Nothing beats the thrill of discovering a new musical. Welcome to the kick-start article of my First Impressions series (aka my groping around in the dark for an understanding of musicals that I know very little about) Like a mystery puzzle, I'm keen to fill in the gaps and follow any musical clues - no Wikipedia explanations allowed. Now, before you say I'm mad, we've all been there. Opportunity always calls when a new musical lands into our laps, an opportunity calling us to jump in at the deep end, Scooby-Doo style and imagine the storyline for ourselves. Through our headphones we hope to put the writers to the test and hope to connect to the music, often drawing our own mad conclusions that make us feel like Sherlock and Watson combined… Just an hour ago, before this crazy venture began, my knowledge of Dear Evan Hansen was fleeting. The only facts I'd managed to grasp of Pasek & Paul’s hit 2016 musical was its title and promo image of some pale headless guy with a broken arm who may have been the nerdy magician from Pitch Perfect. *The remainder of this post follows the highlights reel of a blind, one-woman account of the show that won Tony’s for Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Score. The following should be nominated for Best Guessed...
Experiment complete! (Let’s see where my music-only absorption of Steven Levenson’s book fell short and straight into waist-deep conspiracies.) Fiction vs. Facts. 1. Evan and Connor are childhood friends. 'For, Forever' got this first-listener hook-line and sinker - just like the Murphy’s in the story. Without added context I became a sucker for all nostalgic imagery, believing it as the full truth and fell dead centre into Evan’s web of lies. Realising Connor’s death only directed my Evan empathy as I began to perceive this poor friendless teenager as a genuine victim of tragedy. The real plot however couldn’t be more opposite … Evan and Connor’s friendship is a fake, elaborate fabrication constructed by Evan for ’both compassionate... and self-serving’ purposes. [1] ‘For, Forever’ is the musical retelling of a pretend friendship by Evan to reassure Connor’s grieving family. Can’t we all just be friends bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles already? 2. Evan had no friends except Connor. In my reality this made 'Waving through a Window' even more heart-wrenching and immediately established two bully characters during ‘Sincerely, Me’ who were poking fun at the unpopular kids. Despite being the complete wrong end of the stick, my desire to see a protagonist as wholly ‘good’ has since been brought into the spotlight. Yes, we feel sorry for Evan but the story's events are problematic to say the least... 3. The Finale needed something more Having gone in blind, I needed more answers than the Finale had to offer which in contrast felt rushed and far too short. Having since read the full plot I know that Evan is forgiven, the Murphy’s keep his secret and he is working to fund his own pathway to college. Despite acting for selfish gain, Connor Murphy's legacy is continued by the re-opened orchard that Evan describes in 'For, Forever' but all is still not hunky-dory in my mind. REVIEW 3.5*/5* Call me traditional, but I enjoy musicals with much higher stakes. Though Dear Evan Hansen explores psychology, self-improvement and relationships through a detailed plot and score, its conclusion can’t help but feel short. Featuring a main character with social anxiety, Pasek & Paul, as Murray notes, express ‘the kinds of feelings that crush inward rather than expand outward’ in song form and as such their exposure of psychological issues into should be applauded.[2] As far as 'high-school-musical' shows go however, Heathers remains a firm favourite, though this clever hybrid of harmonies and teen-deception poses great future questions as to which other complex characters and plots musical theatre has to offer. [1] Charles Isherwood, Review: In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ a Lonely Teenager, a Viral Lie and a Breakout Star, 2016 <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/theater/dear-evan-hansen-review.html> [accessed 8 July 2017] [2] Matthew Murray, Dear Evan Hansen, 2016 <http://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/world/DearEvanHansen2016.html> [accessed 8 July 2017]
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