“Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear?”
*If you do not want any spoilers to this show, read no further!*
The musical, Dear Evan Hansen, currently on Broadway, is taking the world by storm. It tackles difficult issues such as: anxiety, depression, and self-worth.
The main character, Evan Hansen, is portrayed as awkward and lonely, but he is given a chance to change his life. Evan suffers from social anxiety and doesn’t speak to anyone. He is constantly afraid that he will give people a reason to stare or make fun of him. This musical tells the story of how Evan discovers a world away from his fears, experiences the feeling friendship, and a presence in society. These are experiences and feelings that Evan has never had or felt. Part of Evan’s struggle is due to the lack of his mother’s attention. Evan’s mother is a single parent that works long hours leaving Evan alone most of the time. The loneliness he experiences at home translates to his everyday life. Evan is the outsider and underdog, a character we can all relate to and root for. To help him cope with his social anxiety, Evan’s therapist recommends that he writes letters to himself that would encourage him to have a good day.
The moment that rocks Evan’s world is when another outsider, Connor Murphy, commits suicide. Connor did not handle being an outsider well. He was mean, aggressive, and used drugs to cope. The two characters cross paths and somehow, Connor ends up with one of Evan’s notes to himself. When Connor commits suicide, he leaves Evan’s note in his pocket. When the note is discovered, Connor’s family is led to believe that the two were friends. Connor’s family confronts Evan and demands to know everything about their assumed friendship. Evan does not know what to do and instead of setting the record straight, he lies and makes up a story about their “friendship”.
Evan’s lie causes him to fall into a deeper and deeper web of lies. His elaborate tale of friendship requires Evan to ask his cousin to help him make a fake email thread that appears to be between Connor and Evan. Some of the stories include: Connor helping him when he fell and broke his arm, time spent together getting ice cream, and many more tales of adventure. The false friendship brings Evan very close to Connor’s family and he becomes the son they wished they had. All of the attention and love Connor receives makes him very happy. Eventually, Evan starts dating Zoe Murphy, Connor’s sister, and Evan’s all-time, ultimate crush. He is at an all time high until it all comes crashing down.
In an attempt to preserve his lies, Evan starts a charitable organization called, “The Connor Project”. The goal of the organization is to preserve Connor’s memory and remind readers and viewers that they will always be found and that no one is alone. It shares the message that someone is willing to listen just as long as you open up and let someone else in. Evan starting giving inspirational speeches and his words went viral. Despite all of the excitement and attention surrounding Evan, he still felt lonely. Finally Evan’s guilt causes him to come clean about his lies.
This moment shows the true importance of Dear Evan Hansen. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and as an audience member we feel for Evan because we’ve been there too. Evan feels terrible for lying, but he was not ready to let “the good life” go. Just like Evan, many of us seek an outlet that makes us feel loved and needed. However, it is important to realize that there are people around us that love us and care for us without us having to lie to them. This is not a typical musical full of happy songs and big dance numbers, it is a sad and very relevant story. Audiences keep coming back for the message and the relatable characters. Dear Evan Hansen shares a message for everyone. You are not alone and you will be found.
“So let the sun come streaming in, cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again, if you only look around You will be found. Even when the dark comes crashing through, you will be found, when you need someone to carry you, you will be found.”