Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen is an original musical written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with book by Steven Levenson. The musical had its world premiere at Arena Stage in July 2015.

Background and development

Dear Evan Hansen is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.^[1] The musical has its origins in an incident that took place during Pasek's high school years. The musical "takes the notion of a teenager, ... Evan Hansen, who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn."^[2]

Productions

Dear Evan Hansen premiered at Washington, DC's Arena Stage, running from July 10 to August 23, 2015.^[3] The musical was directed by Michael Greif with orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. The cast featured Ben Platt in the title role, a high school senior with social anxiety disorder who finds himself amid the turmoil that follows a classmate's suicide.

Other in the Arena Stage production, in order of appearance:

• Rachel Bay Jones as Evan's mother, Heidi
• Jennifer Laura Thompson as Connor's mother, Cynthia
• Mike Faist as classmate, Connor Murphy
• Michael Park as Connor's father, Larry
• Laura Dreyfuss as Connor's sister, Zoe
• Alexis Molnar as classmate, Alana Beck
• Will Roland as Evan's "family friend," Jared Kleinman

The musical is expected to open Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theater on March 26, 2016 in previews. The cast features Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss, Mike Faist, Rachel Bay Jones, Will Roland and Jennifer Laura Thompson repeating their roles from the Arena Stage production. New cast members are John Dossett and Kristolyn Lloyd. Michael Greif again directs, with choreography by Danny Mefford.^[4][5][6]

Synopsis

High school student Connor commits suicide. Connor's parents, Cynthia and Larry, find notes apparently from Connor to Evan Hansen, a senior at the same high school. The notes actually were written by Evan himself, along with fake E-mails, in an exercise suggested by his therapist to help Evan overcome his socially awkward personality and anxiety. Evan's mother Heidi works long hours as a nurse and also attends school, and his father left the family years ago. Although the two young men did not know each other, Evan decides to attempt to help Connor's parents in their grief by pretending to have been a close friend of his. Zoe, Connor's sister, and Evan's "dream girl", is grateful to Evan for helping her parents.

Musical numbers

Critical response

Derek Mong, in his review of the musical at the Arena Stage, wrote that all of the elements of the musical combine to make the musical "great", and credited the "all-star cast... inventive set design by David Korins...that transforms a small stage into a platform for the most intimate living room where a mother and son share a heart-to-heart to the physical abyss of internet cyberspace... book by Steven Levenson... lyrics and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul... heartfelt lyrics with universal appeal joined by the perfect, oftentimes acoustic, accompaniment that can change the mood from somber to celebratory to sinister in a single bar of music."^[7]

Barbara Mackay in reviewing the Arena Stage production for TheatreMania wrote: "Levenson, Pasek, and Paul set themselves two high, untraditional bars in Evan Hansen: exploring a community's grief and examining a lonely protagonist who desperately wants to connect with that community... Ben Platt is outstanding as Evan... Since the success of the musical depends entirely on whether Evan's solitary nature appears funny or weird, Evan's ability to laugh at himself and make the audience laugh is crucial. Platt is charming as he eternally twists his shirt tails and hangs his head... Although the themes of grief and loneliness are serious, the musical is anything but somber. It addresses challenging facts of life. But from start to finish, when Evan leaves his room and finds an authentic life outside it, Dear Evan Hansen contains far more joy than sadness."^[8]

Susan Davidson, in her review of the Arena Stage production for CurtainUp, noted : "...it helps to suspend the disbelief that sullen, anti-social teenagers can change quickly. Surely that's a process requiring time-released hormonal adjustments. It is hard to accept that a long-admired- from-afar girl can change Evan's outlook on life so rapidly or that Connor's teenage disequilibrium leads him to do what he does. Coming through loud and clear, however, is the fact that what starts as deceit can be blown totally out of proportion by the Internet where lies are disseminated with lightening speed leaving plenty of victims in their wake...The music is pleasant, not terribly original but good enough to get toes tapping. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's ballads stand out, particularly Heidi's "So Big, So Small," Evan's "Words Fail" and Zoe and Evan's young sweethearts duet "Only Us.""^[9]

Awards and nominations

The musical received eight Helen Hayes Award nominations:^[10]

• Outstanding Musical Direction-HAYES Production - Ben Cohn
• Outstanding Lighting Design-HAYES Production - Japhy Weideman
• Outstanding Set Design-HAYES Production - David Kornis (Set Design), Peter Nigrini (Projection Design)
• Outstanding Director of a Musical-HAYES Production - Michael Greif
• Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical-HAYES Production
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical-HAYES Production - Laura Dreyfuss
• The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play or Musical - Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
• Outstanding Musical-HAYES Production - Arena Stage

References