Award-winning musical is full of hope say show's two Evan Hansens
'Today is going to be a good day...' With not one, but two Evan Hansens in the room, that would appear to be a given.
Ryan Kopel and Sonny Monaghan may sport very different 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 Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen which comes to Blackpool Grand Theatre next week.
Kopel stars in the fresh new take on the musical while Monaghan is the alternate Evan. Both are excited at the prospect and it's clear they can't wait to have an audience.
With musical theatre credits that include Newsies and The Book of Mormon, Kopel landed the coveted role after a three month audition process.
Ryan Kopel in Dear Evan Hansen He recalled: 'My agent asked me if I'd be interested in Dear Evan Hansen and then did five auditions. A couple of days later, while on the Underground going home, my agent called to say I'd got the part. I was so excited I had to get off 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't wait to see my family and partner's faces when I told them.'
If Kopel's casting followed a fairly traditional route, for Monaghan, the audition process proved very 'now', he landed the part after submitting a video on TikTok, as part of the casting team's 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.
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's ensemble and as alternate Evan, a role he will perform twice a week, at every matinee.
The 21-year-old said: 'I 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.'
Three rounds of auditions later, Monaghan was recording a song for his friend's 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 'a dream come true.'
Sonny Monaghan in Dear Evan Hansen 'When my agent called and said I'd been offered the alternate Evan, my friend and I had a bit of a celebration,' 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't tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a life he never dreamt he'd have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.
Monaghan, a self confessed fan of the show, first saw the musical on Broadway 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 different story.
The actor from Kirriemuir, in Scotland, revealed: 'I 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.'
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 said: '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's a set way of doing everything; 'This is how you say this line,' and, 'This is where you stand on the stage for this moment'.
'We've had none of that. We have complete freedom to take the script and create something new
'It's eight years since the Broadway production debuted, which doesn't sound that long but when you think about it, a lot has changed in that time. The technology we use everyday is so different that much of the script has taken on a whole new meaning. Just looking at the piece from the lens of today has been an interesting experience.'
If the rehearsal period has been invigorating for Kopel, for Monaghan it has been nothing less than hectic.
Explaining how having two Evans 'in the room' works, he reveals, 'Mainly, it's 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.'
And it's not just lines, songs and moves the pair have had to familiarise themselves with, due to the sensitive themes of the piece, producers have partnered with The Mix, the UK's leading digital charity for under 25-year-olds, to ensure anyone affected by the issues explored in the show knows where to find support.
'The Mix is there for anyone who needs to reach out for support,' explained Kopel. 'We 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.'
'There's just something about this show that allows people to connect deeply with the characters. We take that responsibility incredibly seriously and having that guidance from The Mix is vitally important.' said Kopel.
Despite its themes, Dear Evan Hansen is a beautifully crafted and uplifting piece of musical theatre, one that Monaghan believes will 'be a blessing for many, by helping them realise they need to talk to someone.'
Kopel added: 'Ultimately, 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's what I'd like people to take away from the show.'
Before they head back to rehearsal, there's 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 'Today is going to be a good day because...' So, what would they write in such a letter to themselves?
'Keeping in line with the show, My letter would say, 'Dear Ryan Kopel, today is going to be a good day because you can take each day at a time, every hour as it comes',' says the Scot.
'Mine would read, 'Dear 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'.'
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.
'I kind of live in a state of constant nerves anyway,' laughs Kopel, 'but nerves before a performance are definitely a good thing. It means you care, so I'll harness them and let them kick me up a gear...'
'It's like athletes,' nods Monaghan, 'You have to use your nerves and adrenaline to reach your peak performance...'
Kopel laughs, 'Yes, and then keep it there for another two and half hours.'
