Reopened: December 11, 2021

Book by: Steven Levenson

Music & Lyrics by: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

Broadway Reopening Cast: Jordan Fisher, Gabrielle Carrubba, Jessica Phillips, Christiane Noll, David Jeffrey, Ivan Hernandez, Jared Goldsmith, Phoebe Koyabe, Zachary Noah Piser, Reese Sebastian Diaz, Linedy Genao, Nathan Levy, Mateo Lizcano, Dan Macke, Jane Pfitsch, Talia Simone Robinson, Asa Somers, Josh Strobl & Nicole Van Giesen

COVID-19 had many casualties on the Great White Way and one of the biggest is the love that audiences held for Dear Evan Hansen.

When a note addressed to Evan Hansen (Jordan Fisher) is found in the pocket of Connor Murphy (David Jeffrey) after he commits suicide, Larry and Cynthia Murphy (Ivan Hernandez & Christiane Noll) seek out answers from Evan about why Connor might’ve done this.

Unfortunately, a lot of the demise Dear Evan Hansen suffered could be attributed to its film version. The storyline reads differently onscreen and parts of the plot that could be seen differently when it was just a stage production become glaringly wrong when viewed again.

This isn’t to say that the cast or the music is bad. I’d still rank the music as some of the best composed. It’s just a tough story to sell.

Final say: Time for this tale to close. ★★★☆☆