Sunday, February 5, 2017

Album Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Broadway Cast Recording)

Of the emerging generation of composers, few have achieved the same sheer variety of accomplishments as Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. After exploring the pop-rock sensibility that permeates much new musical theatre with their work on shows like Edges and Dogfight, they took a considerable turn with A Christmas Story, their musical adaptation of the film by the same name, where they drew from a decidedly more traditional bag of tricks in their catchy and warm score. Now, in the same year they contributed lyrics to the hit film La La Land, we get Dear Evan Hansen, a return to pop-rock composition that showcases a newfound artistic maturity in the young composing team.