Dear Evan Hansen is at Blackpool Grand from Tuesday until Saturday, May24. Details from www.backpoolgrand.co.uk
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Inside Nike's all-women half-marathon in L.A.: the good, the bad and the surprising
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Advertisement Read more: 18 inspiring L.A. run clubs to kickstart your running era After training for several weeks at parks and tracks around L.A., I hit the pavement alongside nearly 15,000 participants — 43% of whom were first-time half-marathoners — on Saturday evening at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The event sparked a lot of online chatter — not all positive — with some runners calling the race disorganized and a marketing event catered to influencers. As for me, I experienced several highs during the energetic event, but also some moments of frustration and confusion. Here's how the night went down, from the starting line (and the journey in getting there) to the high-octane concert finale. Pre-race: Getting to the starting line was a marathon in itself Knowing that thousands of people were expected to participate in the event, I opted to get to the SoFi Stadium about an hour and a half early to avoid traffic. In hindsight, I should've arrived even earlier. 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Host Elisa Hernandez, from left, Diljeet Taylor, Anna Cockrell and Jordan Chiles at the Nike After Dark Tour in L.A. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times) Miles 1-7: The excitement of activations, DJs and cheering fans The first seven miles were the most exhilarating for me. I felt strong and confident about my pace. And for my legs, this stretch was smooth sailing. Hundreds of people were cheering from the sidelines and holding up signs with statements like "You run better than our government," "Hot girls run half marathons" and "Hurry up so we can drink." Drivers along the freeway were honking for us. DJs played upbeat house and hip-hop music. USC's band performed. Between the six- and seven-mile marker, we ran through a tunnel that was filled with flashing red lights and bubble machines. The energy was electric. Supporters cheer and hold signs as runners embark on the Nike After Dark half marathon in L.A. 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I followed a herd of people toward the entrance where we went through a security checkpoint, then a bag check line, which took about 30 minutes to get through. Afterward, I rushed outside to find my friends and waited in yet another line — this time for the porta-potties — which took about 40 minutes. By this time, there were only about 10 minutes until race time and I still needed to stretch, so my group ran over to the starting corrals. The race was initially scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., but an emcee announced that it was being pushed back to 6:45 p.m. This made me nervous because the concert was set for 9:30 p.m., so this meant that I'd have less than three hours to finish if I wanted to catch the show. In the weeks leading up to the marathon, some participants took to social media to voice their concerns about Nike changing its course time from four hours — as it stated on the registration form — to three hours. In one Threads post, a runner said: 'If the whole purpose of this event was to reclaim running by giving women a space to feel safe running at night, then why wouldn't you be inclusive to runners of all paces?' In response to the feedback, Nike ultimately set the course time to three hours and 17 minutes, allowing for an average mile of 15 minutes per mile, according to a Nike spokesperson. The brand added a shorter course option, which was nine miles, so participants could still cross the finish line, receive a medal (a silver necklace with a giant Nike swoosh) and enjoy the concert. Despite the confusion, people were amped. 'I'm at this phase in my life where I really want to prove to myself that I can do hard things,' said Ayanna Fox, 29, of Chino Hills, on why she wanted to participate. 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It was a beautiful reminder of how much better we are as people when we support one another. Around Mile 10, I spotted Chris Bennett, Nike's running global head coach, giving out high-fives and encouraging people to push forward. (He even ran with the last bunch of runners and helped them across the finish line.) As I neared the end, I felt bamboozled because there were at least two massive archways that looked like the finish line, but actually weren't. I still had a ways to go. I could've cried tears of joy when I finally reached the end. I clocked in at three hours and three minutes, which I was pleased with because my only goals were to finish, have fun and make it to the concert. The winner was Sofia Camacho, a drag artist and Nike run coach based in New York, who clocked in at one hour, 15 minutes and 25 seconds. After grabbing my medal, I walked as fast as my sore limbs would allow back inside the stadium. The trek felt tortuous because we had to climb up multiple sets of stairs, then journey down a walkway that was roughly 10 levels that felt never-ending until we reached the bottom where the stage was. Some people gave up on watching the show simply because they didn't have the energy to make it down. By the time I got there, I was disappointed to see that Doechii was already on her final two songs of her 30-minute set, but the energy was so high that I quickly forgot and just enjoyed the moment while I could. The show ended just before 10:40 p.m. while some folks were still running including one of my friends who missed the show and wasn't able to get a pair of Barbie pink Nike slides and socks they were passing out. After the show, we were instructed to exit the stadium — thankfully there was an escalator — but I still had to muster up the energy to go back to the entrance at the other side of the stadium so I could retrieve my belongings from the bag check area. 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Sting says governments have neglected the North East for decades
