Right. Theres something about this story. Evan was the beginning of our story. I think it did happen with Hamilton for sure. 2 sentence. Dear Evan Hansen. The teens are doing revenge porn like Evan. One of the things that I think is really striking is despite this awful situation, youre very kind to their characters.
That is something as Stacey said that is organic and then we cant control. DEAR EVAN HANSEN is "the most vital and important musical of a generation" (Daily Mail, Baz Bamigboye) with "a raw, relevant and exhilarating score" (BBC Radio London, Jonathan Phang) from the songwriters of The Greatest Showman and La La Land.. A timely and timeless new musical about struggling to connect in a hyperconnected world, DEAR EVAN HANSEN is the winner of 3 Olivier Awards . You will never regret having slept on it. This election, fake news everywhere kind of thing, and now the president just uses it as a catch phrase. A little perseverance and a little uphill climb." I believe this quote can relate to many things. Theres not a night where I dont shed a tear sometimes at a song, Im surprised, that never made me cry before.
You can find more episodes of Recode Decode anywhere you listen to a podcast. You see why this happened to him, and this probably will never happen to him again because he learned the lesson. Absolutely. We havent really made a big deal about it right now, but our key art shows Evans torso with his arm in the cast. Benj was astounded that basically his whole class identified with it, wrote their college essays about it. We want some cause for what theyre learning, the things. Can you talk about that idea of do you think he pays enough for what hes done, or does he have to pay? TikTok isnt really limiting kids time on its app. Its fascinating. It was a smart way to talk about hard things. Guide written by. SM: Shows have changed so much. Here's hoping I won't be a singing w. Were on Apple Podcast, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, SoundCloud and more, or just visit recode.net/podcasts for more. It went from off Broadway, and then you developed it over time, and added to it. Maybe they didnt have the tragic events, but were all a little bit like that. Thats what I really appreciate is it wasnt an attack. Evan attempts to find the acceptance and love he has been lacking in his life. There is no thing. Terms in this set (21) Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be a amazing day and here's why. Letter #5: Connor Murphy to Evan Hansen. I feel like its hard. Hamilton absolutely is similar, and I also think that there is something in a world where everything is digital. You had the memories of when you saw it, when you didnt feel acquainted, but you couldnt revive those feelings. It is a conversation starter. Book sales are going up, and Kindle and eBooks are really being bought by middle-aged people. SL: Thats been a constant negotiation with how specific do we want the technology. But I think whats interesting is the fresh trends of whats happening now, because eight years ago, Facebook was not as big as it is [now]. People want to feel something. September 21, 2021. They dont ever have to say to the mother, Hi, its Danny. Jared is often the voice of the audience, pointing out what were thinking, so he serves a really interesting and useful purpose. I do hope and it seems to occasionally work this way that people are leaving the theater, and at least being more mindful I think of the way that they use technology. SM: If you dont, somebody might throw it at you, but you have to. Despite its Broadway credentials, "Dear Evan Hansen" hits screens faced with an inherent tension: Can its songs and cast, led by Ben Platt reprising his Tony-winning role, overcome the . Explain to me how long a show takes to get through? Chloe? SL: Its incredible that that has been happening and happened around the show. Jared is also our truth teller. SL: Its a very weird net of thing where people are really, really responding to that idea of you will be found, which is actually when Evan is saying it in the musical, its not true. But they want to continue the relationship. It was interesting because the schools are trying to struggle with these things too once things become apparent. It was that and Angels in America were very big deals. Do you imagine a future where that doesnt have to be what we do, like tape it and make it? Talk about how you got to Dear Evan Hansen which, by the way, I dont want to call it the Hamilton of this season, but it kind of is. The pillar of internet free speech seems to be everyones target. SM: It is, although I must say, to me, Hamilton is a movement, a phenomenon, something that is SM: It is. Can you talk about each of the characters? Everybody is super happy. Dear Evan Hansen is a musical.The music and lyrics were written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Steven Levenson wrote a book based on the musical). "It takes a little patience, takes a little time. You know what I mean? Summary. The unfortunate thing about my kids is both their parents are highly technically literate, and so they cant fool us or anything. Essentially, this other boy, Connor Murphy, ends up through a strange series of circumstances taking the letter from Evan, and later offstage, Connor ends up killing himself, and the only thing that his parents find on his person is this letter to Dear Evan Hansen. Dear, Evan Hansen. Is it this one square mile abroad or whatever? SL: It does feel like there is something, especially with younger people wanting something unique and something you can touch. But also. I start Talkbacks now by saying, Were going to keep our Talkback breath, because I know that you want to go home and hug your children, forgive your mother and perhaps download our CD, because that is the universal thing. Yeah, I often called it, Twitter, a hellscape. Thats a very good play, or a delicate flower. Or even knowing phone numbers, but thats another thing. After Evan's parents' divorce, his father moves to Colorado to start a new family, and his