DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre — Page 9

Yes, that's what I mean. Of course they know he signed it, but Evan could tell them how it came about. I know the kindness didn't last for long. :)

Updated On: 5/4/16 at 02:54 PM

pupscotch, please use spoilers warning or something so you don't give it away!!! also, here's a response to your question:

nycesq said: "Cindy Adans in today's NY Post says it is transferring to the Schoenfeld."



I'm not a Page Six aficionado. Is this column supposed to really be mere "soothsaying" or is Adams claiming that this is true? If it's the latter, shouldn't it have become a story elsewhere this afternoon, with Playbill or Broadway World or another outlet seeking comment (and publishing their findings one way or the other?).



Sorry, 20 years spent as a journalist so this sort of thing is just irritating to me. :)

I saw this tonight, too. It's much tighter and more cohesive than when I saw it at Arena Stage, even though it was in pretty great shape then, too. I'm glad they clarified some issues like the finale and the reason why Evan was in the tree in the first place.

EDIT: I have another lingering question which I wondered about last year as well, involving one of Jared's dickish lines...

Updated On: 5/5/16 at 12:41 AM

I don't think it has to change at all ..kids often talk in distasteful ways.

It was in reference to his hair last night. And yeah, kids do talk in distasteful ways (which is sort of why I admire that line's existence), but if an awful similar incident is on the audience's mind already, it might not get them to be on your side.

This is all hypothetical, of course. And I hope it never happens again...I just don't think it won't.

Interesting, it might be a flexible spot in the script. It was always coat the times I saw it in DC, and it's been hair both times I've seen it in NY.

I called the box office earlier this week, and they said there's usually a line starting two hours before curtain for in person rush ($30 for under 30 and $25 for students). May try it next week when I'm in town. If anyone has done in person rush, are the seats also balcony box partial view?

I have done in person rush twice, once I was back row center and once was third row on the side. All seats in the theatre (not balcony or stool) have a great view, I say having sat all the way in the back and all the way on the side. The cast really plays to al sides of the audience.

No! I have been 5th and 9th in line, on a Sunday and a Friday

wonderfulwizard11 said: "Went to see this tonight- spoilers below for those who care or haven't seen it.



Prior to tonight, I had heard very little about this show, but I knew that the title character dealt with social anxiety and that got me very interested in the show. I've dealt with social anxiety for a number of years now, and while it's not as debilitating as Evan's is (and truthfully, es excellent as Platt is, all the tics felt excessive in a sort of performative way), I was very intrigued to see a musical that deal with it. Curiously, I don't think I've ever had a more puzzled reaction to a show. There's some great work being done by the cast, especially from Rachel Bay Jones and Jennifer Laura Thompson, and I cried a few times, but ultimately I was kind of upset with how the show addresses suicide and mental illness.

The premise of the plot was almost completely unbelievable to me, though apparently it was based off of a real incident, so I guess I can give it a pass, even if I never really bought that everyone would so easily fall for Evan's lie. But I just cannot get over that Evan suffers virtually no retribution for his actions. While it's arguable that his intentions start off as noble, he ends up using the memory of a severely troubled kid in order to make friends, get a surrogate family, and worst of all, start dating the sister of the the same person who killed himself. I guess his social anxiety is supposed to excuse his actions to a certain point, but it is on a core level a pretty terrible thing to do. Certainly, the character knows this, but when he finally tells the truth...nothing happens! Yes, the family first gets angry with him, but that initial shock and anger (which was devastating) is all that we see. I'm not saying everything needs to be so cut and dry, but it left a sour taste in my mouth that the character basically is allowed to get away scot free with the fact that he used the memory of a dead kid for his own purposes. Not to mention, as the show progresses, Evan seems to get over his social anxiety as the lie grows bigger, so I guess he got very lucky that Connor decided to kill himself so he could learn a lesson? Connor is a barely developed character in the show, and that must have been a conscious choice, since if he were given any more of a personality I think what Evan does would be even more distasteful. As currently written, he's barely a person, so the awfulness of what Evan has done doesn't really take hold.

I also took issue with the brief epilogue that showed that Connor's family is more or less comforted by Evan's lies. I won't speak for everyone who has lost someone to suicide, but to me it felt like Evan's lies gave them an easy way to forget the complicated and troubled son they actually had, and ended up being an erasure of his clear mental illness. I'm not saying it's something that you wouldn't want to do after that experience, but it struck me as wrongheaded.

