Reston Community Players (RCP), in collaboration with South Lakes Theatre Arts, recently closed Dear Evan Hansen, the area’s community theater premiere of the production. The music and lyrics are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and the book is by Steven Levenson; the musical won six Tonys in 2017 and was adapted into film in 2021.
I was excited to see this show but only cautiously optimistic because I have found the main character to be highly problematic in other productions. For those unfamiliar with the plot, the main character, Evan Hansen, is a depressed and neurodivergent high schooler who pretends to be the secret best friend of a classmate who died by suicide. What starts as a well-intentioned lie turns into a viral sensation with Evan as the star, and he becomes more entangled in a false narrative, deceiving the people he truly cares for.
My hesitation turned out to be entirely unwarranted. RCP’s production proved to be a powerful and relatable show that moved me to tears and left me feeling emotionally exhausted but inspired and hopeful.
The score of the show is absolutely stunning. Music director Emily Woidka did an excellent job blending the voices of the 23-person cast, and the music was supported by a live orchestra on stage, conducted by Alex Diaz.
Designer Anna Mintz created a simple but effective set. The stage was relatively empty, with two bandstand platforms where the orchestra sat to the right and left center. This created a walkway that often represented a high school hallway, which ran down center stage into a wide open space along the proscenium where most of the scenes took place. Benches, sofas, and items would be brought on stage for different parts of the school or in one of the families’ homes, eliminating the need for large flats and other heavy scenery that can create long scene changes and drag down the pacing of the show.
Social media acts as the primary accelerator in Dear Evan Hansen, transforming a small, private lie into a massive, uncontrollable public phenomenon. The production incorporates this aspect through projections designed by Ben Archie. These visual representations of the bombardment of posts and messages cover the screen like a collage or layer on in a continuous stream, brilliantly conveying the overwhelming influence the virtual community can have on an already anxious kid’s life.
Colby Chase is Evan Hansen and plays the awkward, lonely kid with a poignant realness that immediately captures the audience’s heart. Chase embodies the anxiety and desperate need for connection that defines Evan, making his journey feel profoundly personal and authentic. In “Waving Through the Window,” Chase demonstrates this with a desperate hesitation in his vocals that was surprising but made the song all the more effective.
Sarah Lennox is incredible as Evan’s crush, Zoe, a teen riddled with pain, anger, and her own sense of loneliness from living in a volatile home where the central focus was always her troubled brother, Connor (Jake Deering). Lennox and Chase perform a gorgeous duet in “If I Could Tell Her,” as Evan relays his love for Zoe through the voice of her brother. The scene is intensely emotional for Zoe, who was abused by her brother and struggles to believe he loved her. Watching Lennox process these feelings was incredibly compelling.
The character of Connor appears only in the first few scenes of the show. Once he has passed, Evan’s hallucinations of Connor become a mere reflection of what he longs to hear. In these moments, Deering is funny and charming as he sings “Sincerely, Me,” a complete 180 from the cruel brother and bully.
Katie Pond plays Cynthia Murphy, Connor and Zoe’s mother, a woman desperately looking for answers for why her son took his own life and why she could never reach him to help him. Her pain was palpable in the song “Requiem,” and Pond performed the gut-wrenching role beautifully.
Claire O’Brien Jeffrey, as Evan’s mom, Heidi, does an incredible job conveying the struggle of a single mother working day and night to provide for her family and trying to give her son the love and support he needs. Evan mistakes her absence for neglect, and it is heartbreaking to see the two drowning characters unable to see each other as they truly are. Jeffrey captures this crushing realization and the agony of realizing her child has been suffering alone in the second act’s “So Big/So Small.” The scene was devastating, but with echoes of hope that her son would be okay.
Every character is struggling and failing in their own way. Evan’s classmate Alana Beck (Madelyn Regan) latches onto the tragedy out of her own desire to be seen and heard, with a purpose to her life. Connor’s dad, Larry (Patrick Killoran), is a flawed, rigid father who lacks the tools to manage his own emotions, let alone those of his teenage children. And Jared Kleinman (Cash Conroy), Evan’s “acquaintance” who fabricates email exchanges to support the claim of friendship, may provide many comedic moments that create some levity for the heavy material but is himself deeply insecure, masking it with cynicism and snark.
