Title of Show: Dear Evan Hansen
Composer: Justin Paul & Benj Pasek
Lyricist: Justin Paul & Benj Pasek
Librettist: Steven Levenson
Choreographer: Danny Mefford
Opening Night: July 10th, 2015
Closing Night (of initial run): August 23rd, 2015
Length of Run (Number of performances, first production only): Roughly 50 performances
Venue (Name of theatre and theatre’s seating capacity): Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. – 680 (1,394 in the whole building)
Type of Musical (book, revue, concept, jukebox): Book
Leader Actors (in original cast): Ben Platt, Rachel Bay Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, Mike Faist, Alexis Molnar, Will Roland
Unusual Fact: In order to focus all the attention on Evan Hansen, portrayed by Ben Platt, the crew had to use a combination of blue and black light in combination with his light colored clothing. This took the crew hours of work to find the right match.
Dear Evan Hansen captures the journey of a teenager with social anxiety and his journey through schooling as an outsider with a secret love—and a broken arm. He begins his journey by writing one letter with an optimistic approach, and runs into some acquaintances on the way to school including Connor and Zoey, when Connor shoves him down to ground. Later on, Evan is writing a letter in the computer lab and when printing it out, Connor, the brother of his secret love, Zoey, comes into the library and signs the cast on Evan’s broken arm, but sees the letter and reads it and believes that it was for him to see as a sort of prank or joke. He pushes Evan and runs out of the library and disappears from school for a few days, making Evan more anxious than ever before.
It is soon discovered that Evan’s acquaintance, Connor, had committed suicide upon reading the letter Evan had written. Connor’s parents found the letter Evan had written in Connor’s pocket and thought he and Evan were secretly good friends, and Evan went along with it saying they had emailed secretly and met in the closed down apple orchard. He requested the help of a friend to backdate emails so it looked as if they really did have secret communication, upon showing these to Connor’s family they began to accept him. Eventually Zoe, Connor’s sister and Evan’s secret love, became good friends, kissing once, then dating. Soon Evan spent more time over at their home than he does at his own home, leaving his family and friends to fend for themselves.
Soon Evan and some friends decide to create a fundraiser in order to reopen the apple orchard that they “used to hangout in” with a goal of $50,000 raised. Soon, Connor’s “suicide note” is posted on the internet and goes viral, helping them reach their goal quickly helping Evan become more popular and more accepted. Evan’s mom Heidi reads the viral letter and realizes what the letter is from and encourages Evan to come clean, but Connor’s family is already realizing what is happening as there are inconsistencies within the emails. Evan enlists the help of his friend Jared who refuses because “the relationship between him and his mom diminishes in shadow to that of his shiny new family,” as Stage Agent posted in their overview of the production written by Laura Baronet.
Soon Evan comes clean, yet the family had already suspected it was all fake, causing Zoe to break up with him and stop talking to him all together. Yet, the family never tells anyone letting Evan go back to the way he was before, not experiencing the ridicule he would if they had told the public. The production ends with Evan inviting Zoe to talk, she agrees but only in the apple orchard, when asked why she explains that although Evan did a bad thing it helped them through it and allowed them to gain the Apple Orchard in his remembrance.
Works Cited
Baronet, Laura. “Dear Evan Hansen Overview.” StageAgent. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018. Web. https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/7745/dear-evan-hansen
Critics Reviews
This musical was majorly successful as it is still on tour three years later, bound to start a national tour in October of 2018, and went over well with viewers everywhere. The majority of critics had a lot of good things to say, with a few not so good reviews in the mix. A review posted on New York Theatre Guide, written by Margret Echeverria on December 1, 2016 gave the musical five out of five stars. Stating that even if someone is not a fan of musicals, this specific one will compel you to hear the story and pull at your heart strings. Echeverria stress the perfect harmony through the piece ranging from dialogue, to music, to sets, to the cast. The audience roots for Evan to win as it pulls at the heart strings of things we have all experienced ranging from bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Echeverria emphasizes the importance of the storyline and how it will truly change viewers, while going over the plot.
