Larry Murphy squirts shaving cream into his palm and rubs his hands together to demonstrate how to break-in a baseball glove “The Right Way,” a scene in the second act of the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” at Arena Stage.
Larry (Michael Park) never had time to do this with his son Connor before he died. So now he’s showing his son’s friend Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) the right way to lather the mitt with shaving cream, attach rubber bands and put it under a mattress to make it ready to catch a fastball.
This isn’t the way we broke-in gloves when I was growing up, but I could relate to doing things the right way – which was a theme for the whole production. Considering where I’ve come from, and what I’ve done, I really connected with this.
Evan won the love of the Murphy family after Connor died, when they discovered a letter it seemed Connor had been writing to Evan. They were shocked to learn their son had a friend. Evan didn’t have the heart to tell them that Connor was a bully, and had stolen the letter Evan was writing to himself. The lies spin out of control from there, and the family’s love for their son begins to transfer to Evan. He even helps them start a foundation in Connor’s name. Evan’s mother works a lot, and he begins to spend more and more time with the Murphy family – including their daughter Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss). His crush.
Evan eventually comes clean, leaving the Murphy family heartbroken. But it doesn’t end there.
Anyone could find a character they relate to in this talented cast. Michael Park played a firm business man. He was professional even around family – but very compassionate. And while we were all rooting for Evan, I certainly didn’t want to see Laura Dreyfuss’ character get hurt. Ben Platt’s voice is great and his acting was spot-on, from the expressions on his face to the twitching of his fingers.
The singing was excellent, the music was great, the lighting was good and the cast were dressed just like you or I. We had a lot of good laughs.
I really can’t emphasize the singing enough. I recommend you check out the show. The musical’s world debut continues at Arena Stage through Sunday August 23.
