Evan Hansen Who?

This past week, I was able to go on the class trip to see Dear Evan Hansen, a Broadway musical. As a musical lover, I had already listened to the soundtrack way before seeing the show, even before I knew I had the opportunity to. I knew the plot, I knew the music, I knew what to expect.

The shows follows a boy named Evan Hansen, a loser with no friends. Through a misconception dealing with a boy’s suicide note, Evan spirals down a cascade of lives. Without spoiling too much, this can only be bad for our protagonist.

The production has some show stopping numbers, like “Waving Through a Window,” “You Will Be Found.” and “Too Big/ Too Small” to name a few. The music mainly aims to make the audience feel – and within that process, cry. While the musical revolves around suicide it didn’t fully hit me through the soundtrack alone. It was never planned, but this show acutely pertained to the unfortunate events that have unraveled at our school. This situation added a whole unforeseen layer to my viewing of the show.

I didn’t know the boy who died, and I don’t think it’s right to pretend to. But Evan and his 2 other friends barely knew Conor, the boy who commits suicide in the show. Each of these characters show a different aspect to how people react to grief – especially to someone they didn’t know. Evan ultimately uses it to feel loved by Conor’s family and Zoey, Conor’s sister. Jared, Evan’s friend, tries to capitalize on the drama and stir to make a quick buck. And in a weird way, Alana deals with it in a similar route to Evan. She uses it to make herself known, for like Evan, she felt invisible. She continuously tries to reinforce that she knew Conor as a “close acquaintance ” or that they were lab partners in chemistry years prior. She wants to keep Conor’s legacy alive, and she wants to promote healing and safe places for people who grieve Conor. But positive reinforcement can only do so much, especially considering those who are falling the hardest may reject any help.

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to help others, there can’t be a level of superficiality to it.  Alana seemed to ride the wave, offering to console people who need it. It reminded me of the environment that occurred recently at the school. The day where everyone repeated “I’m here for you.” People may be genuinely wanting to help others, but it’s interesting to view it from the pessimistic view for a brief moment – what if some  people do it out of obligation? They could be afraid of looking insensitive if they don’t offer help or grieve. This idea is something that Zoey deals with, for since she was his sister, she felt an obligation to grieve her brother, but truly didn’t feel it within her to do so (In the song Requiem).  With such an extremely conflicting feeling, it’s easy to see why grief isn’t black and white.

Overall, Dear Evan Hansen displays all aspects of grief with different perspectives. If you’re looking for a cathartic cry, go buy yourself a ticket and a box of tissues (you’ll need it)

Image Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Evan_Hansen