Is Evan Hansen good enough?
When Dear Evan Hansen debuted onstage in 2015, its music took theater fans around the world in perfect harmony. Anyone who has access on YouTube or Spotify can sing along to the mesmerizing tune of “Waving through the Window” or find hope in message in the chorus of “You will be Found.”
Add Ben Platt’s impressive vocals, and every song he sings is ear candy. I guess the musical’s six Tony Award trophies (including Best Actor in a Musical for Platt) in 2017 are very much deserved. But while the music and lyrics by songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul earn their recognition, the musical’s story is one that we can think about.
Based on real events that happened during Pasek’s high school years, Dear Evan Hansen follows the awkward and socially anxious titular character Evan (Platt) who is trying to survive being an outcast in high school. By outcast, it doesn’t mean that he had done something heinous to earn such social status. He just isn’t comfortable mingling with large crowds and he’s trying but failing to make friends — a trait which many introverts or socially awkward teenagers can relate to.
As a way of coping, he follows his therapist’s advice to write letters to himself about the good things he is looking forward to each day. This includes writing about his high school crush, Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss in the musical’s Broadway debut), who, apparently is the sister of a troubled high schooler, Connor (Mike Faist).
When Evan encounters Connor in school, Connor grabs one of Evan’s personal letters and reads it. He is shocked to read his sister’s name, and accuses Evan of attempting to make fun of him. He leaves with Evan’s letter. A few days later, Evan is called to the principal’s office to meet with Connor’s parents Cynthia and Larry Murphy (Jennifer Laura Thompson and Michael Park).
Evan learns that Connor has died by suicide, and one of the things found with him is his letter. The Murphys reach the assumption that Evan and Connor are close friends, thinking that the letter — the same letter that Evan has written for himself and which Connor has stolen — is addressed to Evan. Although the Murphys’ assumption initially confuses Evan, he does not want to worsen their grief by proving it wrong.
Cue in Evan’s family-friend, Jared Kleinman (Will Roland) who goes on board brewing the trick by helping Evan compose new letters to present to the Murphys as proof of Evan’s friendship with Connor. Then the ambitious Alana Beck (Kristolyn Lloyd) comes along, who, despite not knowing the false scheme, decides to help the whole school remember the memory of Connor by conceptualizing The Connor Project with Evan on the frontline. This project extends throughout social media and earns Evan recognition and praise. But eventually, he falls in a trap when the truth about the scheme comes out.
There are various subplots that complement the story and Evan’s motivation, such as his attraction over Zoe, his plans for college, and the gap in his relationship with his mother. But considering the circumstance he finds himself in, does Evan entirely deserve all the blame for making up the friendship with a dead person and using it to promote his self-esteem?
One advantage that the musical has as a medium is its integration of songs. The songs in Dear Evan Hansen play an integral part in shaping the story. As examples, they amplify the main character’s inner monologue (“Waving through the Window”), further reveal his inner conflict (“If I could tell Her”), or explain his backstory (“To break in a Glove”). It is in the latter where we’d get to understand more about Evan other than his being socially awkward.
Perhaps one of the most meaningful songs in the musical is “To break in a Glove.” This is where Evan elaborates his past to Connor’s father, Larry Murphy, as their conversation leads Evan to share a piece of his background. While “Waving through a Window” defines Evan’s trait as a person who tries hard to be heard, “To break in a Glove” digs deeper into what contributed him to be that way.
A traumatic past involving his father’s abandonment when he was young, leaving his mother to fend for him alone while struggling to earn a living and taking classes to become a paralegal, is a traumatic event that is beyond the capability of a 17-year-old to move on from. It would be fair to say that because of Larry Murphy’s presence in Evan’s life through the made up scheme, he has found a father-figure which his childhood has robbed of him.
This is where he finds comfort in the lie. In “Waving through a Window”, we understand how Evan wants to fit in, to be seen, to be part of a community that accepts him regardless of his flaws as an awkward teenager. Isn’t that what most teenagers want these days?
I’m not saying this is requisite, but growing up, it’s always vital to have friends. They’re the ones who we make memories with. That’s just what Evan wanted before he caught himself trapped in the circumstance of faking his friendship with Connor. Because of this scheme, he is able to find what he longed for — friendship and support from Alana, a complete family with the Murphys, acceptance and recognition from his school, and praise from the social media community.
Now fully out of the window, Evan relishes the limelight. But the musical does not glamorize a lie, and that goes without saying that despite being under the sun, Evan still sees his shadow. When his mother finds out the fake emails he has been composing, Evan takes a slap from reality and goes on to admit where he went wrong. Yet he does so with a tug of empathy.
The song, “Words Fail” further explains Evan’s reason for relishing the limelight. It may be an extension of “Waving through a Window”, only that the lyrics contain his realization about how far he’d gone to get what he wanted. The words couldn’t explain better: “I’d rather pretend I’m something better than these broken parts; pretend I’m something other than this mess that I am.”
The song goes on with Evan admitting: “I never had that perfect girl who somehow could see the good part of me. I never had the dad who stuck it out; no corny jokes or baseball gloves; no mom who just was there; ’cause Mom was all that she had to be.”
From these songs, we get to see Evan’s three-dimensional perspective. Does he deserve the blame for faking his friendship with Connor, a scheme which is completely worsened by Connor’s death by suicide and the impossibility of him debunking that claim? Perhaps. But then there’s his redemptive arch of admitting to his mistake.
Putting the blame on circumstance may also fit with the narrative, as Evan wouldn’t have been “broken to pieces” if it weren’t for his incomplete family. But that’s something out of his control. He may have only been reacting to the situation he finds himself in.
With a young adult character in the lead, the musical fits well in this genre. Yet it also deals with serious matters that young adults may learn from.
In the case of Evan Hansen, it’s the idea that people’s admiration is not an absolute factor that ultimately defines self-worth. In the era of instant gratification, where almost every success is visible on social media, it’s easy to adhere to comparison. But what the musical tells us is that self-worth treads on the same path with self-acceptance, and that can only be achieved through personal decision. Evan’s mother underscores this idea by telling him in one of the last few scenes, “I know you and I already love you.”
Considering Evan has learned his lesson, he still has more years to navigate through life’s ever-changing circumstance or situation. But his choice on what to do with his life matters most. As a teenager, he still has more years ahead of him, and more chances of seizing the day. For this, he is good enough.
Dear Evan Hansen is one of the musicals that define a generation. Its accolades may be much deserved, but what the musical shines its light on is its most important message of self-acceptance, complemented by its upbeat and iconic songs. After all, what’s a musical without them?