I give the show tremendous amounts of credit for tackling a difficult subject, and I don't mean to say the show isn't worth seeing whatsoever. But overall, I was tremendously disappointed, and I wanted so badly to love this.



"

SPOILER ALERT

While I see where you are coming from, I feel you miss something like I did the first time seeing the show. Or maybe not. DEH is more about the growth of Evan's character and ultimately his self-salvation than merely someone who takes advantage of someone else's tragedy. I still can't believe how I missed it the first time, but from my second time of seeing DEH, it is heavily hinted towards the end of the second act that Evan broke him arm because he consciously chose to let go, namely to commit suicide. Unlike Connor, however, he survived. The show, then, is actually following his journey of how the accident helps him find his place in his community and who he really is, and combat the loneliness so suffocating that he wants to kill himself. If you look back this way, you might not want him to suffer miserably for what he's done. I know personally what it feels like to be the person who basically has no friends and finds his life a prison where the only way to break through is to leave it all behind. The ending is one of the most beautiful parts of the show. I bursted into tears when Evan says he wants outsiders like him and Connor who one day come to the orchard and climb the trees not to let go but instead keep climbing until they can see what the world might look like from up so high. Connor's death gives Evan the chance to see what the world might look like there, and the view saves him.

Updated On: 5/7/16 at 12:54 AM

wonderfulwizard11 said: "That much was clear to me upon seeing the show tonight. I guess I just find it sort of gross, for lack of a better word, that the character grows so much because this other kid committed suicide. I understand the character arc, but ultimately I found Evan's growth to be based on a wholly unpleasant premise, that essentially he makes his own life better by lying about someone else who was in pain and need.

I'm all for a show that's about self-acceptance and outsiders finding support and their own inner strength, but I question whether the catalyst in this particular story was the right choice.



"

I do see how the premise can be off-putting. My take on this is that Evan doesn't have to be holy, just as being the protagonist doesn't automatically make you into the nicest person in the world who makes the best decisions all the time. It's the gray areas, and sometimes his flaws that make Evan a believable character and the show more relatable.

The fact Evan wants people to believe that Connor is a good friend and that he cares about his sister is enough for me to forgive Evan. Otherwise who except perhaps his family would care about a friendless drug addict who killed himself? It's a lie that his family need and that people need in order for Connor's death to have a meaningful impact.

Updated On: 5/7/16 at 01:45 AM

My friend and I did the in person rush for yesterday's matinee. If you were curious we got there at like 10:30 AM and were the first in line. Yesterday, there were 5 for sure seats and 8 standby tickets, which meant they would buy a ticket and be given any like cancelation seats or would stand in the back of the whole performance, depending on how many seats were open about 5 minutes before the show. I think everyone managed to get a seat in the end though. But, they said that if there were no seats and you did not want standing room you could get refunded!

Anyway, the show was breathtaking. I really do hope the rumors of it transferring to Broadway are true. I found the show very moving and very real. I walked in truthfully knowing nothing, which is my favorite way of watching new shows since you get the "what's gonna happen next" attitude if a good show draws you in. Ben Platt is giving the performance of his life. Everything about him was thought out and well executed. From the stutter, to the ticks, to the voice. His voice is amazeballs. The rest of the cast are all seriously talented and amazing in their own way; I could not fathom having to do this nightly since its such a heavy emotional show. In the end my friend and I agreed that Alana and Jared are both unnecessary characters, but are also like necessary to the plot. We couldn't really describe it. Alana is that girl you went to high school or college with that you really just don't like cause she's too involved and too in your face annoying. While, Jared is that guy who is just there. TBH Jared's jokes did not really make me laugh. It was too like "12 year old boy funny" idk I found myself rolling my eyes during his jokes rather than laughing, cause I didn't know what else to do.

The music is fantastic and I can't wait for the cast recording. The book is very good, I feel like it needs a little fixing here and there, especially Jared's jokes. Lastly, the set is serviceable, but the projections, especially during the Act 1 finale, are amazing. I can't wait to see how these two might evolve if it does go to Broadway. I could it see it being even better.

All in all it was a great day out in the theatre. My friend and I cried, which is a lot to say considering I don't cry.