Dear Evan Hansen ****

Fresh from a highly acclaimed run at Arena Stage in Washington, this bracing new musical with music and lyrics by Benj Hasek and Justin Paul (Dogfight and A Christmas Story: The Musical, both of which I admired) and book by Steven Levenson (The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, which I did not) is now running at Second Stage. Levenson’s well-crafted book brings the oft-told tale of a teenage misfit trying to cope with the torments of high school up to date for today’s world of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Kickstarter -- social media that are all too available to magnify and commodify events that used to remain private. The title character (a superb Ben Platt) inadvertently becomes involved in a misunderstanding and, through his efforts to be kind to the parents of Connor Murphy (Mike Faist) a classmate who has committed suicide, becomes enveloped in a quicksand of lies. Evan has a difficult relationship with his stressed-out single mother Heidi (a fine Rachel Bay Jones) who is too swamped with work and night school to provide him with the attention he craves. Larry and Cynthia Murphy (John Dossett and a moving Jennifer Laura Thompson), Connor’s grieving and unhappily wed parents, are comforted by the stories Evan manufactures for them and make him almost a family member. An added benefit for Evan is that he is able to spend more time with their daughter Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss) on whom he has long had a crush. Alana Beck (Kristolyn Lloyd) and Jared Kleinman (Will Roland) provide comic relief as two classmates who assist Evan with his deception. The contemporary pop score is well-integrated into the book. The emotional moments are quite gripping. David Korins’s set design has round platforms that whirl in and out of sight and black backdrops for the projection of social media. Emily Rebholz’s costumes befit the characters. Michael Greif (Next to Normal and Grey Gardens) once again shows his skill in directing thought-provoking musicals. The audience, far younger than the usual subscription crowd, loved it. I would not be surprised if a transfer to Broadway is in the works. Running time: 2 1/2 hours, including intermission.

Pippin ****

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Seeing Diane Paulus's imaginative revival of Stephen Schwartz's 1972 musical about the coming of age of Charlemagne's son is almost like getting two shows for the price of one. She has cleverly chosen to enhance -- or, in the opinion of some, to distract from -- Roger D. Hirson's book by setting the action in a circus milieu, adding the prodigious talents of Les 7 Doigts de la main, a Montreal-based troupe similar to Cirque de Soleil. The circus sequences are breathtaking and are, for the most part, well-integrated into the book. The dance numbers choreographed by Chet Walker "in the style of Bob Fosse" are terrific, although they sometimes seem unrelated to the action. The cast is strong. Patina Miller has the unenviable job of following in Ben Vereen's footsteps as the Leading Player, but she is up to the task. British actor Matthew James Thomas is excellent in the title role. Charlotte d'Amboise, Terrence Mann and Rachel Bay Jones are all fine, but Andrea Martin steals the show as Berthe, Pippin's spritely grandmother. (She looks so great that it's almost impossible to believe that she's 66.) Scott Pask's set design and Dominique Lemieux's costumes are wonderful. The audience seemed largely composed of avid Pippin fans who burst into wild applause at every opportunity. Most of it was well-deserved. I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes including intermission.