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Barbara Loots
Showtime Management and How Now Brown Cow Productions proudly present the South African premiere of the smash-hit musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Artscape, Cape Town from 12 February to 9 March 2025. Staying true to the original's core vision, the creative team will be putting their own stamp on this staging.
Sitting down with director, Greg Karvellas, and designer, Niall Griffin, of the much-anticipated South African premiere of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, adds to the excitement leading up to the staging at the Artscape this February.
As a DEAR EVAN HANSEN fan, I had to start the conversation with the important question: How true is the Showtime Management and How Now Brown Cow presented production to the Broadway smash-hit so many theatre kids fell in love with around the world? As they are both "massive fans of the show" too, they immediately eliminated any hint of trepidation. "We're not setting it in outer space", says Karvellas. The show stays true to "the Evan Hansen-ness" of the original. The difference comes in when one considers how they "package" the show, as the South African staging is a non-replica, non-blueprint production.
"It is an original production in that we are using the words and the music and the characters as written, but from a staging point of view it's very much our take on the production", explains Karvellas. This staging of DEAR EVAN HANSEN will still feel very familiar to fans, with the personal touches being more focussed on how they interpret the themes. "It's 100% DEAR EVAN HANSEN as people who know it will remember it. But it is our interpretation of it, our take on it from a design and staging point of view."
Griffin adds: "A non-blueprint, non-replica approach is always a scary thing for people when there is such a hugely beloved show on the line. However, DEAR EVAN HANSEN is such a strong story, so beautifully written, and so much is dictated by the story that you can't really veer from that essence. Everything that people love about DEAR EVAN HANSEN will absolutely be there, because it exists in the score, in the script, in the world." So, although the show may reveal some visual difference, it's still in essence the show as loved by many. Griffin adds that the opportunity to play with the visual presentation without distorting the DNA of the show, is very exciting. "You need to give the audience what they want, but I think what's exciting for our South African audiences is that there is a new visual language attached to the world of Evan. However, the birthplace of this visual language that we've created remains the original production. "
Probing a bit as to what surprises may be in store for audiences, Griffin cautiously responds, "I can see Greg's concern on his brow. 'Don't give it away, Niall, don't give it away!' This is what I will say: We most certainly, and very excitingly, have pushed the boat out on this one. There are very lovely effects in the show that will most definitely excite. It will tickle all lovely fan hearts with those elements that up the production value. More than that, I will not say."
As careful and considerate these these two are being with the staging elements, the production team similarly knows that much of the success of DEAR EVAN HANSEN depends on the casting. You need the performers who step into the shoes of the beloved characters to be able to bring the required depth, especially considering that the musical deals with issues of loneliness, anxiety and suicide.
Unpacking cast choices, I put it to Karvellas that getting the age of the characters spot is a heavy burden in itself: Although Ben Platt worked in the originally staging as Evan, his casting in the movie was not successful at all. It is rather easier to forgive a teenager the self-delusion at play, but when your main character (as in the case of the movie) looks more adult, that delusion leans more towards a sociopathic character, as someone who exploits the grief of a family, and should know better. The line one walks there to keep the audience invested in and on Evan’s side is a rather delicate one.
That distinction is "sort of a consequence of growing up", Karvellas reflects. "I've spent so much time with the script and you could pick it apart and find all the holes of course. But what's important? What I want the audience to connect with is the sense of being alone, because feeling that way is part of the human condition. It's what we do with that feeling that matters. One of the most basic human things is that we make mistakes. It's what we learn from those mistakes as we grow up that informs who we become."
Karvellas also adds another layer to the philosophical question underpinning the narrative: "Is the story really about Evan Hansen and simply the universal themes of anxiety and social media? Or does it also present a story about a young boy becoming a man and learning to deal with life when he gets caught up in a situation that he did not see coming, learning that it is okay to say, 'Sorry guys, I made a big mistake'?"
Karvellas draws the analogy of people watching a horror movie, shouting at a character not to go down the stairs, but kind of needing the character to do so for the movie to reach its ultimate conclusion. In DEAR EVAN HANSEN you can similarly see when Evan is making the wrong choices and heading down a path that will end badly, but he needs to take that path to ultimately learn an important life lesson. Part of Evan's appeal, for Karvellas, is also that "there's something in the character that everybody can relate to in that everyone just wants to belong." In searching for a sense of belonging we are all confronted with a choice: Will we set aside our morality to fit in, or will rational thinking prevail?
"Seeing how polarized the world is today, you see the bystander effect more and more", Karvellas continues. "Why don't people stand up and speak the truth?" That is the conundrum the audience faces when they meet Evan and go on this journey with him.
It is then also this ability to connect with the audience on such an authentic level that makes Stuart Brown the perfect choice for South Africa's first Evan. Karvellas is very happy with the casting of Brown: His onstage persona has a youthfulness that allows for the audience to play with the idea that although Evan may handle the anxiety inducing situation relating to suicide and grief badly, there isn't any intentional malice at play. "There's a boyishness and an innocence" in Brown's approach to his character.
While it may be important for Brown’s Evan to bond with the audience, due to the level of depth underpinning the drama at play, it is equally as necessary for the rest of the cast to evoke that feeling of fellowship with their audience.
"As I've said to myself and the team right from the beginning," Karvellas continues, "there is no place to hide in this musical. It has to be authentic. The audience has to feel a connection with the characters. Otherwise it's just a group of really beautiful songs and a couple of funny and dramatic scenes" without any real substance.
Although the cast must be able to perform the musical numbers with great skill and gusto, their acting must be on par with their musical prowess every step of the way.
Griffin agrees, and he believes that the South African cast has the skill and experience to pull this off as a collective: "The huge book seems weighty and needs to be respected, because what is going on there is incredibly deep and profound... it is a very complex thing", and the cast fully appreciates that this show is equal parts drama and music. Considering all that, "the casting in this is truly remarkable”.
The fact that the cast appreciates the layers at play in the story being told is where the magic really starts to happen. "It's all about the audience at the end of the day," Karvellas adds, giving them the completely rounded experience of what DEAR EVAN HANSEN means when it jumps off the page and onto the stage.
Audiences can catch DEAR EVAN HANSEN at the Artscape Theatre from 12 February to 9 March 2025, before it transfers to Montecasino's Teatro, Johannesburg from 15 March to 13 April 2025. Tickets can be booked online through Ticketmaster.