When I learned that Bay Street Theater’s third and final summer mainstage production would be “Dear Evan Hansen” — a contemporary musical about high school teenagers grappling with loneliness, social anxiety, depression, and suicide — I admit I was not immediately excited. After a long day at the office and an hour in Hamptons traffic, the subject matter did not exactly sound uplifting. Still, the show’s six Tony Awards, its 2016 Broadway success, and the devoted cult-like following it inspired among adolescents made me curious enough to see what all the hype was about.
Directed by Scott Schwartz, who previously directed “Dear Evan Hansen” at ACT in CT, and musical director Cole P. Abod, this production did not disappoint. It’s based on the book written by Steven Levenson with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a socially anxious high school student whose private letter to his therapist is mistaken for a classmate’s final suicide note. A misunderstanding becomes a lie that gives Evan the acceptance he has always wanted (in school and on social media) and ultimately forces him to face the damage he has caused.
Bay Street’s production is strongest in its intimate staging, which places the audience close to Evan’s bedroom, phone, and computer. That proximity heightens the musical’s central anxiety. Screens, projections, and fragments of online communication create a world where every feeling can be broadcast, misread, amplified, or exploited, forcing us to sit with discomfort and question Evan’s actions. Were his motives sincere or self-serving? Is he a hero or a villain? That ambiguity gives the show its charge. The audience is invited to feel compassion without being asked to excuse him, making the story both painful and deeply affecting.
The performances carry weight in a show this emotionally exposed. As Evan (Kenny Lee), gives a compelling portrayal of an awkward, uneasy young man whose social anxiety emerges through stuttering and panic attacks, without reducing him to a stereotype. He conveys vulnerability without seeming manipulative and earns sympathy without softening the consequences of Evan’s choices. The direction finds its strength in grounding Evan in fear rather than charm. Around him, the other characters — his mother, Heidi (Maya Days); his love interest, Zoe (Olivia Foght); Connor’s mother, Cynthia (Heather Ayers); Connor’s father, Larry (Gil Brady); the comic relief, Jared (Josh Hoyt); the social media-obsessed Alana (Amaya White); and Connor (Erik Houck) — each reveal a different kind of loneliness, making the musical feel less like one boy’s story and more like a portrait of a community struggling to tell the truth.
Pasek and Paul’s score gives the production its rock-driven pulse. Songs including “Waving Through a Window,” “For Forever,” “You Will Be Found,” and “So Big/So Small” use pop-ballad language to make private anguish feel expansive. The music, strengthened by the cast’s impressive acting and vocals, underscores the show’s central contradiction: these characters live in a hyperconnected world yet remain desperate for real connection. At times, the score pushes the audience toward uplift, but the story continues to remind us of the deception at its core.
Evan’s lie is undeniably harmful, yet the audience is invited to forgive him before the story has fully earned that forgiveness. Still, that tension is part of what makes the show worth discussing. It is messy in the way human need is messy, and it refuses to let Evan, the grieving family, or the audience walk away untouched.
Ultimately, “Dear Evan Hansen” succeeds because it understands the ache beneath its story: the fear of disappearing in plain sight. This visual language is especially effective because it does more than decorate the production; it shows how quickly private pain can become public narrative. The result is a moving, often piercing musical that asks how far people will go to be seen — and what it costs when connection is built on something untrue. This show offers no easy comfort, but rather a resonant reminder that being found begins with being honest with oneself and others.
“Dear Evan Hansen” is a must-see for young people and adults alike. The musical explores how social media can intensify isolation, the need for connection, and the pressure on teens to shape false narratives that blur the line between reality and fantasy. The show runs through August 29 at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, with tickets available at baystreet.org.
Bay Street Theater will also host “Dear Social Media: The Search for Identity, Connection & Belonging,” a related discussion presented with the nonprofit The Kind Mind Theatre Project, on Friday, August 14, from 5 to 7 PM.