Loneliness hurts. It is painful for people of all ages, but teenagers seem to be the most vulnerable. Evan Hansen is one of those teenagers. In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ The Muny is presenting a musical drama that touches on many contemporary topics such as mental health, social media, peer pressure, divorce, grief, and social isolation. It is also introducing a new rising star in the role of Evan–Michael Fabisch.

Evan’s parents divorced when he was seven years old. His father moved to Colorado, remarried, and started a new family. Evan stayed with his mother, Heidi (Jackie Burns), who is working, studying to be a paralegal, and ensuring that Evan’s prescriptions are refilled and his therapy assignments are completed. She is trying to be a good mother, but there aren’t enough hours in the day.

      Evan’s loneliness at home transcends into more loneliness at school. He has such severe anxiety that he can’t even speak to a girl without getting sweaty palms and apologizing for his social inadequacies. He has a broken left arm and no one will sign his cast. One day he has a confrontation with Connor Murphy (Joshua Bess) in the computer library. Acting like a bully, Connor takes a letter off the printer that Evan was writing for his therapy assignment and puts it in his pocket. He then grabs a Sharpie and signs his name across Evan’s cast. That letter in Connor’s pocket becomes the impetus for ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’

An unexpected death and an unintentional lie change the trajectory of the main characters’ lives.

     Under the brilliant direction of Rob Ruggiero, the audience experiences the character development of Zoe (Afra Sophia Tully) Murphy, Connor’s sister, and their parents, Cynthia (Maggie Lakis) and Larry (Rob McClure) Murphy. The repercussions of the lie spread through the high school and throughout the community with the support of Evan’s cousin, Jared (Bryan Munar) and school friend, Alana Beck (Savy Jackson). Every character is credible in his/her role and they each do a beautiful job singing a portion of the outstanding score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (who also wrote ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘La La Land’).

     ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ won six Tony Awards and three Olivier Awards. It’s a modern story told beautifully through meaningful songs. Two of my favorite songs are, “Waving From the Window” and “You Will Be Found.” It’s a departure from what audiences are accustomed to seeing on The Muny stage, but anyone with an ounce of empathy will feel the emotion and relate to the story on some level.

Most of the sets and costumes are simple, but effective. There is one scene, however, when the Internet goes crazy and we see an explosion of technology at play on the stage. It’s wildly wonderful! Credit for scenic design goes to Michael Schweikardt and for costume design, Joseph Shrope. The teen ensemble played the high school student body and their dance numbers were choreographed by Beth Crandall.

There are many lessons to be learned from ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ Through Michael Fabisch’s powerhouse performance, the most profound is that everyone needs to be seen and appreciated for who they are. Everyone needs a friend. No one deserves to disappear. Every member of this cast raises their gorgeous voices and reinforces those messages. Seeing ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ on The Muny stage is a moving experience that I will never forget. To experience it for yourself, see it now through Aug. 3.