{"id":215597,"date":"2025-06-26T10:08:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215597\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T10:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:08:13","slug":"dear-evan-hansen-speaking-to-ryan-kopel-and-sonny-monaghan-ahead-of-edinburgh-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215597\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Evan Hansen – speaking to Ryan Kopel and Sonny Monaghan ahead of Edinburgh run"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Today is going to be a good day\u2026\u2019 With not one, but two Evan Hansens in the room, that would appear to be a given.<\/p>\n

Ryan Kopel and Sonny Monaghan may sport very di\ufb00erent 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 the
new Nottingham Playhouse production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best
Musical, Dear Evan Hansen.<\/p>\n

Kopel stars in the fresh new take on the musical, which will embark on its first UK Tour after
opening in Nottingham, while Monaghan is the alternate Evan. Both are excited at the prospect
and it\u2019s clear they can\u2019t wait to have an audience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With musical theatre credits that include Newsies and The Book of Mormon, Kopel landed the
coveted role after a three month audition process. He recalls, \u201cMy agent asked me if I\u2019d be
interested in Dear Evan Hansen at the start of the year. I said, \u2018Yes\u2019, and then did five auditions,
the last one being in March. A couple of days later, while on the Underground going home, my
agent called to say I\u2019d got the part. I was so excited I had to get o\ufb00 the Tube to scream a little bit.
Then I realised I was miles away from my stop and would have to walk the rest of the way. That
was even more tortuous as I couldn\u2019t wait to see my family and partner\u2019s faces when I told them.\u201d
If Kopel\u2019s casting followed a fairly traditional route, for Monaghan, from Eastbourne, the audition
process proved very \u2018now\u2019, he landed the part after submitting a video on TikTok, as part of the
casting team\u2019s collaboration with the social media platform, which invited users who were
interested in being cast in the production to upload a video of themselves singing any number
from the show.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s ensemble and as alternate
Evan, a role he will perform twice a week, at every matinee.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old explains, \u201cI saw a post asking people to submit a video of themselves singing a
number from Dear Evan Hansen through TikTok. I sang Words Fail. Maybe three weeks later I got
an email inviting me to an in person audition.\u201d
Three rounds of auditions later, Monaghan was recording a song for his friend\u2019s new musical when
he got his good news and, as it was Dear Evan Hansen that first got him into musical theatre
while at secondary school, he says receiving the news was \u201ca dream come true.\u201d
\u201cWhen my agent called and said I\u2019d been o\ufb00ered the alternate Evan, my friend and I had a bit of a
celebration,\u201d he admits.
Dear Evan Hansen is the story of an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit
in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn\u2019t tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a
life he never dreamt he\u2019d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning
with himself and everyone around him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Washington premiere<\/p>\n

The musical premiered in Washington, DC, in 2015 before transferring to O\ufb00-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 loved it so much he then went to see the original West End production when it
opened. For 27-year-old Kopel, it was a very di\ufb00erent story.
The actor from Kirriemuir, in Scotland, reveals, \u201cI never saw the original production, but Dear Evan
Hansen was such a huge cultural phenomenon when it first came out that I knew all about it
without ever really knowing the story.\u201d
His introduction to that 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.
He recalls, \u201cReading 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. Usually when you do a musical that has been done before, there\u2019s a set way of doing
everything; \u2018This is how you say this line,\u2019 and, \u2018This is where you stand on the stage for this
moment\u2019. We\u2019ve had none of that. We have complete freedom to take the script and create
something new.\u201d
\u2018Staging-wise, everything is di\ufb00erent\u2026\u201d chips in Monaghan, before Kopel continues, \u201cIt\u2019s eight
years since the Broadway production debuted, which doesn\u2019t sound that long but when you think
about it, a lot has changed in that time. The technology we use everyday is so di\ufb00erent 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.\u201d
If the rehearsal period has been invigorating for Kopel, for Monaghan it has been nothing less than
hectic. Explaining how having two Evans \u2018in the room\u2019 works, he reveals, \u201cMainly, it\u2019s 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.\u201d
Kopel elaborates, \u201cTo be fair, that is the case, but it\u2019s also done that way because Sonny has
about \u201990 million\u2019 di\ufb00erent things to learn. While I\u2019m lucky to be focussing on one character,
he has to be in a di\ufb00erent room learning the parts of Evan, Connor, Jared and all the ensemble\u2019s
moves too. 100 per cent do I have the easy shift\u2026 apart from having to do it every night,\u201d he
grins.<\/p>\n

The Mix<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just lines, songs and moves the pair have to familiarise themselves with, due to the
sensitive themes of the piece, producers have partnered with The Mix, the UK\u2019s leading digital
charity for under 25-year-olds, to ensure anyone a\ufb00ected 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 appropriately respond to queries from the public, both online and o\ufb04ine, and equip them with
the knowledge to direct individuals to the right support channels.
\u201cThe Mix is there for anyone who needs to reach out for support,\u201d explains Kopel. \u201cWe had a long
Zoom with them the very first week of rehearsals where they explained what they did and the way
they work. It was an incredible insight into a world I had no idea about.\u201d
\u201cGiven the nature of the show, if people struggling with these issues come to see the show, The
Mix has given us the information we need to point them in the right direction if they come to the
stage door,\u201d adds Monaghan, before Kopel continues, \u201cThere\u2019s 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 are going through. We take that
responsibility incredibly seriously and having that guidance from The Mix is vitally important.\u201d
Despite its themes, Dear Evan Hansen is a beautifully crafted and uplifting piece of musical
theatre, one that Monaghan believes will \u201cbe a blessing for many, by helping them realise they
need to talk to someone.\u201d
Kopel agrees, \u201cUltimately, 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\u2019s what I\u2019d like people to take away from the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biggest songs<\/p>\n

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 when asked which they enjoy singing
most. The anthemic For Forever is Monaghan\u2019s while for Kopel it is Words Fail, he adds with a
cheeky smile, \u201cI like it because it\u2019s a bit of an emotional catharsis, it doesn\u2019t matter if your voice
cracks because you are crying and already an emotional mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before they head back to rehearsal, there\u2019s 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 \u2018Today
is going to be a good day because\u2026\u2019 So, what would they write in such a letter to themselves?
\u201cKeeping in line with the show, My letter would say, \u2018Dear Ryan Kopel, today is going to be a good
day because you can take each day at a time, every hour as it comes\u2019,\u201d says the Scot.
\u201cMine would read, \u2018Dear Sonny Monaghan, 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\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

With opening night fast approaching, both admit that despite their reassuring words to
themselves, the nerves are sure to kick in on the big night, but even that is a good thing.
\u201cI kind of live in a state of constant nerves anyway,\u201d laughs Kopel, \u201cbut nerves before a
performance are definitely a good thing. It means you care, so I\u2019ll harness them and let them kick
me up a gear\u2026\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s like athletes,\u201d nods Monaghan, \u201cYou have to use your nerves and adrenaline to reach your
peak performance\u2026\u201d
Kopel laughs, \u201cYes, and then keep it there for another two and half hours.\u201d<\/p>\n