Day 395- Broadway in Pittsburgh-Dear Evan Hansen-So Real and Relevant

 

Dear Evan Hansen tackles real life issues, elevating discussions on difficult topics such as suicide and mental health through song. Evan (Anthony Norman) is an awkward high school teen struggling to fit in and Connor (August Emerson) is a troubled teen who doesn’t.  When Connor ends his life, Evan fakes their friendship to help the family cope and befriend the sister, his school crush. Social media adds fire to this fabrication which results in Evan acquiring a group of friends and the sister’s affection.  This all sounds so messed up, which is exactly how life really is at times. Dear Evan Hansen, through a beautifully written musical score, is so real and relevant. It strikes a chord with anyone who has felt left out or alone. 

 Refection

Opening the play, Evan writes a letter to himself, an exercise given by his therapist to combat his low self-esteem, anxiety, and loneness. He writes, “Today is going to be a good day…” but it really is not.  

In the first song, "Anybody Have a Map?" the mothers (Evan's and Conner's) sing, “I am just flying blind, making this up as I go.”  I felt the exact same way when my son, once my best friend, turned into an alien in high school. I thought, “there is a book called, What to Expect when Expecting, but none to prepare you for the serpentine road of an adolescent child, who proclaims that you know nothing and can do nothing right. That song triggered a river of emotions and then this musical kept them flowing.  

The set consists of a dining room table or a couch surrounded by elaborate floor to ceiling digital displays. The digital set and powerful songs are all that is needed to tell the story. The music fuels memories of an awkward time when we felt alone in “Waving Through a Window." The songs are thought provoking, reminding us that in death no one should “Disappear" and in life “You Will Be Found” because you matter.  

The digital set engulfs the action depicting the way social media creates a story by twisting and turning the truth until it combusts into a new species.  Then the “fake news” motivates behavior.

The theater was packed with many who seemed much younger than I. Even being 30 plus years out from high school, I can still remember my anxiety surrounding who to sit with at lunch when my group of  friends had a different lunch period.  This musical brings to light the void felt when you think that you don't belong and mental struggles to find a place to belong which are topic so real and relevant. Dear Evan Hansen does it all with a brilliant and powerful musical score and an amazing digital stage platform.   

 ( For tickets go to trustarts.com. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust also just released the 2024 Broadway in Pittsburgh series. For more information on this and other shows go to the  home page trustarts.org.)

Spirituals reflection

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.  I can never get away from your presence! If I go to the heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. (Psalm 139:1-3 and 7-8)

Other sources

Dear Evan Hansen tour- https://dearevanhansen.com/

 You Will Be Found- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSfH2AuhXfw