Dear Evan Hansen... What did i just watch?

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:07pm

I saw the tour last night and i have to ask... did i see a different musical than everyone else? I didn't see some anxiety ridden misunderstood teen on stage (as a high schooler myself, I'm probably one to talk), but rather i saw a narcissistic asshole who lied to a family to sleep with the dead kids sister. Did i miss something? am i supposed to feel anything? help me out here

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:27pm

Your reading of the show is a common one. The story really wants us to sympathize with Evan, despite his bad behavior. If we can’t, the show won’t play. Some actors really lean into Evan’s vague mental illness, suggesting he’s not completely in control. The touring actor I saw played him as a fairly capable nerd. A Seymour Krelbourn type. This made his actions unpardonable. 

Updated On: 10/27/24 at 06:27 PM

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:38pm

The one thing I'd push back on is the idea that he lies in order to sleep with Zoe. The lie starts because he panics after he is suddenly called in to speak with Connor's parents. Their grief, and the fact that they pretty aggressively pressure Evan into giving them some closure about their son's death, is what causes him to lie. Does the lie eventually become an excuse to get with Zoe, and should he have stopped the lie much sooner than he did? Those are both good questions to discuss. But the lie didn't start because he wanted to get with Zoe. 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:49pm

Yeah one of the most repugnant vile shows I’ve ever seen. Nothing about it is redeemable. 

[sppunk]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:55pm

This was exactly my take and I saw it two weeks after opening on Broadway. Platt’s performance was extraordinary and I think that hid the horribleness of the character for a lot of folks. 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 6:56pm

Almost of of his lies come from an attempt to maintain a misunderstanding from Connor's parents. This seems kind and respectful at first but obviously turns into something much worse. As someone who suffers from extreme anxiety I saw myself in Evan off-broadway. For three years the man that worked at the Taco Bell next to my work called me by the wrong name because I didn't want to embarass him by correcting him. It led to a surprising amount of lies and social acrobatics from a tiny misunderstanding. Obviously, there were no consequences on the scale of those that appear in Dear Evan Hanson, but I could very easily see myself in Evan's place as things got out of hand. 

All that said, Mrs Sally Adams is correct that if you don't believe is extremely fragile and vulnerable the whole enterprise falls apart. Many of the replacement Evan's really recalibrated the story in a way I'm not sure I would have identified with so deeply. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 7:28pm

This was the non-union tour?

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 7:32pm

I've come to learn through the years it really depends on the actor and the way he/they portray Evan. When Ben Platt performed as Evan Hansen on Broadway (note I felt differently when I saw him in the movie), it was impactful and most folks felt sympathy for him. Read through the boards back in 2016/2017 and you'll see what I mean.

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 7:47pm

tacotheatrelover said: "I saw the tour last night and i have to ask... did i see a different musical than everyone else? I didn't see some anxiety ridden misunderstood teen on stage (as a high schooler myself, I'm probably one to talk), but rather i saw a narcissistic asshole who lied to a family to sleep with the dead kids sister. Did i miss something? am i supposed to feel anything? help me out here"

"I don't like Dear Evan Hansen" posts are starting to fall into the same category for me as the "Rocky Horror is problematic" posts. The same points recycled over and over and over again, and I just don't care.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 8:36pm

100% agree. never understood how this show won Best Musical over Come From Away.

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 9:12pm

joevitus said: "I don't like DearEvan Hansen" posts are starting to fall into the same category for me as the "Rocky Horror is problematic" posts. The same points recycled over and over and over again, and I just don't care.

I never said I hated or didn't like the show. That would be irreverent to what i was asking to try and get me to understand the show, and how people see it. I'm planning on seeing the show again in april to see if it'll click later on, as it is fairly early in the run and it could truly progress and maybe be a bit more understanding as time progresses and everyone gets more comfortable in their roles.

Anywhosie, great comet was ****ing robbed.

[inception]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 9:49pm

RippedMan said: "This was the non-union tour?"