In a review posted by the Washington Post written by Peter Marks, it talks of how Dear Evan Hansen has become one of the most memorable shows in theater history. He states that this musical makes theatergoers enthusiastic, emotional, through a combination of ballads and pop songs while relating through realistic situations with a twist. He calls this a truly original show addressing real life dilemmas such as alienation, depression, and narcissism that was pivotal to the acceptance of mental in our modern culture. Overall, Marks emphasizes the real life plot, inviting music, and amazing actors giving it a good review and timeline of its creation.
Works Cited
Marks, Peter. “How ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ became one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.” The Washington Post. 7 Jun. 2017. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018. Web.
Echeverria, Margret. “Dear Evan Hansen.” New York Theatre Guide. 1 Dec. 2016. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018. Web.
Cultural Impact
As stated previously, Dear Evan Hansen is seen as one of the most remarkable, real musicals in not only our time but also all throughout theatre’s time. I personally believe that part of the reason this musical has become the sensation it is, deals with the issues they address. Within the first five minutes we are shown someone struggling with anxiety, and being an outcast. Throughout the production he does his best to become part of the in-group but by the end he is back where he started, in the out-group. This allows viewers to relate to Evan Hansen because his story doesn’t end up like fairytales, where he gets the girls and becomes massively successful—because most of the time in real life that doesn’t happen. This causes this production to be one of the most successful of that kind.
Musical theatre has a long history of anti-heroes from Dracula, to Sweeney, to Javert yet Evan Hansen brings forth a new type of anti-hero, one here to stay. In Jason Zinoman’s article, “Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep,” he touches on how in modern day life Evan is a lying creep using the death of a classmate to his own personal advantage, but how many viewers see it this way? An anti-hero is a hero without the characteristics of a traditional hero such as stature, personality, courage, or experience. Yet Evan brings forth the idea that anyone can be an anti-hero as he does his best to help the grieving family, helping them see their son in a different light and being responsible for the apple orchard re-opened in Connor’s name but does it through unconventional ways such as lying, manipulating the past, and hiding things from the Murphy family. In his piece, Zinoman states that Evan Hansen isn’t just partly a hero but an anti-hero whose story will stay with the upcoming generation of theatergoers for the years to come.
Zinoman also makes a point to discuss how Dear Evan Hansen is the first major musical on Broadway to explore and expose anxiety about internet disinformation and fake news. This has been an issue circulating our society more and more in recent years, yet it hasn’t been addressed in films and musicals, yet Dear Evan Hansen is breaking way for more musical productions to follow suit with more controversial issues such as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and even the March For Our lives movement but Zinoman says viewers are focusing too much on the social bubble surrounding Evan rather than these issues.
In a piece written by Charles Isherwood titled, “Review: In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ a Lonely Teenager, a Viral Lie and a Breakout Star,” he discusses how Dear Evan Hansen is the rare Broadway musical not inspired or derived by some other production or source. He states that it gives musical productions a new take as it doesn’t end with a traditional happy ending, and focuses on a protagonist who never really pushes his flaws aside, nor does he embrace them but remains who he is because of them. I believe that this is also part of the reason this show has become as popular as it is, it is different than most other productions. It stays within the realms of reality while others do not.
Both Zinoman and Isherwood address how Dear Evan Hansen addresses mental health in a way few other productions have. With a general consensus that this is truly the first of its kind, as it portrays mental health for what it is. Showing viewers that it doesn’t just go away when you achieve your goals, but that it is always there with interrupting thoughts throughout both the good and bad times of your life. Both had hopes that this would inspire other writers to compose pieces with the same ideals in mind, opening a door for not only musical productions but also television programs, movies, and even news programs. Overall, Dear Evan Hansen has produced such an amazing uproar of people identifying with Evan Hansen and his fellow cast members creating an inspirational production for people of all ages, races, and gender thus changing musical theatre for the better.
Works Cited
Isherwood, Carl. “Review: In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ a Lonely Teenager, a Viral Lie and a Breakout Star.” The New York Times. Published 4 Dec. 2016. Accessed 21 Apr. 2018. Web.
Zinoman, Jason. “Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep.” Slate. Published 6 Jun. 2017. Accessed 21 Apr. 2018. Web.