“Dear Evan Hansen” is one of the latest hit Broadway musicals! This show told the story of a teenager, Evan, who is forced into an awkward situation when a letter that he wrote got in the hands of the school`s hot-headed bully, Connor Murphy. When Connor read the letter, his paranoid thoughts, lead him to believe the letter was meant for him to see. He believed that Evan wrote the later to tease Connor and further anger him. Connor took the letter home with him and three days later Evan found out that Connor committed suicide. Connor`s parents had found Evan`s letter in their son`s pocket and assumed it was a suicide letter written by their child addressed to Evan.
Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay
‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand
You can reach, reach out your hand
And I know, they’ll take you home
When you need a friend to carry you
And when you’re broken on the ground
You will be found” – “You will be Found”, Dear Evan Hansen: The musical
One of the most inspirational moments in the show was as I watched Ben Platt, who starred as Evan, perform the song: “You will be Found”. The emotion on his face seemed so real and you could tell he felt very passionate about what he was saying. The lyrics tugged on my heart strings, they were both so inspirational and inspiring. From the staged production, I got the idea that the song had a double meaning. Not only did Evan hope that someone “find him” and be someone for him to lean on. I also feel that Evan wished he could have been that person to Connor. Its obvious as the play later goes on that Evan tried to kill himself but unsuccessful. Although through out the play he insists he fell out of a tree, toward the end he questions if he did it on purpose. So in that aspect Evan knows how Conner felt. He knows how it feels to be at your lowest point and see no point. I think Evan believed they could have helped each other out, if they only knew what the other one was going through. In this song Evan expressed his desperate need to have a friend to lean on. In this song he is assuring everybody, including himself, that they will find that person in their life.
Before I even turn the key
Before I make the mistake
Before I lead with the worst of me
No slipping up if you slip away
So I got nothing to share
No, I got nothing to say. – “Waving Through a Window”, Dear Evan Hansen: The Musical
During Evan`s first solo, “Waving Through a Window”, he expressed how he had learned that it’s better for him to fade into the background rather than put himself out there for people to get to know. He explained that when he tried to speak up or be himself he was ignored or turned away. From the lyric above I got the idea he was bullied in his past. He sings about making mistakes, people staring and later references “getting burned”. I think Evan was hurt emotionally in his past and he learned to blend into the background because that way he wouldnt judged or hurt. What I found very true to real life was that he still deep down still longed to be apart of the crowd and to have friends. A moment in that show that was very powerful was, seeing him sing, “Will I ever make a sound? Will I ever make a sound?”, while others just passed by him and acted like he wasn’t there. It seemed like he was begging for someone to notice him and for someone to care.
“I hear your voice, I feel you near
Within these words, I finally find you
And now that I know that you are still here
I will sing no requiem tonight” – Requiem”, Dear Evan Hansen: The Musical
In the song, “Requiem” we see each of Connor’s family members dealing with there grief in different ways. Evan`s fake letters made Mrs. Murphy feel like her son was still with her. Throughout the musical Mrs. Murphy found comfort in Evan`s stories. It made her happy to know that Connor had some sort of happiness in his life and that he had good inside him.
“I gave you the world, you through it away. Leaving these broken pieces behind you. Everything wasted, nothing to say.” – Requiem”, Dear Evan Hansen: The Musical
The father tried to ignore it and act as if it didn’t happen. But when forced to talk about it he felt as if his son threw away all the good life he had tried to give him.
Saying that I miss you and that my world has gone dark without your light? (I can see your light)
I will sing no requiem
Tonight
‘Cause when the villains fall, the kingdoms never weep
No one lights a candle to remember
No, no one mourns at all
When they lay them down to sleep
Don’t tell me that it wasn’t black and white
After all you put me through
Don’t say it wasn’t true
That you were not the monster
That I knew”- Requiem”, Dear Evan Hansen: The Musical
This line was the most chilling part of the song for me. She felt like everyone around her was trying to portray Connor to be some hero or a victims when in Zoey`s eyes, his sister, he was the villian. Within a different scene, she had talked about how her brother once banged on her door screaming how he was going to kill her for no reason. Which I think played into this chilling lyrics. From the lyrics it seemed she knew he had good in him, but everyone seemed to ignore now all the bad he did. She felt like she was being told to be sad but she didnt feel sad like the others.
Musical Me 