A Tony Award-winning musical exploring loneliness, grief and the search for belonging is coming to Guernsey next week.
Music Theatre Guernsey will stage ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at St James from Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 September, with a local cast, live eight-piece band and a production which its director says has particular relevance to island life.
The musical follows Evan Hansen, an isolated teenager whose life becomes entangled with a grieving family after the death of fellow student Connor Murphy.
A lie born from a misunderstanding quickly spirals through Evan’s school, family and social media, forcing the characters to confront truth, grief, loneliness and the need to belong.
Director Darren Alderton said those themes were central to MTG’s decision to take on the show.
“There are some shows you choose because of the story, some because of the characters and some because of the music. With Dear Evan Hansen, it was all three.”
Darren Alderton, Director
He said the show’s focus on connection felt “particularly relevant in Guernsey today”.
“We are becoming more financially divided, with an increasing sense of a two-tier society,” he said.
“This story asks us to look beyond those divisions at the things we all share: loneliness, grief, hope, family, friendship and that simple human need to belong.”
The musical’s score was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, whose work combines contemporary pop with musical theatre.
It includes songs such as ‘Waving Through a Window’, ‘For Forever’, ‘Sincerely, Me’, ‘Requiem’, ‘You Will Be Found’ and ‘Words Fail’.
The original Broadway production won six Tony Awards in 2017, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Pasek and Paul have also won Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards.
Taking the title role of Evan is Harry Snell, who previously appeared with MTG in ‘Carrie’ and played Galileo in ‘We Will Rock You’ at Elizabeth College.
Snell’s one-man performance in MTG’s ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ last year helped convince Alderton that he should audition for Evan.
He said the production would “connect people to the real, hard truths of life”.
“At times, it will make you feel incredibly alone and, at others, completely connected,” he said. “It is heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure.”
Mani Davis plays Connor Murphy, having previously appeared as Christopher in ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ and Danny in ‘Calendar Girls’.
Lily Becker takes the role of Zoe Murphy, while Caro Hardwicke plays Evan’s mother, Heidi.
Henri Barrett returns to the stage as Cynthia Murphy after around 20 years away from theatre, while Jon Maides plays her husband Larry.
Guernsey Raiders player Michael Cantle also swaps the rugby pitch for the stage as Jared Kleinman.
The production will feature an eight-piece live band alongside a substantial technical and design team.
Alderton said the show represented another step forward for MTG.
“We are always searching for new and challenging theatre,” he said. “‘Dear Evan Hansen’ feels like the icing on the cake of our 2026 season.”
‘Dear Evan Hansen’ runs at St James from Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 September.
He said the show’s focus on connection felt “particularly relevant in Guernsey today”.
