Here's what you need to know if you've never seen Dear Evan Hansen: it's a musical about a teenager who lies. He tells a grieving family that he was friends with their son who died by suicide. The lie spirals. People get hurt. And somewhere in the middle of all that pain, the show finds something real and human about why we reach for stories that make us matter — even when those stories aren't true.

That's heavy. We know. But here's why we're telling you to see it anyway: Broadway Stage Collective's production is genuinely worth your time. Not "worth seeing for community theatre." Worth seeing, period.

Why This Production Matters

BSC isn't your average community theatre company. They co-produced How to Dance in Ohio on Broadway — yes, actual Broadway. The people behind this production know what professional-quality theatre looks like, and they've assembled a team that reflects that standard.

Director Jen Hemme has spent 25 years building theatre programs in Clark County schools, and she made a choice here that pays off: instead of trying to copy what the show looked like on Broadway, she made it intimate. You're in a smaller room. You're closer to the actors. And because of that, you feel everything more directly. When Evan is falling apart, you can see it on his face. When the Murphy family is grieving, you're grieving with them.

The People on Stage

Gus Pappas plays Evan Hansen, and he's remarkable. He's not "acting anxious" — he's living it, and his program note about his own experience with depression and anxiety tells you this is personal for him. That honesty comes through in every scene.

Mary Engelhardt plays Evan's mom Heidi, and she'll break your heart. The scenes between mother and son — especially in the second act — are the emotional core of this production.

Shannon Payette Seip plays Cynthia Murphy (Connor's mom), and she's the one with the professional credits you'd see in a Broadway program — Off-Broadway debut, Come From Away in Australia. She brings a gravity to the role that anchors every family scene.

Tristen Serpa (Connor Murphy) trained at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Emma Phillips makes Zoe Murphy feel like a real person, not just a character in someone else's story. Brandon Albright (Larry Murphy) grounds the family scenes. Trevor Rounds plays Jared, Evan's sort-of friend, and delivers the comedy the show needs to breathe. And Khloe Judd — who is 17 years old, still a student at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts — plays Alana Beck with the confidence of someone who's been doing this for years. Remember her name.

What Makes It Special

Two words: Jeff Tidwell. He's the projection designer, and what he does with the screens in this show is beautiful. Instead of showing you social media posts and notifications (which is what the Broadway version did), he shows you what it feels like inside Evan's head — fragmented, layered, overwhelming. Even if you've never thought about what a "projection designer" does, you'll notice his work. It's that good.

Jeremy Jones does the lighting — and this man started his career at this very same Summerlin venue back in 1996 before going on to install Cirque du Soleil's O at Bellagio. The lighting and projections work together beautifully. Holly Stanfield leads the orchestra, and the music sounds fantastic.

Choreography by Rachel Debenedetto and intimacy choreography by Lillian Brown keep the physical storytelling honest and careful — which matters in a show that deals with this kind of subject matter.

The Practical Stuff

The show runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes with intermission. There are rush tickets available for $35 — that's a genuine deal for a production at this level. The venue (Summerlin Library & PAC) has free parking and is easy to get to.

One more thing: BSC has partnered with Hope Means Nevada, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating teen suicide. Their representatives will be at select performances. This is a company that takes the responsibility of this material seriously.

Go see this show. Not because it's community theatre and you should support local arts (though you should). Go because it's a genuinely moving production of a show that has something real to say about loneliness, connection, and why we all want to be found. That's what theatre is for.

* Projection design: Jeff Tidwell. Original Broadway projection designs licensed through Broadway Media; additional original designs created by Jeff Tidwell for this production. The approach pays homage to the original Broadway production while bringing a fresh, more modern sensibility to this staging.