This was my first thought as well.   On the non-union tours they usually have actors who are fairly inexperienced. 

I first saw DEH in 2018 when Taylor Trench had taken over the role, and he really made it seem like Evan was a bit autistic. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 10:19pm

tacotheatrelover said: "joevitus said: "I don't like DearEvan Hansen" posts are starting to fall into the same category for me as the "Rocky Horror is problematic" posts. The same points recycled over and over and over again, and I just don't care.

I never said I hated or didn't like the show. That would be irreverent to what i was asking to try and get me to understand the show, and how people see it. I'm planning on seeing the show again in april to see if it'll click later on, as it is fairly early in the run and it could truly progress and maybe be a bit more understanding as time progresses and everyone gets more comfortable in their roles.

Anywhosie, great comet was ****ing robbed."

Well, I never said you said you hated it. But the going over whether Even is sympathetic or not really bores the hell out me, and no one ever seems to say anything new or insightful. I think basic empathy should put us on his side or at least feeling awkward about how bad this thing is he's doing and how all the happiness he's getting in the short term is going to blow up in his face. It's the basic conceit of the show, and I don't understand anyone missing it, and I'm kinda tired of the comments from people who don't. 

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/27/24 at 10:59pm

☝️ 100%. Dissected TO DEATH when the movie was released.

Updated On: 10/27/24 at 10:59 PM

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 12:43am

Wick3 said: "I've come to learn through the years it really depends on the actor and the way he/they portray Evan. When Ben Platt performed as Evan Hansen on Broadway (note I felt differently when I saw him in the movie), it was impactful and most folks felt sympathy for him. Read through the boards back in 2016/2017 and you'll see what I mean.

"

I beg to differ. Nothing about his performance made me feel any sympathy for Evan

[inception]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 1:26am

joevitus said: "

Well, I never said you said you hated it. But the going over whether Even is sympathetic or not really bores the hell out me, and no one ever seems to say anything new or insightful. I think basic empathy should put us on his side or at least feeling awkward about how bad this thing is he's doing and how all the happiness he's getting in the short term is going to blow up in his face. It's the basic conceit of the show, and I don't understand anyone missing it, and I'm kinda tired of the comments from people who don't."

Well be prepared, there are going to be lots of teenagers like Taco discovering this show for the first time forever into the future and having these questions.   It hasn't even been released for regional productions yet.  I was thinking recently about what a nightmare it is that you almost can't go anywhere this coming year where Waitress isn't being done.  It will be worse once DEH is available. 

[binau]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 4:30am

I personally don’t see why he even has to be THAT sympathetic - I think he has to be understandable or it to be plausible why he is lying (which I think it is). As long as you can be taken on the journey and then the subtext behind the lying, does it really matter if you end up liking or hating the character by the end? 

I always found some of the marketing strange. For example, when the show kind of took ‘you’ll be found’ as a positive anthem to hook people into being moved by the show. The whole point of the song is that we are being tricked into getting swept up with the emotion but it’s quite dark how it works to deceive us. It then seems odd to remove the subtext and pretend it’s a moving song.

For me, it’s the very clever use of subtext in many of the songs that makes the show so brilliant. Many of the songs are a lie or have so much more going on because of these lies. 
 

I don’t like/agree how the movie tried to ‘fix’ the ending a bit. I don’t think it needs fixing - not everyone has to be spelled out to the audience. 

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 8:29am

tacotheatrelover said: "joevitus said: "I don't like DearEvan Hansen" posts are starting to fall into the same category for me as the "Rocky Horror is problematic" posts. The same points recycled over and over and over again, and I just don't care.

I never said I hated or didn't like the show. That would be irreverent to what i was asking to try and get me to understand the show, and how people see it. I'm planning on seeing the show again in april to see if it'll click later on, as it is fairly early in the run and it could truly progress and maybe be a bit more understanding as time progresses and everyone gets more comfortable in their roles.

Anywhosie, great comet was ****ing robbed."

