PNC Broadway’s ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Onstage at the Benedum (Wed., 5/3/23)

DEAR EVAN HANSEN (musical) by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson. Touring company at Benedum Center. May 2 – 7. 

PNC Broadway’s ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ features Anthony Norman as Evan Hansen (L.) John Hemphill as Larry Murphy, Lili Thomas as Cynthia Murphy, Alaina Anderson as Zoe Murphy. (Photo by Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made)

Good tickets are selling out, so act promptly if you want to see the title character sell out his integrity. For Pittsburgh theater fans unfamiliar with Dear Evan Hansen, here’s a brief recap of what you will see in this touring production: Evan is a high-school student with severe social anxiety and a crush on a girl in his class. When the girl’s brother commits suicide, Evan falsely claims to have been the young man’s close friend, even launching a memorial project to honor the deceased. Evan thereby gains the attention he has craved, at a price that includes moral dilemmas and an ultimate reckoning. Dear Evan Hansen won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical. Audiences love it, as do most but not all critics. Positive reviews praise the musical’s emotional power and intricacy; the dissenters feel it goes for emotional effect while glossing over some major issues. Dear Evan Hansen plays an eight-show run as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. 7:30 p.m. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (M.V.)  

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