Dear Evan Hansen, I Don’t Think It’s Really Your Fault.
On November 19th, 2017 Ben Platt took his last bow on the stage of the Music Box Theatre for his role as Evan Hansen, one of the most iconic roles in the 2016–2017 Broadway season. The musical Dear Evan Hansen won Platt his first Tony Award, alongside with 5 other wins for the company out of a total of 11 Tony nominations. The musical and the role of Evan Hansen have prompted so many opinions on a lot of aspects on the show, starting from mental health issue, the impact of digitization, and social media awakenings among other things.
Among the many things that distinguish Dear Evan Hansen from most musicals, one thing that stands out the most to me is the fact that while most musicals spare the emotional turmoil for the second act, Dear Evan Hansen seems to be estranged to the concept of a gleeful journey, not even in the first act. In Dear Evan Hansen, the audience is not handed the privilege to have some hearty laugh and enjoy an uplifting story line since the very beginning of the show. While the musical is laced with comedy, the story line in Dear Evan Hansen spirals entirely downhill the moment Evan opened his mouth. His social anxiety causes him to be inarticulate in conversations, and in turn causes him a serious trouble when people misunderstand him. However, while Evan’s social ineptitude does play an imminent role in the story, it overshadows the actual root of the problem. Evan’s mounting lies are not initially generated from his social difficulties in the first place, but rather from the pressure that Larry and Cynthia Murphy placed on the boy.
When the Murphys told Evan about the letter and stated their assumption about how they thought their late son Connor wrote it to Evan before he killed himself, Evan immediately clarified that Connor didn’t write the letter. He did stutter, but he told them. Twice.
The problem is that Larry and Cynthia were too busy trying to find something to hold onto in remembrance of their son — which in this case was the letter. They were scrounging for anything that can shed some light on their son’s unpredictable behavior and personality — which they failed to understand. The letter shines a light on their desperation, providing some hope that they could discover a newfound understanding about their son through his friendship with Evan, which was truly non-existent. Their assumption was purely a projection of their desperation for something — anything — to hold on to. They refused to let go of their son without understanding the first thing about him, without knowing anything more about their son than him being this problematic enigma they couldn’t figure out. Thus, when Evan’s letter and signed cast provided the slightest chance for them to assume that there was another side to Connor that they never knew and could now figure out, they took the first train they could jump on.
They were so invested in their own interest that they didn’t even think to stop for just one second to just sit back and listen to what Evan had to say. They were projecting their confusion, shock, and desperation toward Evan, pressuring the boy to the point where he gave in and told them what they wanted to hear, out of empathy. As a result, Evan was dragged into the family drama, and the worst part is that he had to keep up the drama, and slowly finding himself doing it not just for the sake of the Murphys, but because he has gotten so invested in the new fictional world he has created, one with a seemingly perfect life — a dad with corny jokes, a mom who pays him full, undivided attention, and a girl who sees the good part of him.
Evan Hansen was just being the nice kid he was. He has explicitly told Connor’s parents that Connor didn’t write those letters, but they refused to listen. I think that’s something we could all reflect on. Not just for parents and/or adults, but especially parents and/or adults. We all should listen without the intention to defend, but to understand. We should sit back down for a bit and give people a chance to explain themselves. We should refrain from projecting our own desires toward anyone, and be aware that there are things that we could do that could cost at other people’s expenses.
