By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Millennial Theatre Company has been on a winning streak since it started about 10 years ago.
Producing strictly musicals, the theater has found a niche without the luxury of having its own home theater. That will soon change, however, when it moves into the old Wellman Theater in downtown Girard.
But until that time, it is performing at the Youngstown Playhouse to the delight of local audiences. Millennial’s latest offering – the area premiere of “Dear Evan Hansen” with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and the book by Steven Levenson – opened Friday and continues its streak.
Lead character Evan Hansen is a high school senior who is dealing with depression and social anxiety. With seemingly no friends and being socially awkward, he goes through life pretty much unnoticed by all. His therapist suggests that he write letters to himself each morning beginning with, “Dear Evan Hansen, today will be a good day…..” to allow each day start off positively.
In his continual attempt to find acceptance and belong, however, he gets caught up in a vicious web of deceit when a fellow classmate, Connor Murphy, commits suicide. Hansen, who didn’t know Murphy, claims that they were best friends and has emails fabricated between the two to convince everyone of his lies. Murphy’s family buys the dupe which leads to the whole plot exploding big time.
Tom Millsap-Kijauskas mounts the role of Evan Hansen and gives a first class performance. He has studied every nuance of this character and has honed his portrayal into minute details which underscore the many layers and sides involved with Evan. Early on, he was a bit difficult to follow as his speech pattern is very rapid but he either slowed down a bit later on or I just got attuned to his pattern – not sure which.
Millsap-Kijauskas gives a grandiose view of this troubled teen as his lies make his life even more difficult than it normally is. One lie leads to another and then another but then he must back up and gloss over some errors along the way.
His stories are so comforting to the Murphy family that they almost treat him as their own son. This adds another layer of difficulty when all of his lies begin to unravel.
Millsap-Kijauskas gives a sensitivity and vulnerability to Evan that grabs the audience and pulls it in, even though they know exactly what he is doing. But he also can show the rougher side of Hansen when the walls begin to close in. He has several standout vocal moments with “For Forever,” “You Will Be Found” and “Words Fail.” He elicits empathy for Evan every step of the way.
Heidi, Evan’s mother, played by Brandy Johanntges, gives another one of her high octane performances. Heidi, a single mom, working and trying to deal with Evan and his social issues, is torn between her love for her son and the shock of the ruse he created for the Murphy family and the entire community. Johanntges is great at these strong dramatic characterizations and she creates a Heidi of multiple complexities. She is at her best with “So Big/So Small” as she confronts Evan during a heated argument. During the course of the scene, she expertly balances her love for her son evenly with her angst at what he has done.
Her transition from the seemingly happy and encouraging mother at the beginning to the side of her that has to try and understand a son that she thought she knew, is well laid out and Johanntges sinks her teeth into every second that she is onstage.
The Murphy family has its own issues. Dysfunctional? To be sure.
Each member of the family has their individual issues. Cynthia, is a stay at home mother that seems overwhelmed taking care of everyone else. Kali Davies-Anderson hits the mark with her portrayal of Cynthia. She plays the character as the glue that holds the family tenuously together. Upon the death of her son, Connor, her despair is real and genuine as she searches for some answers. When she thinks she has found them, in Evan, the character takes on a whole new demeanor of hope and optimism which Davies-Anderson reverses deftly when she learns the truth.
Connor, who’s suicide propels the story, is played by Andrew Baumeier. His performance reveals a troubled teen on drugs and wrapped in depression. His early scenes help set up Evan’s lies as he bullies Evan and pushes him to the ground in the early stages. That character changes in Act II, however, as he acts as Evan’s conscience as Evan begins to have doubts about all of the lies. Baumeier really comes “alive” in Act II and makes Connor a more likable character in the mind of the audience.
Brendan Boyle gives a laidback portrayal to Larry Murphy in the early going but his real character comes out later as he deals with the death of Connor and again later as he gets sucked into Evan’s lies. His happiness boils over but then is shut off quickly when the truth comes out. Well done by Boyle.
Zoe Murphy (Natalina Kazimir) is somewhat suspicious of Evan’s claims of his friendship with Connor but that soon vanishes as she too gets caught up in Evan’s story. Kazimir is one of Millennial’s standout actresses and she gives a sweet but strong view of Zoe who eventually becomes Evan’s girlfriend. She handles the many layers of Zoe very carefully from beginning to end and is vocally strong in “Only Us” and “If I Could Tell Her.” You feel that the audience is really rooting for the diverse couple as the story unfolds.
Ben Doss makes another great appearance on the Millennial stage as Jared, perhaps Evan’s only friend. Doss plays a pivotal role as Jared as he acts as a voice of reason when he finds out what Evan plans to do. Plus, he is the one who actually wrote the false emails. His portrayal is easygoing and light and he offers up some comedy in scenes when it is sorely needed. But Doss turns on the jets later when Evan’s plans begin to implode.
Karina Moran has fun with her character, Alana. She pops in and out throughout the show as she assumes many “offices” for The Connor Project when the whole mess begins to spiral out of control. She gives a refreshing performance in the midst of all the chaos that everyone else is experiencing.
Director Joe Asente has offered up a huge production on many levels. The story is complex and so are the characters and tech requirements – which would give any director nightmares. His set design dazzles. Along with seven monitors on stage showing numerous videos that are simultaneously transferred to scrims upstage, his lighting design is sometimes stark but also warm and comforting when it needs to be. Follow spots help to centralize focus on musical numbers. He also took care of costume design .
The addition of a seven-piece live pit band was a huge addition to this show. It added so much more depth than canned music would have. Congrats on that and may it continue.
“Dear Evan Hansen” will continue July 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m.; and July 12 and 19 at 2:30 p.m.
Pictured at top: Tom Millsap-Kijauskas and Andrew Baumeier in a scene from Millennial Theatre Company’s production of “Dear Evan Hansen.”