"Dear Evan Hansen" [2016]

NeonLights
May 4, 2020
6 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Stage Play

Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss, Rachel Bay Jones

Music and Lyrics by: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Book by: Steven Levenson

Directed by: Michael Greif

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RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

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WARNING: SPOILERS!

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(This article is a first of a five-part article that I’ll be doing for this Musical)

How far would you take a lie just to have the dream that you've been dreaming of for so long?

That is the primary question that you would ask yourself as you watch this simple yet emotional story of Evan Hansen as he goes through his inner struggle of social media and peer pressure. A story that makes you realize that behind the fabricated stories lies a person’s need for acceptance and love.

“Dear Evan Hansen” tells the story of a young man with a social anxiety disorder who so yearns to make a connection with his peers that he fabricates a relationship with a deceased student to become closer to the boy’s family. When a classmate commits suicide (Connor Murphy), shy Evan Hansen finds himself at the center of the tragedy and turmoil. In a misguided attempt to comfort the boy’s grieving family, Evan pretends that he was actually good friends with their son. He invents a fabricated email account to “prove” their friendship, and when a fake suicide note makes its way online, Evan finds himself the unintended face of a viral video about loneliness and friendship.

As his social currency skyrockets, Evan is drawn deeper and deeper into the lie. His relationship with his actual mother wanes in comparison to that of his “shiny new family.” He finally lands the girl of his dreams, and most importantly--he’s no longer invisible.

Eventually, Evan is forced to make a decision: Will he give himself over to the fantasy he’s created, or will he bite the bullet and risk losing everything he’s ever wanted? https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/7745/dear-evan-hansen

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I accidentally discovered this musical play while watching some video of Top 10 Hardest Male Musical Roles in theater and this surprisingly, this play took the number one spot. I got curious and decided to make a research about it. My heart and soul instantly connect to this play because most of the situations that were presented have similar occurrences in my life. Once I heard the songs and understand the lyrics, tears instantly flowed from my eyes. The supporting actors, stage design and how Ben Platt (Evan Hansen) performed the character including all his subtlety really shows how good he is as an actor.

All of us have gone through our teenage years where we felt anxious and nervous about what other people will think of us. We also wished that we can be recognized by others through our talents and positive characteristics and not by our flaws and the things that lack in us. That is why I’m sure that people can easily connect to the characters and the plot of the story.

Highlights

There are so many highlights in this musical that made me cry like a river and some of them are:

I. The scene where Evan is pondering whether he will push through with the Connor Project that will be a way for more people to remember Connor Murphy.

At this point, Evan is slowly being part of the Murphys' family. He already receiving all the attention and love that he never felt with his own mother. So, when Evan’s friends suggested this to him, he declines this at first because as much as possible he didn’t want to push his lie to Connor’s family anymore, but he turned 180 degrees when he convinces himself that he is just doing this in Connor’s honor. But we soon realize that the main reason he pursues the Connor Project is that he is afraid that when the people forget the story of Connor, he will also be forgotten. He doesn’t want to go back from being a shy teenager who just floats in the background. Now that he has all the attention he wants; he doesn’t want to let this flyby.

II. The scene where Connor’s father, Larry gives his son’s baseball glove.

Evan is a product of a broken family. After his father left him, he never really felt what is like to have a father-figure at home. The simple yet powerful moment between Larry and Evan makes him (Evan) finally knew what it is like to have someone to look up to. A person who will teach you sports and be a rock in his downtime.

III. The scene where Evan goes back to his mother after he exposes all his lies to the Murphys’.

This is a very touching scene because in the story, Evan’s mother (Heidi) became so busy working as a nurse to provide the needs of her family but not realizing that she has no more time bonding with her son. Yes, she talks to him asking Evan if there is anything that bothers him but because they already become so distant with each other, she really doesn’t have any idea the struggles her son is going through. In this particular part of the play, Heidi apologizes for not being there for Evan. She told him that when her husband left, she doesn’t know what to do and how to become a single parent. At the end of the scene, she reassures Evan of her love and nothing will keep her away from him.

IV. But the best scene for me is when Evan decided to tell Connor’s family the truth – that his "friendship" with Connor is just made up and all “evidence” that Evan showed is just fabricated.

Before I explain this, I would like to give you a little bit of context to this. (WARNING: Spoiler Alert) You see, one of the reasons that Evan had a hard time admitting the truth to the Murphys’ is because through his “fake friendship” with Connor, somehow Cynthia (Connor’s Mother) alleviate the grief that she is feeling after her son’s passing. Little by little, she gets healed and became happy again. Larry, on the other hand, learned to accept that he also had shortcomings with his relationship with Connor. And as for Zoe, (Connor’s sister and Evan’s crush) she realizes that her brother actually cares and loves her and became at peace with her insecurities towards him.
Everything goes well and seems fine; Evan finally has a family that he ever dreams of. A mother that treats him like their own son, A father that tells corny jokes and understands him and a girl that accepts him for who he is and sees him beyond his anxieties and flaws.
In this scene, a plan that goes wrong makes the Murphys’ got into an argument that Evan can’t control anymore. In an outburst, prompted by his fear of seeing this family break into pieces in front of him, Evan finally tells the truth. This particular moment has a big impact (for me especially) because his dream of a perfect family slowly fades away as he once again brought back to reality. [This scene was perfectly shown through the song “Words Fail” which I will be reviewing in a separate article]

Low Points

(Before anything else, I would like to say that the play as a whole is good enough for me. The story, characters, and phasing or transitions were awesome. The things that I’ll be mentioning here are just my opinions wherein it is up to you whether you agree or not. I’m also not claiming to be a theater critic or expert so don’t come after me ok?)

I. I can be mistaken at this, but the story shows that Connor and Zoe’s relationship is not that too great. I wished that this part could be explored more so that Zoe’s realization can be stronger and more impactful.

II. It would be best that Evan’s situation of being a teenager on the background could be more prominent.

III. I wished that the play’s resolution can be expanded more and that there is a scene where he is apologizing to his friends for being dragged by the lie he created.

IV. After Evan sang the song “Words Fail”, there is no gap between that scene as it transitions to the next scene. In my opinion, I think the song would have a bigger impact if the lights were slowly dim until it fades out and shift to the next scene. (But that is just me nit-picking!)

Conclusion

The best thing about “Dear Evan Hansen” is that you can see yourself in each and every character. The relatability of the story, the execution, the lyrics and melody of the songs used were just right and every scene. Nothing was misplaced, emotions that were shown are real and not forced.

I hope that this inspiring musical will be shown here in the Philippines and more people will get to know this masterpiece.

See my song reviews for "Dear Evan Hansen"

Part 2: "Waving Through A Window"

Part 3: "For Forever"

Part 4: "Words Fail"

Part 5: "You Will Be Found"