I spoke to director Sarah Hardy after the show about how differently this production resonated with me, and she stressed that her main goal in this production was to focus on the struggles of mental health — the silent pain that so many of the characters are going through that causes them to be disconnected from themselves, from each other, and from their peers because they simply don’t know how to connect.
And this is a feeling that most anyone can relate to. The aching for belonging is what makes the lyrics from the closing number of the first act, “You Will Be Found,” resonate so strongly with the audience: “Even when the dark comes crashing through / When you need a friend to carry you / And when you’re broken on the ground / You will be found.”
In the program, Hardy explains that “the show also asks us to look beyond what we see online and remember that every person has a story more complex than what appears on the surface. My hope is that you’ll watch these characters with empathy. They are all doing the best they can with what they know in the moment. If you leave tonight seeing yourself, someone you love, or even a stranger a little differently, then I think this story has done its job.”
Ultimately, this joint effort between Reston Community Players and South Lakes Theatre Arts was an outstanding presentation that highlighted the amazing talent we are lucky to have in the Fairfax County community. By tackling such a modern and demanding piece with grace and raw honesty, they have fostered a space for vital conversations about mental health and human connection. The cast, which included many young actors, blew me away with their presence, professionalism, and performance. Congratulations to the team on a successful partnership. I hope this was the first of many more to come.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 35 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
Dear Evan Hansen played July 24 to August 1, 2026, presented by Reston Community Players in collaboration with South Lakes Theatre Arts, performing at South Lakes High School, 11400 South Lakes Dr, Reston, VA. For information about RCP’s upcoming shows, visit their website.
CAST: Evan Hansen: Colby Chase; Zoe Murphy: Sarah Lennox; Connor Murphy: Jake Deering; Cynthia Murphy: Katie Pond; Larry Murphy: Patrick Killoran; Heidi Hansen: Claire O’Brien Jeffrey; Jared Kleinman: Cash Conroy; Alana Beck: Madelyn Regan; The Ensemble: Megan Barbie, Alejandro Cahoon, Olivia Daugherty, Rachel Franco, Kipper Hardy, Maite Hernandez, David Herman, Fran Nadel, Wilbur Nardone, Liliana Nguyen, Sebastian Neff, Brenna Pond, Ellie Whitfield, Whitleigh Wilks, Tiernan Zizolof; Understudies: Megan Barbie (Heidi), Cash Conroy (Evan), Rachel Franco (Cynthia), Ellie Whitfield (Zoe/Alana), Tiernan Zizolof (Jared, Connor)
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM: Producer: Leslie Daugherty; Assistant Producer: Molly Atwater; Director: Sarah Hardy; Associate Director: Mike Viola; Assistant Director: Sunny Scott; Music Director: Emily Woidka; Production Stage Manager: Mai Le; Assistant Stage Manager: Sophie Wehmueller; General Crew Mentor: Itsuko Scoville; Running Crew: Jeff Elrod, Charlie Gurson; Technical Director: Sara Birkhead; Fight and Intimacy Choreographer: Ian Claar; Set Designer: Anna Mintz; Co-Set Designer / Projections Designer: Ben Archie; Assistant Set Designer: Nihillienne Jovieh Liray; Assistant Set Painting / Design / Decor: Sophia Mulhearn; Set Construction and Painting Crew: Jeff Elrod, Charlie Gurson, Nihillienne Jovieh Liray, Sophia Mulhearn; Set Decoration Designer: Cathy Gurson; Properties Designer: MaryJo Ford; Light Designer: Franklin Coleman; Assistant Light Designers: Aiden Unadkat, Rowan Ward; Sound Designer: Rich Bird; Assistant Sound Designers: Meaghan Hope, Brooklyn Whyte; Costume Designer: Emily Miller; Hair and Makeup Designer: Emily Miller; Media: Maggie Huse; House Management: Leslie Daugherty; Photographer: Heather Regan; Playbill: Michael Barret Jones, Liz Colandene
THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN ORCHESTRA: Alex Diaz: Conductor/Keyboard; Bennett Atwater: Guitar 1; Jason Pualoa: Guitar 2; Albert Bennett: Cello; Nathan Singer Weisbrod: Drums; Sara Korpeck Farris: Bass; Tasha Pulvermacher: Violin; Amy Rose-Tejwani: Viola
