We did have Stephen Christopher Anthony as Evan Hansen. It’s not on the cast board, but in the show program which I didn’t really look at until I got home. I thought, even from where I was sitting, it wasn’t Ben Levi Ross once the show started. None the less, Stephen has a superb voice and I thought he sounded a lot like Evan from the OBCR. And his acting was phenomenal.
As mentioned above we also had the one other understudy, and I also thought she did well.
The sound mixing was a bit off for the first several minutes of the show and it was hard to hear the dialogue. Even the songs were light. But by time they got to For Forever (third song in the program) it was significantly better.
I had been listening to the OBCR for several weeks and my favorite song, other than the show’s anthem You Will Be Found, was Sincerely, Me. Absolutely could listen to that on repeat. Which I have. And quite a lot on the drive back home. Love the way it was acted out.
Requiem made more sense once I saw it on stage. It was heartbreakingly done, and Ciara Alyse Harris sang beautifully. And the scene where If I Could Tell Her is played out was brilliantly acted and sung by Stephen (Evan).
The onstage band was slightly distracting in their perch high above stage right. At times the lights that lit their scores where quite visible through the mesh screen.
Act 1 blew right by, and Act 2 takes a turn for the serious. It was raw, and many times Stephen Christopher Anthony was wiping tears off his face, once the tears visibly dropping to the stage. He was superb.
The graphics projected on the multitude of screens were quite amazing, and reminded me a bit of The Curious Case of the Dog In the Night-time.
The ending of the show was peaceful. Quite a contrast to the 2-1/2 hrs we just sat through. As mentioned in a post above “Acting-wise, this company could transfer to the Music Box tomorrow”, and I quite agree whole heartedly. All of the performances were solid. And the show was immensely enjoyable, even with the subject matter at hand.
I did buy a window card, a Limited Edition National Tour version specific to Heinz Hall, as well as a souvenir program.
This show is very highly recommended. Don’t miss this.
Updated On: 5/26/19 at 07:06 PM
