Dear Evan Hansen,
"Today is going to be an amazing day and here's why." The opening line of the new musical "Dear Evan Hansen". This show relates to everyone of any age because I am sure that there is a time where we were all in the shoes of Evan Hansen. I haven't felt emotionally connected or moved by a piece of theatre the way this show did in a very long time.
There has been a lot of talk with this show for a few years now when composing team Pasek and Paul (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) announced their new show that is one hundred percent original. No source material from a book or a movie, just a story that should be told and this is the perfect way for it to be told. This story follows a high school senior Evan Hansen as he goes through high school being an outsider. The character has severe social anxiety and has avoided being social throughout all of high school. He then gets caught up in a web of lies and misinformation. This takes away some of his anxiety but at the same time, adds to it.
We all have a piece of Evan in us. There was at least one time in everyone's life when they were the outsider. What makes this show so beautiful is Evan and how real he is. This of course goes to the INCREDIBLE performance given by Ben Platt (from "Pitch Perfect"). This is the performance of a lifetime for him. Evan sometimes can't come up with the words to say to something, so that is when he starts singing, and you don't question it. It makes sense for him, it is more comforting for him (The song "Words Fail" just explain it all). Even more special for Evan is he finally gets to talk to the girl of his dreams with this new life. The girl is played by Laura Dreyfuss ("Glee") and their chemistry is off the charts. The entire cast is absolutely perfect together and they tell this story perfectly.
The song that is available to listen to is the song "Waving Through a Window". This song sums up the show and Evan as a character. There are some key lines in the show that stuck out to me, mostly in the song "You Will be Found". First, the title of the song is inspiring in itself. Then throughout you hear "Thank you, Evan Hansen" which at that moment is all I could think, Thank you, Evan Hansen
Thank you Evan Hansen for showing the outsider in us all. Thank you, Evan Hansen for moving me to tears throughout the entire show. Thank you, Evan Hansen for changing my life forever.
Make sure you check out "Dear Evan Hansen" when it comes to Broadway this November and find out who Evan Hansen is!