I'm only going to say this once and I will not elaborate but no, Great Comet was not robbed. 

[Kad]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 9:22am

binau said: "I personally don’t see why he even has to be THAT sympathetic - I think he has to be understandable or it to be plausible why he is lying (which I think it is). As long as you can be taken on the journey and then the subtext behind the lying, does it really matter if you end up liking or hating the character by the end?

I always found some of the marketing strange. For example, when the show kind of took ‘you’ll be found’ as a positive anthem to hook people into being moved by the show. The whole point of the song is that we are being tricked into getting swept up with the emotion but it’s quite dark how it works to deceive us. It then seems odd to remove the subtext and pretend it’s a moving song.

For me, it’s the very clever use of subtext in many ofthe songs that makes the show so brilliant. Many of the songs are a lie or have so much more going on because of these lies.


I don’t like/agree how the movie tried to ‘fix’ the ending a bit. I don’t think it needs fixing - not everyone has to be spelled out to the audience."

Yes, I think this cuts to the heart of it, the disparity between the show itself and how it was marketed and therefore perceived.

While I don't think the show as written is sophisticated enough to fully pull off the dark irony- Pasek and Paul are very sentimental and fond of platitudes and uplifting anthems- the original production was pretty clear, aided by its performances and direction. But the marketing really leaned into the sentiment.

[willep]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 9:35am

I saw it with the OBC and really felt icky about the story too. I did not find myself sympathizing with Evan, even as someone who is introverted and struggles to fit in sometimes myself.

Great Comet was certainly my favorite show that year and I felt most of DEH’s Tonys should have gone to Come From Away or Great Comet.

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 10:05am

inception said: "joevitus said: "

Well, I never said you said you hated it. But the going over whether Even is sympathetic or not really bores the hell out me, and no one ever seems to say anything new or insightful. I think basic empathy should put us on his side or at least feeling awkward about how bad this thing is he's doing and how all the happiness he's getting in the short term is going to blow up in his face. It's the basic conceit of the show, and I don't understand anyone missing it, and I'm kinda tired of the comments from people who don't."

Well be prepared,there are going to be lots of teenagers like Tacodiscovering this show for the first time forever into the future and having these questions. It hasn't even been released for regional productions yet. I was thinking recently about what a nightmare it is that you almost can't goanywhere this coming year where Waitress isn't being done. It will be worse once DEH is available."

I guess teens might also think Blanch DuBois is a lying ho who deserved what she got, or Oedipus is just gross, man. A basic component or art is empathy for people with different personalities put into situations radically different circumstances than one's own. If they don't get it, it's their loss. It isn't even about whether DEH is a great show or not. It's about the basic reason most art exists. If someone is too solipsistic to see that (and maybe a lot of teens are), I can't be bothered with them. 

[BJR]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 10:25am

Indeed. The components of Aristotlian drama: fear and pity.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 12:13pm

The bit at the end where Zoe is like "your lies brought my family closer together and revitalized the orchard and saved the orphanage" is so weird and off-putting that it taints the rest of the show.

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 12:43pm

Charley Kringas Inc said: "The bit at the end where Zoe is like "your lies brought my family closer together and revitalized the orchard and saved the orphanage" is so weird and off-putting that it taints the rest of the show."

How dare something good come from something bad. Sometimes it does. Also, it's a musical and wants to provide some sort of hopeful message. Not all the results were terrible. Doesn't mean he made great (or even good) choices.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 10/28/24 at 4:13pm

I find the last scene to be incredibly phony and shallow, particularly following the reconciliation with his mother, which is probably the show's most genuine moment. One of the show's primary themes is about how suffocating it is to live in a falsehood, and it builds so beautifully to that scene with him and his mom, which is all about discarding those things in favor of a real, flawed human connection. And then the show switches over to the orchard and closes things out with a piece of dramatic writing more suited for a Lifetime Original.

It has nothing to do with something good coming from something bad, or a hopeful message being provided.