mom works constantly and never has time for Evan. But the idea that we need to get Theres no more offline communities, and were not connected offline anymore. Its not scalable. You can read some of the highlights from the interview at that link, or listen to it in the audio player below. The new single "Found/Tonight," arranged by Alex . SL: Yes. Fun Fact: Tom queued for . SL: Even though the show isnt explicitly this, it feels like its from Evans point of view, I think, in a lot of ways. Thats all there is. We dont really live in that world anymore. SM: Heidi Hansen, yeah, Evans mom. Do you know what I mean, like thats what we got. Of course, they still owe one to common, be entertained. I think she is an incredible depiction of contemporary motherhood, whether youre a single mom or not, busy, under pressure, trying hard, absolutely love your child, but in the daily rush of things doesnt always get everything right. Then also, the hashtag, my favorite expression is hashtagavism, that we get these hashtags. They want to continue the story, and they want to embellish the story. They have their 28th anniversary revivals of that. The musical opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016, after the show's world premiere at the Arena Stage in . Where else do you actually have to put your phone away? Its quite enormous in terms of how it gets known. Whats it like to create theater in this age, in this age of digital? There is haptic touch. Were going to talk about, the musical, that and more, but first lets about a little bit of your background, each of you. We didnt have to buy the rights to a book to make this. APPLE BOOKS REVIEW. It turns out, this wa Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall. I was like, Aww.. You dont actively participate in the world, but thats how you comment. At its core, Dear Evan Hansen is about the increasing temptations, and heartbreaking costs, of self-deception. SL: It feels like what all those fake news things are hitting on is a true emotion that people are feeling. You can only reach so many people. SL: Yes, so people are writing fan fiction, and making fan art.
SL: But I will say thats the substitute of our musical. I dont think it was the tech. I think theater is going forward in the kinds of stories we can tell. Something we talked about really early on was this was like six years ago, so Facebook and Twitter were really coming into their own, and it felt like whenever there was a natural disaster or a celebrity passed away, there would be the strange public ritual of people going on social media and somehow identifying with the tragedy. Only, I think, every other person who comes there feels that they can relate to the eight characters on the stage. Thats been the lesson Ive learned. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Do see it, and see that beneath the faade, were all searching for the same things. It was written by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. Letter #4: Evan Hansen to Connor Murphy. Thats not going to work. Its great to talk to you. Dear Evan Hansen, Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why: because because today, all you have to do is just be yourself. SM: The extraordinary thing that happened with this show right from our very first production at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., was that people organically found us. Perhaps the story of Evan Hansen could fit into that format, but I feel like what we have, the musical Dear Evan Hansen, is just that. My lesson here that will change my life forever was that this kind of word of mouth, you cannot manufacture. It turns out to be false, or an advertising or a marketing thing. SL: Exactly. SM: The father is an interesting nut to crack, because he at first doesnt emote about his pain. Right, and theyre all telling each other stories that arent true, which I think is fascinating. 22. How about do you feel about this, Steven? Theyre like, Whats that? Im like, Oh, okay, let me just break it down for you. It was fascinating. SM: It does start with a 17-year-old boy alone in his bedroom scrolling through social media. Start: Today is going to be an amazing d Dear Evan Hansen: SL: Yes. I look at Rent being really a grandfather to Dear Evan Hansen happening. It must be seen to be believed." ADAM FELDMAN, TIME OUT NEW YORK. Connor is his classmate and lives lavishly with his parents and sister. It becomes a way of bringing people together, of making everyone feel less alone, and yet its all premised on this lie. I was looking at the social media on the show. For 30 years (as of November 2022) Theater Talk has been appointment listening on WBFO, featuring the insights of theater critic and historian, Anthony Chase, who joins Peter Hall for a five-minute weekly broadcast at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on 88.7 WBFO with a podcast available on wbfo.org. Dear Evan Hansen: Directed by Stephen Chbosky. Evan and Connor both feel like their families don't listen to them. We had bands of teenagers come in the beginning who loved Ben Platt, our star, from the Pitch Perfect movies, but they want to come back with their parents, and talk to their parents afterward. his left arm, facing the screen, alone. Hes the most awkward 17-year-old ever, Im going to have to tell you. I was so happy to be in that room telling the story about people rising above the lies and finding unity together. Someone whos not a parent might look at him and say, He hasnt paid enough, but as a parent, I look at him and think especially because of the Words Fail, he has been absolutely tortured. jennyjenrose. SM: Thats angry old men shaking their fists at the internet. VOX teens experienced a matinee performance of "Dear Evan Hansen" at the Fox Theatre, thanks to the generosity of VOX community partners Most Valuable Kids of Greater Atlanta and Broadway in Atlanta. When we announce a new block of tickets on sale, we give the fans a two-hour heads up, because as you said, it is hard to sell tickets, and that hurts us in some