A few minutes in, when the character, Evan Hansen (Sonny Monaghan) was delivering his opening monologue, my 14-year old son Judah looks at me and says, “he’s just like me!” And my eyes almost welled with tears. I didn’t bring him to the show so he can identify with any of the characters, but that he saw himself in Evan breaks my heart a little.
The only one who’s read the book in our family is Pablo. I haven’t, yet (boohoo! I knoww!), I’ve only really been a fan of the music which I’ve been playing over and over and over again for a long time till my family’s ears bleed. So really, it was only a matter of time before I watched this.
Our two older boys had been busy a lot with training and rehearsals, and I’ve resolved to myself that I was going to go ahead and watch my musicals anyway, even when they’re not available to see them with me. I’m pretty sure they’ll get a couple of days off before October 5 after the YAGP preliminary competition so they can see DEH, as well. I just hope we can still buy tickets by then (and I hope they get a weekday off when the tickets are so much cheaper!!).
There are shows that are for research purposes, but there are those that are for reflection. Dear Evan Hansen is one of the latter.
The Story of Evan Hansen
Not wanting to ruin things for you, if you haven’t seen the show or the movie, nor read the book, look away from the rest of the blog because I’ll be talking major spoilers.
The show is basically about a boy, Evan Hansen, a Senior High student struggling with anxiety. With the help of his tech-head “family friend”, Jared Kleinman (played by Tom Dickerson), he makes up a story about being best friends with another senior, Connor Murphy (played by Rhys Hopkins), who had taken his own life. This lie unexpectedly earns him acceptance into the high school community and draws him closer to Connor’s family — which also happens to be the family of the girl he secretly fancies, Zoe Murphy (played by Zoe Athena).
The lie soon snowballs into a string of more lies, until everything unravels when Evan finally confesses to Connor’s family. The breaking point comes when a personal letter he wrote to himself is published by the school’s overachiever, Alana Beck, in her effort to raise funds to restore the apple orchard — the place Evan had described as his special spot with Connor; and save their status with The Connor Project community.
The story ends with Connor meeting up with Zoe at the restored orchard a year later. “I wanted to be sure you saw this,” she said to him before she walked away.
I was told the book offers deeper insight into Connor and the struggles he faced.
(Video Source: Oliver Oliveros on YouTube)
The relatability of Evan Hansen and his friends
Other than the music, much of the show’s popularity has to do with how relatable the characters are in the story. I was telling my kids last night that it’s something most of us go through at that stage in our lives, some, just better at hiding it than others. In fact, at the show we went to last September 16, the place was filled with young people dressed up as Evan Hansen. This is a testimony to how powerful Dear Evan Hansen’s message is and how it resonates to so many young people.
Watching the show also puts perspective on the characters and the story.
Take Connor, for example—you’d think he’s your typical school bully, but he’s really not! If we were to put him into a stereotype, he’s that emo kid clad in black, scowling at the world, steering clear of the fancy-schmancy crowd in high school. The kind who prefers to keep to himself, or maybe retreat to smoking weed in the school yard.
But whatever stereotype these kids fall into, they all share one thing: they feel alone and excluded, and much too confused to be left alone to themselves.
I know this because at one point in my life, I was an Evan and a Connor, and a Zoe, and a Jared, and an Alana.
And I still observe that in teen communities around me – in traditional schools, in homeschooling communities, in theater and dance communities — sadly, but not shockingly, even in church! Teenagers struggling for a wad of significance among their peers.
And they need the adults around them to not give up on them and persist to guide them and love them unconditionally, otherwise, they do stupid things! I know I did.
Finer Points of the Show
Sonny Monaghan was an absolutely brilliant actor with a wonderful voice for the part. I have to admit, though, that I was sort of surprised (and admittedly, disappointed) that he changed a couple of the most memorable notes in Waving through a Window which was one of the first songs in the show; but he makes up for it the rest of the show with powerful, soaring notes, so we good.
There must’ve been a virus going on in the cast because I noticed a few things here and there, but nothing big that ruins the experience, I assure you.
We were seated way up high—just one row shy of the back wall—but Monaghan still managed to pull me into his Evan with his delivery. That kind of ability, I think, is rare
I don’t have that much money to purchase these expensive tickets, so I always end up in far seats, and I’ve watched a handful of these touring companies that come to Manila. I have to say that while all of them were aesthetically stunning, some of these shows lacked emotional connection to the Filipino audiences. When you have a large pool of excellent musical theater talents among the locals, the bar is set pretty high. I think that in this aspect, the company ticks the box.
I think, also, that visually, they cast the perfect Connor. I’ve seen many Connors online that I felt were short of a streak that, in my humble opinion, should be present in all Connors- but what do I know about casting, yeah?
My favorite actor of the night would have to be Tom Dickerson. I think he played Jared to perfection. His comedic timing was brilliant, I looked forward to seeing Jared in action in Sincerely me and he did not disappoint!
Just look at this. That’s Jared right there!
But he also had a beautiful voice. He sang a solo part in one of the songs and his voice dripped with honey!!
Speaking of vocals, the harmonies—whether in duos, trios, or full ensemble numbers—were wonderfully crisp, while the live music was absolutely grand. I enjoyed every moment of it.
The rest of the cast and the ensemble were fantastic. I overheard an older couple saying that the energy was way lower than opening night, but I wasn’t there on opening night and I’m okay with the energy last night, considering where we were seated.
I just have one note about a couple of transitions. The shift from the lab scene to Evan’s meeting with the Murphys, and the one from his mom’s ‘So Big, So Small’ to the orchard scene with Zoe, didn’t feel….seamless.
I know…I know….there’s a script and all, and that it’s been years since the musical has been launched – but hey, that’s just me. Maybe it’s because I’m seated so far up near Pluto that my eye missed some of the crucial details.
The choreography was fun and young, the sets were simple and straightforward, and the lights were quite…well, flashy. I liked the lights they put on the lockers at one of the numbers. I don’t know what they’re called. Fog lights, maybe?
I think my sons will like it when they come to see it before the show wraps up next month.
Presented by GMG Productions, Dear Evan Hansen, which features the UK Touring Production, runs at The Theater in Solaire until October 5 of this year.
Tickets are available at Ticketworld.
Please be advised that the show features flashing lights and include some expletives in the dialogues.
And instead of a bell to signal the beginning of each Act, a sound of a crowd is being used. Just a warning to those with crowd anxiety issues.
May Palacpac, Storyteller 
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