Sting is in a reflective mood. The Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter grew up in Wallsend, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and tells me he is "very proud" of his Tyneside roots. But the musician is less complimentary about the way the North East of England has been, as he puts it, "wilfully neglected by successive governments for decades". As he announces a significant donation to an arts institution in Gateshead, he also told the BBC: "The statistics for child poverty in the area are discouraging". It's clear from our communication that Sting wants to give back to the place and the culture that made him. The former Police frontman is donating an undisclosed amount to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, sometimes described as the Tate Modern of the North East of England. It's nearly 50 years since The Police released their debut album featuring tracks such as Roxanne and Can't Stand Losing You. Those decades have brought him everything a boy who dreamed of musical success could have wished for; he's sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, as The Police frontman and bassist, and later as a solo artist. In 2022, he also made a reported $300m (£222m), selling his back catalogue to Universal Music Group. The years haven't been as kind to the region where he was raised and where a third of babies, children and young people grow up in poverty, according to recent data from the End Child Poverty Coalition. When Sting was born Gordon Sumner in 1951, the son of a milkman and a hairdresser, the North East still had a proud tradition of shipbuilding. He's previously said that his earliest memory was "a massive ship at the end of my street, towering over the houses and blotting out the sun". But after the decline of that industry, Sting - the yellow and black sweater he wore while performing in a jazz band as a teenager earned him the nickname and it stuck - tells me, despite "all the empty promises of 'levelling up'", for years governments have disregarded the North East, "ignoring its significant historical contribution to national life, both industrial and cultural". In response to Sting's criticisms, a government spokesman said it would "fix the crisis we have inherited". It's investing £140m in the seven most deprived towns in the North East, including Washington and Jarrow, as part of a wider £1.5bn investment across the country and told the BBC it is "taking decisive action to tackle the scourge of child poverty". He remembers a childhood rich in culture, despite his humble beginnings. "We didn't have any books in the house", he tells me by email, but "I was fortunate in the 60s to have had access to Wallsend library". He also recalls access to drama at the People's Theatre in Jesmond, one of the oldest non-professional theatre companies in the UK, visits to the Laing Art Gallery and also making his professional debut as a musician in the orchestra pit at The University Theatre. "All of these institutions gave me a sense of the world beyond the shipyard where I was raised." The River Tyne's most famous shipyard, Swan Hunter in Wallsend, shut in 1993. Sting describes the now disappeared shipyard to me as "a real and symbolic victim of Government neglect if not betrayal". He tells me "I had to leave the area to 'make it'" - he moved to London in 1977 and soon after formed The Police with guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland - but his ties to the North East still apparently run deep. As a young Wallsend local, he tells me his love of music was fostered when he saw the virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia perform with the chamber orchestra that was then still called the Northern Sinfonia, at Newcastle's City Hall aged 14. A year later, in 1967, his mind was blown when Jimi Hendrix played the legendary (and long-gone) gig venue Club a'Gogo. The American guitar prodigy had been brought to the UK by the Newcastle-born bass player of The Animals, Chas Chandler. Fifteen-year old grammar school boy Sumner couldn't believe what he was seeing, later describing how he "lay in my bed that night with my ears ringing and my world view significantly altered". In 2023, North Tyneside Council honoured the cultural impact of his work and his connection to the region, granting him the Freedom of the Borough. At 73, he appears to be thinking deeply about the importance of cultural experiences for children growing up in the North East now. He says he has a debt to the region that he needs to pay back, telling me that art involves "the nourishing of creative sparks that can lie dormant in even the poorest households if not encouraged by exposure to human potential". Which brings him to the Baltic, which, like museums and art institutions across the UK, is facing challenging financial times in an era of diminishing public investment. It opened in 2002 in a converted flour mill, a key part of the regeneration of the Gateshead quayside on the south bank of the River Tyne. The Baltic showcases some of the world's best contemporary art - Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley were amongst the first to exhibit there - and also takes an innovative approach to enticing people into the artspace. There's a café called The Front Room, with free tea, coffee and biscuits sponsored by a local company and breakfast clubs for hungry children in the school holidays. Sewing circles, book clubs, parent toddler groups and others use the space free of charge. In the past, local pit villages and council estates have been leafleted to advertise the Baltic as a centre for everyone. More than 300,000 children and young people take part in Baltic activities and programmes every year. Sting's donation kickstarts its plans to fundraise for a £10m Endowment Fund of private investment to safeguard free entry to the centre and ensure its community work can thrive into the future. "The creative arts are of vital importance to the wellbeing of the community as a whole," he tells me and the Baltic "should be a beacon of hope for regeneration". He's currently on a world tour with his trio Sting 3.0. Amongst a packed schedule across the US, Asia and Europe, with summer dates in the UK including headlining at the Isle of Wight Festival and Latitude, he'll be heading to Tyneside for one night in October for a gala performance at the Baltic to help raise more funds, with tickets at £10,000 a table. He's been musing on his roots for some time. His concept album turned musical, The Last Ship, was inspired by the Tyneside shipyards of his childhood. It wasn't entirely well-received critically - or at the box office - when it premiered in the US in 2014. But it's since toured the UK, including to Newcastle, and Sting will perform in it again early next year in Paris. He wants to sing more widely about the innovative spirit he sees in the North East, telling me: "Geordies are not strangers to innovation, the steam turbine and the locomotive were developed on Tyneside. Britain's success was largely built on these inventions." Sting: AI-written songs don't impress me at all Sting picks up hometown honour after 13-year wait
