“Dear Evan Hansen” Courtesy of Zach Rosing Used with permission.
Summer Stock Stage’s preview of “Dear Evan Hansen” at Butler University’s Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts offered a familiar musical through a fresh, student-driven lens. A professional-level musical theatre company focused on high school and younger performers, Summer Stock Stage brought confidence and care to material I had previously seen on Broadway and on tour in Indianapolis. What stayed with me most was the generosity and courage of this high school cast, which carried the show with a thoughtful, emotionally clear performance that stood on its own.
The musical began at Arena Stage in Washington in 2015, moved off-Broadway and reached Broadway in 2016. Steven Levenson wrote the book, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Its Tony Awards mattered, but its staying power came from how directly it captured anxiety, isolation and the constant visibility many young people knew all too well.
The story remained emotionally difficult. Evan Hansen wrote himself a letter at his therapist’s suggestion; after Connor Murphy died by suicide, the letter was mistaken for a final message to Evan from a secret best friend. Evan let the misunderstanding grow because, perhaps for the first time, he felt noticed and needed. The result was moving, uncomfortable and shadowed by the certainty that the truth would catch up with him.
“Dear Evan Hansen” – Courtesy of Zach Rosing Used with permission.
The score remained one of the show’s strengths. “Waving Through a Window” gave voice to isolation, “You Will Be Found” turned Evan’s lie into an anthem, “Requiem” let Connor’s family be angry and conflicted, and “Words Fail” stripped Evan of his excuses. The music felt contemporary and immediate, balancing big emotional sound with vulnerability.
Social media shaped the show’s world, amplifying compassion while also flattening grief into content, rewarding half-truths and turning private pain into public performance. That tension gave the musical continuing social significance.
Though “Dear Evan Hansen” premiered in 2015, its concerns about teen isolation, mental health, grief and connection remained urgent. This production approached that weight with restraint, focusing on ripple effects: parents searching for answers, classmates publicizing grief and a lonely student choosing a false connection over none.
Seeing students play students gave the production a natural authenticity and an added tenderness. The body language, interactions with their phones and laptops and effort to seem OK while not feeling OK felt unforced, as if the performers understood the emotional weather of the story from the inside.
The ensemble was uniformly strong, bringing focus, conviction and open heartedness to roles that depended on emotional honesty rather than sentiment. The cast included Preston Angus as Evan Hansen, Emily Ristine as Heidi Hansen, Erin Rosenfeld as Zoe Murphy, Isabella Agresta as Zoe Murphy, Aiden Duez as Connor Murphy, Katy Gentry as Cynthia Murphy, Eric Olson as Larry Murphy, Jack Diamont as Jared Kleinman and Aubrie-Mei Rubel as Alana.
“Dear Evan Hansen” = Courtesy of Zach Rosing Used with permission.
The excellence extended beyond the performers. Lauren Morris’ direction gave the production clarity and restraint, Cameron Tragessor’s music direction supported the score’s urgency and intimacy, and Philip Crawshaw’s choreography kept the staging purposeful. The high caliber also reflected costume designer Allison James, scenic designer David Orr, lighting designer Michael Moffatt, sound designer Zach Rosing, props designer Rachelle Martin and wig, hair and makeup designer Drew Bryson, who’s detailed, character-defining work rivaled what I had seen in professional productions of the show.
The production’s view of social media as both connection and distortion found its strongest visual expression in Joey Mervis’ video design, which featured cameos from more than 50 real students and deepened the sense of community while making the online landscape feel immediate rather than decorative.
If local Tony Awards were given for best actor in a leading role in a musical, Angus would be a clear contender as Evan Hansen. Ben Platt originated the role and won a Tony Award for it, but Angus met the challenge with assurance, putting his own stamp on a part that demands vocal control, emotional transparency and dramatic precision.
Katy Gentry made a strong impression as Cynthia Murphy, Connor and Zoe’s mother, a woman torn between grief, guilt and the need to hold her family together. Gentry gave her warmth, urgency and believable complexity, showing that her acting is as compelling as her locally admired singing.
Summer Stock Stage deserves praise for casting Erin Rosenfeld as Zoe Murphy, making her the first Deaf actor to take on the role. In my 50 years as a critic, I had never witnessed such casting, which made the choice artistically meaningful and personally striking. Rosenfeld brought sensitivity and emotional depth to Zoe, making her grief, guardedness and longing feel lived in. Her performance was fully convincing, and Isabella Agresta, serving as her singing shadow in the same role, also deserves recognition for supporting the character with sensitivity and vocal strength.
“Dear Evan Hansen” – Courtesy of Zach Roding. Used with permission.
What made this “Dear Evan Hansen” memorable was not simply that young performers handled difficult material well, but that they brought it closer to the world it describes. As the final show of Summer Stock Stage’s four-show season, it capped a remarkable run in which each production was both a critical and box-office success. Congratulations are due to Summer Stock Stage co-founder and Producer & Director Emily Ristine Holloway and Managing Director Mike Raunick, whose visionary leadership helped make this “Dear Evan Hansen” and theand the full season possible.
Sumer Stock Stage delivered a polished, sincere production, supported by strong direction, assured musical work, thoughtful design and an ensemble whose warmth made the musical’s pain bearable and its hope believable. It runs through Aug. 9 and is nearly sold out — a fitting end to a season that confirmed Summer Stock Stage’s place as one of Indy’s most impactful cultural attractions and proved what can happen when young artists are trusted not merely to perform, but to illuminate the truths adults too often struggle to say aloud.
For tickets and information about “Dear Evan Hnsen” visit summerstockstage.com
