Posted: 5/23/19 at 12:37pm
I will agree that the show is over-hyped to a degree and rode a box office SRO tidal wave to Best Musical Tony victory over 2 equally if not more so deserving musicals.
The issue with the show, which Ben Platt has mentioned in multiple interviews is that Evan Hansen is a horrible person. If the young actor playing Evan can't immediately get the audience to sympathize with him, the show won't work.
Evan literally ruins the Murphy family's lives for his own benefit, and arguably the catalyst for Connor's suicide.
Initially he doesn't know the damage he is causing, and has the best of intentions when trying to comfort the Murphy's after Connors death through keeping up the comedy of errors that is his initial letter. By the end of Act I though, it is clear that his intentions have turned selfish beyond the point of return through his kissing of Zoe. This is where the musical lost me when I was seeing it, as he looses any benefit of the doubt I gave him because of his clear "mental illness". His intentions go from attempting to comfort the family without realizing the damage he was causing, which his mental illness allows the audience to sympathize with, to simply wanting to date Zoe. Evan should not reciprocate after Zoe kisses him, to show he still has a conscience at that point. She can then persist and he gives in as the curtain falls, but instead he makes the conscious choice to kiss her pointing to his realization of the benefits of the rouse gives him. The second act is all about Evan trying to maintain the illusion of the friendship with Connor simply for his own benefit and the detriment of the Murphys. Then when the internet mob turns on the Murphys and arguably causes even more damage to them then Connors's death, Evan simply admits guilt and cries to his mother. Yes, Evan finally admits the story about falling out of the tree hes been telling the entire show is about his failed suicide attempt, but it doesn't repair any of the damage he caused. The show then time jumps a year later, where we find out he still hasn't apologized to the Murphys, and the only consequence to his actions was shame.
Therefore if the audience isn't on Evan's side from the start, the show simply comes across as if a production of The Crucible was played with Abigail Williams as the "morally good" protagonist. One could actually argue that Dear Evan Hansen is a modern adaptation of The Crucible from Abigail's perspective, as his arc very much mimics hers. Also I think the popularity of "cancel culture" has made Evan's lack of resolution/consequences even more unsatisfying. Is the show bad? No, but it very much rests on the actor playing Evan and that a problem for the show. Its similar to the problem faced by all productions of The Producers as they will forever live in the shadow of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick's performances. If the actor playing Evan is even slightly off, the show falls apart. I am not blaming Robert Markus, but I think it maybe why producers went with 16 year old Andrew Barth Feldman over another early 20 something. By having an actual 16 year old play Evan, it gives the actor a little more good will from the audience, as he looks innocent. Therefore the the show's problem of having one of the most arguably vial protagonists in musical theater history should be less apparent to audiences.
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