Dear Evan Hansen is one of the hottest tickets on Broadway right now. This musical which is about a socially anxious 17-year old boy who finds himself in a web of lies surrounding the suicide of one of his classmates, is the winner of six Tony Awards and the recipient of momentous praise from critics. All you have to do is listen to the official recording to see why. With beautifully-written lyrics, stellar singing and a compelling story-line, Dear Evan Hansen seems to be nothing less than a masterpiece. That is, of course, until you listen to it one too many times and begin to see the flaws that lie in its message as well as its morality.
One of the main messages that the show conveys, particularly in the songs “Disappear” and “You Will Be Found”, is that you only need one person to care about you, to pull you out of a depressive state. While this is a nice sentiment on a surface level, it's simply untrue, and lacks a real understanding of mental illness. While having a support system of family and good friends is essential for the road to recovery, it's not a magic antidote that’s going to cure you, like DEH would have you to believe. All of the trauma, insecurities and self-depreciation is still going to be there, and while your support system can throw the ladder down the well, it's ultimately up to you to climb it.
Another problem I've found with DEH is the “moral ambiguity” that it supposedly presents. In the show, Evan lies to the Murphy's about being friends with their deceased son, Connor. He makes them believe that Connor was this amazing and thoughtful person, when to their knowledge (and Evan’s), he was far from it. This is meant to be morally ambiguous because although lying to the Murphy's is wrong, it helped them cope with their loss. While this may have initially aided them, it's likely to have made coping much more worse once Evan finally tells the truth. For the most part, they learned to love Connor and accept his passing through the narrative that Evan gave them. Ripping it away from them is nothing but cruel. I've always shown support for morally gray characters, but there was nothing about this that was ambiguous.
Overall, I’d like to make it clear that this isn't meant to be hateful towards Dear Evan Hansen. I still love it, and I think that it's a great way to get people talking about mental illness. However, these are some issues that don't get talked about enough, and I feel deserve to be pointed out. What do you think?
