Waving Through Manila’s Window

The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Dear Evan Hansen arrives in the Philippines.

Words Mian Centeno
Photo courtesy of GMG Productions
October 01, 2025

Dear Evan Hansen, this is gonna be a good day, and here’s why:

When the lights dimmed inside The Theatre at Solaire, Manila audiences were immediately found, drawn into a world that felt familiar and unsettlingly intimate. Dear Evan Hansen, the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical that resonated across Broadway and the West End, finally arrived in Manila, speaking to the young, the anxious, and the unseen—in the most Evan way possible.

What begins as a simple misunderstanding quickly escalates into something larger, forcing Evan to face choices that blur the line between truth and lies. 

More than a story about high school or social media, the acclaimed musical ventures into the universal ache of wanting to belong in a world where it’s all too easy to feel invisible. 

Ellis Kirk, Manila’s Evan, delivers a performance that waves straight to the audience’s hearts. From the moment he steps on stage, he embodies Evan’s awkwardness, nervous energy, and fragile hope with sincerity. His singing feels deeply personal—every lyric carrying the weight of what Evan longs to say but can’t.

Kirk shines most in the quiet details: a nervous fidget, a sigh of relief, the ache behind a hesitant smile. These subtle moments speak louder than any big gesture, making his Evan unforgettable. 

Even the cringeworthy instances—painful as they are—ring sharply true, hitting close to home for anyone who has ever felt out of place.

The ensemble completes the picture beautifully. Rebecca McKinnis gives Heidi Hansen a tender strength as a single mother doing her best, while Zoë Athena lends Zoe Murphy warmth and grit. 

Another notable character was Tom Dickerson, as Jared Kleinman, stealing scenes with sharp wit and perfectly timed physical comedy, offering much-needed relief. Together, the cast creates a world that is messy, human, and achingly real.

By the final curtain, the message is clear: Dear Evan Hansen is more than a musical—it’s a reminder that even in silence, we are never truly alone. And sometimes, as the cast reminds us, it’s enough to know that you will be found.