” “You Will Be Found,” For Forever,” and so many more!

While Dear Evan Hansen definitely has some heavier parts, it is an incredible show for anyone- especially young adults who are going through the middle and high school experiences themselves. You will not be disappointed with the show this talented cast puts together! Look below for show dates and ticket info for Dear Evan Hansen At The Keller Auditorium!

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TICKET AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION FOR DEAR EVAN HANSEN AT THE KELLER AUDITORIUM

 

Dear Evan Hansen will be at Portland’s Keller Auditorium for sixteen performances. The schedule for the Portland engagement is:

Tuesday, January 28: 7:30pm

Wednesday, January 29: 7:30pm

Thursday, January 30: 7:30pm – ASL Interpreted Performance

Friday, January 31: 7:30pm – Audio Described Performance

Saturday, February 1: 2:00pm and 7:30pm

Sunday, February 2: 1:00pm and 6:30pm – Open Caption Performance

Monday, February 3: 7:30pm

Tuesday, February 4: 7:30pm

Wednesday, February 5: 7:30pm – Open Caption Performance

Thursday, February 6: 1:00pm – Audio Described Performance and 7:30pm

Friday, February 7: 7:30pm

Saturday, February 8: 2:00pm – ASL Interpreted Performance and 7:30pm

 

Accessible seating for patrons using wheelchairs and their companion(s) is available at all performances.  You can purchase wheelchair seating by phone, in person, and online.  Ample seating chairs are available upon request. Assisted listening devices are available at all performances.

For additional information on ADA seating and services, personal assistance selecting accessible seats or for more information about accessibility, please contact the Broadway in Portland Box Office by phone at 503-417-0573 (M-F, 10a-5pm) or email Broadway@PortlandOpera.org.

 

Tickets can be purchased:

www.BroadwayInPortland.com
or at Portland’5 Box Office: 800-273-1530