ways. Yes, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt finally teamed up for the inevitable back-to-back Best Musical mash-up of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. I can tell you, because Im a super old person, it was so great not to know anything or have a phone around. Oh very much, so no matter what you do People bringing, its like an old Seinfeld episode, remember? It was interesting, too, because the show opened on Broadway right after the election. Monologues. That was me in high school. Maybe they didnt tell the lie. I want to finish up on what do you hope where to go, where it happens, because you definitely, youre very current. "Dear Evan Hansen" is a high school musical, but one in which the loneliness and pain of teen life is front and center, and the sense of isolation intensified in today's social media world. It gets the people on an analog. Stacey, why dont you go through the story so people get a sense of what happens. Then it was so relevant to today at the same time. The most iconic track from the musical remained, while some of the new songs are used to flesh out supporting characters. Weve also provided a lightly edited complete transcript of their conversation. Sep 23, 2019 - Explore Abby Gallegos's board "Monologues" on Pinterest. SL: Everyone in the show is doing things for the right reason. Watching the big lie of Dear Evan Hansen spiral out of control is a tense . Okay. Absolutely. SM: For me, I like to think of it in a less logistical way. Its really interactive. What begins as a little white lie becomes a way of comforting this family. Obviously, your star is well known from Pitch Perfect.. SM: Every show is different. When I was younger, I was like, Oh, Ill just put this book on my physical book, like, What?. SL: Yes, Rent was very big for all three of us. YouTube is the beginning. Platt is certainly not the first adult to play a teenager onscreen, nor is he the first to look his age while . A speech Evan writes about Connor then goes viral. Have they had their social media horror shows yet or not? Where else do you have to shut it off? SL: Exactly. A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never . Film adaptation of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical about Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder and his journey of self-discovery and acceptance following the suicide of a fellow classmate. Its music, however, is fairly affecting. With Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams. It was a wonderful show. Evan Hansen is the main character in the musical Dear Evan Hansen. I hope that people who have felt like Evan and who have felt like everybody else is having a wonderful life except for them. Its the experience.. Its also a lot about the impact of the internet on teens and everyone. What were you going for to create that feeling of being on the phone or being assaulted by media? The story alone is so icky, so offensive, so profoundly manipulative and fraudulent, that it really never should have gotten a single Tony (or six), much less a film adaptation. People bring whatever they have themselves or they know about to him, but hes lonely and isolated. Everybody wants to go. We have parents who come with each other on their theater date night, and they come back and they bring their kids. Thats what was strong about this, was it? Now Meta and Twitter want your money, too. Thats the surface story. In that song, which becomes really a soliloquy, we see this person Evan, just his soul is bared. I hope it goes Is it coming to San Francisco? It is a duet sung by Connor's father and Evan, titled "To Break in A Glove." Though it is literally talking about the correct way to break in a baseball glove, it can also be talking about . Filled with a murderer's row of talented musical actors all chewing into meaty roles while singing their hearts out, Dear Evan Hansen is an ode to sincerity . Heres whats actually happening. We know that because we hear from them. It should go everywhere, because I think its real. Its about a high school student with a social anxiety disorder and a problem with the internet. He has just done incredible work, and its so exhaustive and so detailed. Now theyre gone. The family needs this story just as much as he does. I used to tell my kids to take it off the dinner table, but sometimes I have to have it at the dinner table. SM: You found out on Monday morning at the locker, but you didnt in real time experience that live-action pain. Exploring grief, mental health struggles and the dangers of social media, the musical was embraced by young people for its honest . It just continues. If youre not that private, thats why you have that many and stuff like that. He'll hold on and he'll keep going. You have to up the game. How did this become a phenomenon? SL: No, Alana is She is desperate to keep a bright smile on and to show everybody how great she is. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. We can overcome vaccine hesitancy. In fact, he didnt, but they presumed that Evan was his only friend. It feels very much like a phone going up. Dear Evan Hansen explores the meaning of family, particularly found family, as the teenage characters find new sources of familial support and acceptance. SL: It had been off Broadway last season at Second Stage Theatre, and then it had been in D.C. at the Arena Stage the summer before. I think that was really what I took away from it, and its interesting that Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook did a 6,000-word essay about this, essentially saying that the solution to an over-Facebook of the world is more Facebook. Over the last several years, people have grown a little tired of that I think, and theres a real hunger for art thats sincere and that is heart-filled. Because today all you have to do is be yourself. On Broadway. The Broadway hit-turned-film Dear Evan Hansen ' s ending created some controversy and a flurry of questions. We have seen kids leave. