A new Nottingham Playhouse production of multi-award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is visiting Birmingham this month. The show follows title character and anxious teenager Evan, who bends the truth to fit in at school, and then faces the consequences. The iconic role is being played by Ryan Kopel, with Sonny Monaghan taking over for matinee performances. Here, the two actors offer a glimpse behind the scenes...

‘Today is going to be a good day...’ 

With not one, but two Evan Hansens in the room, that would appear to be a given. 

Ryan Kopel and Sonny Monaghan may sport very different looks and have an age gap of six years, but they have one important thing in common - both are preparing to play the iconic title role in Dear Evan Hansen, the fresh new Nottingham Playhouse production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning musical. 
Dear Evan Hansen is the story of an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in - but who, on his way to fitting in, doesn’t tell the whole truth. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan reckons with himself and everyone around him. 

The musical premiered in Washington, DC, in 2015 before transferring to off-Broadway and then Broadway a year later. The London West End production followed in 2019, but it was on Broadway that Monaghan, a self-confessed fan of the show, first saw the musical during a family holiday to New York.

He then landed the part after submitting a video on TikTok, as part of the casting team’s collaboration with the social-media platform. From more than 2,000 submissions, the 21-year-old was one of 36 TikTok users invited to in-person auditions, eventually being cast as a member of the show's ensemble and as alternate Evan, a role he will perform twice a week, at every matinee.

Kopel took a more traditional route when auditioning, but unlike Monaghan, had never seen the show before. His introduction came during the audition process, and with themes including bullying and mental health, he quickly discovered that Dear Evan Hansen deals with some important issues. 

The actor from Kirriemuir, in Scotland, recalls, “Reading the script during the audition process was very helpful because as much as Ben Platt, the original Evan, was iconic in the role, it was nice to be able to form my own take on Evan. The writing is so good that I really can just trust my instinct to bring what I feel to the character... We have complete freedom to take the script and create something new.” 

“Staging-wise, everything is different...” chips in Monaghan, before Kopel continues: “It’s eight years since the Broadway production debuted, which doesn’t sound that long but when you think about it, a lot has changed in that time. The technology we use every day is so different that much of the script has taken on a whole new meaning. Just looking at the piece from the lens of 2024 has been an interesting experience.” 

If the rehearsal period has been invigorating for Kopel, for Monaghan it has been nothing less than hectic. Explaining how having two Evans ‘in the room' works, he reveals, “Mainly, it’s Ryan and the principal cast who are in the rehearsal room with Director Adam Penford. They create the show. As the alternate Evan, I get brought in once it looks the way they want it to look. Then I work with our associate director to replicate that.” 

Kopel elaborates: “To be fair, that is the case, but it’s also done that way because Sonny has about '90 million' different things to learn. While I’m lucky to be focusing on one character, he has to be in a different room learning the parts of Evan, Connor, Jared, and all the ensemble's moves, too. One hundred per cent do I have the easy shift... apart from having to do it every night!”  

And it’s not just lines, songs and moves with which the pair have to familiarise themselves. Due to the sensitive themes of the piece, the producers have partnered with The Mix, the UK’s leading digital charity for under-25s, to ensure anyone affected by the issues explored in the show knows where to find support. The Mix has provided training to the cast and creative team on how to respond appropriately to queries from the public, both online and offline, and has equipped them with the knowledge to direct individuals to the right support channels. 

Kopel explains: “There's just something about this show that allows people to connect deeply with the characters. Often, they then associate characters with the actor playing them and open up, sharing what they’re going through. We take that responsibility incredibly seriously, and having that guidance from The Mix is vitally important.” 
Despite its themes, Dear Evan Hansen is a beautifully crafted and uplifting piece of musical theatre, one that Monaghan believes will “be a blessing for many, by helping them realise they need to talk to someone.” 
Kopel agrees: “Ultimately, Dear Evan Hansen is about hope. No matter what happens, what you are going through, its message is that there is always someone to talk to and reasons why you should go on. That’s what I'd like people to take away from the show.” 

Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, Dear Evan Hansen has Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman, to thank for its haunting score -  and both Evans have a favourite song.

The anthemic For Forever is Monaghan’s, while for Kopel it’s Words Fail. He adds with a cheeky smile, “I like it because it’s a bit of an emotional catharsis; it doesn’t matter if your voice cracks, because you are crying and already an emotional mess.” 

Before they head back to rehearsal, there's one last question: Dear Evan Hansen starts with Evan writing a letter to himself. It begins, naturally enough, with the title of the show followed by 'Today is going to be a good day because...' So, what would they write in such a letter to themselves? 

“Keeping in line with the show,” says Kopel, “my letter would say, ‘today is going to be a good day because you can take each day at a time, every hour as it comes.’”

And what about Monaghan’s? “Mine would read, 'today is going to be a good day because this is what and where you want to be, and you should know that you have worked hard and deserve to be here.”

Feature by Liam Rudden

Dear Evan Hansen shows at The Alexandra, Birmingham, from Tuesday 22  to Saturday 26 October. The production returns to the Midlands in 2025 to play Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 April