Superb: Newcomer Combs excels in Paramount’s stellar ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

Editor’s note: This review references suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

“Dear Evan Hansen” — 4 stars

Paramount Theatre casting director Trent Stork knew what he was doing when he selected Cody Combs to play the titular character in its excellent revival of “Dear Evan Hansen.”

The Aurora theater’s regional premiere marks the professional debut of the ideally cast Combs, a Northern Kentucky University undergraduate. At 21, Combs is only a few years older than Evan, the socially anxious teen who becomes a social media sensation after falsely claiming a friendship with another outcast classmate who took his own life.

What a debut it is.

On opening night, Combs’ performance ran a little hot during the opening scene. Perhaps it was a case of opening-night jitters, understandable for a young actor performing at the nation’s largest subscription theater. But Combs quickly dispelled those initial concerns, delivering a performance that was impressive for its authenticity and unvarnished vulnerability.

Artfully crafted by composer/lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and writer Steven Levenson, with dialogue that flows seamlessly into song (and vice versa), “Dear Evan Hansen” is an emotionally riveting, coming-of-age tale about lonely teens yearning for connection and settling instead for its digital facsimile: social media.

In fact, the musical’s indictment of social media for the anxiety, isolation and misinformation it fuels echoes more profoundly now than it did 11 years ago when the show opened at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Boyce’s minimalist set and lighting designer Greg Hofmann’s inky blackness (pierced occasionally by neon) depict that virtual void. But it’s Anthony Churchill’s projections — screen savers and videos, DMs and GIFs — that make palpable its omnipresence.

The evidence of Evan’s isolation is his pristine arm cast, which none of his classmates — neither family friend Jared (Pablo David Laucerica providing comic relief), overachiever Alana (Elaine Watson) nor Zoe (Isabel Kaegi), the girl he’s sweet on — have signed.

It contains one name: Connor (strong work by Paramount veteran Jake DiMaggio Lopez), Zoe’s troubled older brother who scrawls his name on Evan’s cast. He then snatches a self-affirming note Evan wrote to himself at the suggestion of his therapist as a way of boosting his confidence.

After Connor commits suicide, his parents Cynthia (Bri Sudia, deftly expressing conflicting emotions) and Larry (Devin DeSantis) discover what they believe is their son’s final letter. Overwhelmed, Evan fails to correct the misunderstanding. Instead he perpetuates the friendship lie, which brings him closer to Zoe and her parents, who treat him as a surrogate son, distances him from his devoted mother Heidi (Megan McGinnis) and places him at the center of the community that once excluded him. Until his deception begins to unravel.

Among this show’s joys is Pasek and Paul’s moving, pop-infused score, whose “Waving Through a Window” brilliantly captures what it’s like to be on the outside looking in and whose emotional first-act finale — “You Will Be Found” — is an anthem to solidarity. Equally impressive is “Requiem,” a depiction of grief, artfully staged by director Jessica Fisch to depict a fractured family, and “So Big/So Small,” the deeply affecting 11 o’clock number in which McGinnis’ Heidi acknowledges both her past parental failures and those yet to come while reaffirming her love and devotion to her son. Bravo to Fisch’s small but vocally mighty cast (supported by offstage singers) and conductor Celia Villacres’ robust octet.

One thing more about Fisch, whose direction recalls that of the late director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell. Fisch mines the humanity of Levenson’s authentic, deeply nuanced dialogue. She takes her time. She gives her actors space, which results in deeply personal, profoundly resonant exchanges.

As musically and visually impressive as it is, Paramount’s “Dear Evan Hansen” truly soars in its quiet moments.

Central to that success is newcomer Combs, whose performance suggests a promising career awaits.

• • •

Location: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, (630) 896-6666, paramountaurora.com

Showtimes: 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday through March 22

Tickets: $31-$106

Running time: About 2 hours, 40 minutes, with intermission

Parking: Limited street parking; paid lots

Rating: For older teens and adults. Contains adult subject matter, including a discussion of suicide. Not for sensitive audience members.