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Above photo: VOX teen reviewer Sydney with her mom Lisa at the April 28, 2019 performance of "Dear Evan Hansen" at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. Universal Pictures. Google Pay. You know what I mean? So you heard TikToks being banned. We were just talking about that idea. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Dear Evan Hansen poster. CAST: Ben Platt (Evan Hansen), Laura Dreyfuss (Zoe Murphy), Michael Lee Brown (u/s Connor Murphy), Will Roland (Jared Kleinman), Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana Beck), Michael Park (Larry Murphy), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Cynthia Murphy) NOTES: Act 1 ends after Sincerely, Me. SM: We dont have a current plan to do that. "You Will Be Found" is the tenth and final song in Act One of Dear Evan Hansen. Giving a speech at Connor's memorial assembly, Evan soon shoots to fame, the Connor Project growing after his speech is put online, many people empathizing with Evan's words. SM: Its actually so much simpler then that. You used to pay for social media with your eyeballs. It was really just meant to surrealistically portray the way we are all brushed. All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. When she admits to being afraid of Connor, the moment is brushed aside as she, too, is duped by Evan's fairy-tale portrait of a loving brother. You may know me as the director of the hit off- off- off-Broadway musical, Dear Mark Zuckerberg, but in my spare time I talk tech, and youre listening to Recode Decode, a podcast about tech and medias key players, big ideas in how theyre changing the world we live in. The power ballad that closes act one of Dear Evan Hansen, it marks the moment when Evan, a socially anxious teenager, delivers a heartfelt speech about a friend, Connor, who has recently met with tragedy.Shaking with emotion, Evan recalls a time that Connor helped him, and he . Also, dont worry if your hands are going to get sweaty for no reason and you cant make it stop no matter what you do because no, theyre not going to get sweaty. How Trump uses it is fascinating. SL: Yes, absolutely, its just never-ending. 23. I remember going on social media that night, the night of the election, people saying, Get in touch with me if you need somebody to talk to. It was actually genuine. We didnt have Uber. Hashtag youre not alone. Its so funny when youre looking up things, like, What is that, or what is that? I was at a party the other night, and someones like, What do you think happened in his first night? If only we had a device that we can search and find things out, but then I remember dinner parties where you just didnt know. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Getting back to how you do theater, do you feel good about theater now that people ? It could have happened 100 years in the future. The eponymous Evan has been tasked by his therapist with writing pep talk letters to himself to help him visualize success: "Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be a great day." Soon social media posts start popping up all around us some with a warming blue glow and . - The third letter in "Sincerely, Me". You just ended up arguing about it, and then you went home. | Smule Social Singing Karaoke app Well, you do the I-wish-you-were-dead-but-not-really thing. The musical premiered in July 2015 in Washington, DC, debuted on Broadway in 2016, and later won six Tony Awards in . Stacey, why dont you start talking about that idea of how you create an analog experience of just one place and mostly New York City or wherever to reach audiences, especially young ones? He is the son of Heidi and Mark Hansen. I recommend it. Theres been some shows that have been real touchdowns, like Hamilton and some others that have been really Theres a new, I cant remember the latest one, but theres a bunch that Maybe its The Grand Hotel, one that seems fantastic in some ways. If you go on Instagram, youll see all sorts of drawings and poems and songs. SM: Im still new to social media, so I dont think I can do that. Evan Hansen, through Val Emmich's ( The Reminders) skillful interpretation, is a complex, well-developed character whose struggles with depression and anxiety read painfully true. I think its going to be that experience could exist, but it wont be the same. This article originally appeared on Recode.net. DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. How long does it ? But also be confident. Were here today on Recode Decode in New York City, and were talking to Stacy Mindich and Steven Levenson, the producer and book writer of Dear Evan Hansen, which is a show I saw. I think not just in my family but every family. They may have started finding us because Ben Platt was about to come out in the second Pitch Perfect movie, or because Pasek and Paul had a following of millennials who were very adept at social media. As Steven said earlier, they write to us in droves. Then also how connection isnt connecting. Millions turn to Vox to educate themselves, their family, and their friends about whats happening in the world around them, and to learn about things that spark their curiosity. SL: There is something about Hamilton being a prime example of, there is something so old-fashioned about it, and yet something that is drawing people to it that I think has to do with seeing actors right there in front of you, seeing them sweat, seeing them spit, feeling like you were having this visceral experience in this room, and theres something quite special and intimate about that. I started producing about 12 years ago, and had a real passion to find young authors, and pair them with some of the veteran directors of our industry. How do you feel like you can work into that, because he sells fake news? Good to know. Thats the part of the story thats interesting to us. Dear Evan Hansen: The Movie By Stephen Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Adapted for film by Jack Gorzynski *note: a / means that the line was cut off by the next line. SM: The song literally says you are not alone..