by Cari Lynn Pace *
Spreckels Theatre Company opens their 2026/27 season with the North Bay premiere of the contemporary musical Dear Evan Hansen. Written by Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, this multi-Tony-Award-winning show exposes the teen angst so prevelant today. It runs in the Nellie W. Codding Theater at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through Oct. 11.
Evan, authentically acted by 20-year-old Addison Brown, is a socially reclusive teen encouraged by his mother (Michelle Pagano) and therapist to write himself letters of confidence and encouragement. One of his selfie letters accidentally ends up in the pocket of a brash and popular fellow teen, Connor (an energetic Nathaniel Howe.)
When Connor commits suicide, his family finds the letter and mistakenly assumes the two teens were best buds. Evan is too shy and embarrassed to correct them. He goes along with their assumptions and finds his life dramatically changing. He is no longer invisible to the world.
Connor’s distraught parents, beautifully enacted by Nick Kealy and Julianne Bradbury, welcome Evan into their family, a soothing balm for their departed son. Connor’s sister Zoe (Jacqueline Lee), who had never noticed Evan, now sees him as dating material. School teens who had ignored him now seek out Evan with his connection to notoriety. Classmate Alana (a commanding job by Aliya Webb) seizes on the opportunity for fame by urging Evan to set up a fundraising effort in Connor’s memory.
Evan has to create a larger and larger web of stories to stay in the game. He enlists techie classmate Jared (Neil Northrop) who backdates faux friendship emails with Connor. They concoct a suicide note to substantiate the connection. As events spin and go viral around him, Evan is trapped in his happiness by his lies. When his world starts to unravel, Evan fears he must find a way back to the truth.
Although masterfully directed by Kim Bromley, the volume of the eight-piece orchestra directed by Kenji Harada drowned out many of the songs’ lyrics. Fortunately, the actors dialogue between musical numbers is clear and strong.
Dear Evan Hansen is a thought-provoking story that resonates today, given our fake news culture. It should stimulate conversation long after the talented cast takes its final bows.
Playing through October 11, 2026 in the Codding Theater at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 1601 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.
Click HERE for more information and tickets.
Photos by Jeff Thomas
Cari Lynn Pace is a long-time Bay Area theatre critic whose reviews were regularly featured in the Marinscope Community Newspapers and a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and Marquee Theater Journalists Association.
