Cathedral City, CA
There are shows you enjoy, and then there are shows that quietly get their hands around your attention and don’t let go. CVRep’s intimate production of Dear Evan Hansen lands in that second category—because it doesn’t ask you to “watch” the story so much as sit inside it for a while. And when it ended, the audience responded exactly the way you hope they will when a company truly earns it: a standing ovation that felt less like tradition and more like gratitude.
I won’t give the plot away, but I will say this: if you think you already “know” Dear Evan Hansen from reputation or headlines, this production may surprise you. It’s a non-typical coming-of-age story, and it demands something rare from its lead—because so much of the action, pressure, and emotional weight stays centered on Evan almost the entire time. Pierce Wheeler, as Evan Hansen, carries that load with focus and control, and the supporting cast meets him with real dimensional work, not just “support.” That matters in a show like this, because every relationship is part of the engine that drives the audience’s emotional math.
What also struck me is how smartly the production uses its design language. The set never competes with the storytelling; it serves it. And the large media screen—paired with video and graphics—becomes its own living presence, like an additional character that represents the modern world we all swim in: the comfort of connection, the pull of community, and the ugliness that can appear when distance and anonymity do the dirty work. The show doesn’t pretend that “online life” is simple; it treats it as powerful—sometimes tender, sometimes terrifying—and always consequential.
This is also one of those works that feels more relevant now than it might have felt on first release, because audiences change. Perspective changes. We live in a 24/7 environment of exposure and bombardment, where meaning can be manufactured, redistributed, and believed at speed. The arts have a way of returning to us like that—familiar material, new moment, sharper impact. Dear Evan Hansen first premiered in Washington, D.C. in 2015, and later opened on Broadway in December 2016—and it’s hard to watch it today without feeling how much the surrounding world has intensified the very conditions the story circles.
I’ve always judged a story by one simple measure: do I forget I’m watching an actor? Do I stop thinking about “performance” and start believing in a person? When that happens, I’m in—because now the story owns my attention and my empathy. Musical theatre adds another layer of difficulty: you’re not just playing truth, you’re singing truth—and sometimes you’re even required to portray the awkwardness of someone who doesn’t feel fluent in their own voice. That’s not easy. It takes craft, training, and restraint. But when it works, it feels effortless, and you don’t notice the technique—you just feel the human being underneath it.
And that’s what I love about the arts when they’re working at full capacity: it’s a group of people—cast, director, designers, crew—building one shared experience, inside the limits of the script and score, and still finding room for nuance. This CVRep company didn’t disappoint me. I sat back, let the story unfold, and watched a team do what theatre is supposed to do: tell the story as well as they know how, so the audience can carry it home.
CVRep cast (Cathedral City production): Gianna Branca (Zoe Murphy), Lucy Hall (Alana), Mikey Corey Hassel (Jared), Isaac Kueber (Connor Murphy), Eric Kunze (Larry Murphy), Christia Mantzke (Heidi Hansen), Joseph Portoles (Ensemble / U/S Evan), Sophia Roth (Ensemble / U/S Zoe), Erin Stoddard (Cynthia Murphy), Pierce Wheeler (Evan Hansen).
Creative / production team: Director Adam Karsten; Music Director Stephen Hulsey. Designers: Jimmy Cuomo (Set), Kevin Mark Harris (Costumes), Moira Wilke (Lighting / Technical Director), Joshua Adams (Sound), Ryan Marquart (Props), Lynda Shaeps (Hair & Makeup).
What gives this production its real punch isn’t just that it’s well staged—it’s that you can feel the compassion underneath it. Not “sentiment.” Not performance-polish. Actual human care, moving through every artist involved, like a current you can’t quite name but you definitely recognize. That’s the difference-maker. That’s the thing that turns a night at the theater into something that follows you home.
And here’s my proof—my personal tell—because I’ve learned to trust it: days later, I’m still remembering it. Not a song fragment. Not a clever moment. The experience. The emotional shape of it. That’s when you know the whole company did their job at the highest level—because the work didn’t end at curtain call. It stayed with you.
That’s what I love about the arts when they’re working at full capacity: it’s a group of people—cast, director, designers, crew—building one shared experience within the boundaries of the script and score, and still finding room for truth, nuance, and restraint. This CVRep company didn’t just present Dear Evan Hansen—they carried it, carefully, and handed it to us intact.
I sat back, let the story unfold, and watched a team do what theatre has the opportunity to do at its best: tell the story as well as they know how, so the audience can carry it home.
And you could see that happening in real time. The look on people’s faces. The tone of their voices as they stood up to leave. That quiet, charged feeling in the room that says, we didn’t all just watch the same show—we just shared the same moment. It was obvious they were taking it with them. And just as obvious they’d be talking about it—telling friends, bringing someone back, trying to describe something that’s hard to describe unless you’ve felt it yourself.
About CVRep + tickets
Coachella Valley Repertory (CVRep) is a local educational, dramatic, and musical theatre organization focused on “thought-provoking, innovative theater of substance,” with outreach intended to enrich the Coachella Valley community. Coachella Valley Repertory
Address: 68510 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City, CA 92234 • Phone: 760-296-2966 • (Box office email is listed on their site as well.) Coachella Valley Repertory+1
Show run: December 3–21, 2025
About the Author
Marty Treinen is an author, artist, arts/museum educator, and co-founder of Creative Core International, where he helped create Universal Creative Intelligence™ (UCI), a framework designed to strengthen creativity, emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning. His background spans fine art, film, theater, and museum education. Marty’s mission is to bring human-centered learning systems to schools, communities, and organizations worldwide.
As a columnist for The Palm Springs Tribune, Marty covers theater, film, visual and performing arts, human-centric AI, and cultural events throughout the Coachella Valley. His reviews are known for their honesty, authenticity, clarity, and deep respect for the power of the arts, to enhance our lives. service.to.others.cci@gmail.com