Go through it just basically to give people an idea of why and how important a role, I guess, it would be Facebook and Twitter and others play in this, this idea of social media plays in this. You know what I mean? Snapchat didnt exist really. SL: Exactly, and then what we wanted to avoid was ever commenting on the technology, but rather allowing it to be part of the fabric of the story, exactly, because we dont comment on the fact that were on our phones all the time as were on our phones all the time, but its become our way of being in the world. I remember going on social media that night, the night of the election, people saying, Get in touch with me if you need somebody to talk to. It was actually genuine. Im in my 50s. Today is going to be a amazing day and here's why. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Fun Fact: Tom queued for . You go to 10,000 rather at once, and its people sitting in the theater, and then 10,000 others. You see it outside the theater, I have stood at a matinee and seen the people leaving get back online to buy more tickets. SM: I will say, though, that there has been a wonderful conversation going on these eight years about this, because Steven and Benj and Justin are from one generation. Dear Evan Hansen: Directed by Stephen Chbosky. . Theres just nowhere except the theater where you really do. I just saw it in San Francisco. Its never a bad idea to wait. SM: It did, but for me, immediately, when you tell me that there is a boy who is in trouble, me being who I am at this part of my life, I immediately said, Well then, there has to be a mom. It within moments became a multi-generational piece. Benj was astounded that basically his whole class identified with it, wrote their college essays about it. Anyone familiar with Broadway in the last five years will have heard of "Dear Evan Hansen," the pop-musical sensation that swept the Tony Awards in 2017. If you like this, be sure to subscribe to Recode Decode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Stitcher. The musical opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016, after the show's world premiere at the Arena Stage in . Cynthia Murphy, who is the other mom, Connor Murphys mom, is equally as relatable, and I think it takes us part of her journey to really come to understand her and her fortitude, because she goes through the grief, the absolute horror, the last thing that any mother or father ever, ever, ever wants to go through, and yet shes so admirable because she keeps finding ways to lift herself up and to keep life going. Hamilton absolutely is similar, and I also think that there is something in a world where everything is digital. Section 230, the internet law the Supreme Court could change, explained. Of course he is the ringleader of that and the instigator, but there is some complicity. SL: Yes, and Cynthia is still, I think, struggling and fighting and searching for a way to get through to him, whereas Larry has by the time the show started just written him off, and so has Zoe. I dont have time, but I will catch you later. I think Steven in less words than more actually captures that in Heidi. Evan Hansen, a young man beset by social-anxiety disorder, is ordered by his therapist to write self-addressed motivational letters to himself in order to improve his disposition and communication skills. SL: No. Heres whats actually happening. Today in the red chairs are Stacey Mindich and Steven Levenson, the producer and the book writer of Dear Evan Hansen, which is an amazing musical right now on Broadway. A particularly exciting addition to the Dear Evan Hansen cast announced per Variety is Amy Adams. Weve also provided a lightly edited complete transcript of their conversation. The 13 most cringeworthy moments in 'Dear Evan Hansen' from the lack of chemistry between Evan and Zoe to the odd portrayal of mental health. SL: Thats the thing. I look at Rent being really a grandfather to Dear Evan Hansen happening. View in iTunes. See more ideas about monologues, acting monologues, dear even hansen. I think she is an incredible depiction of contemporary motherhood, whether youre a single mom or not, busy, under pressure, trying hard, absolutely love your child, but in the daily rush of things doesnt always get everything right. Broadway - August 3, 2017. Above photo: VOX teen reviewer Sydney with her mom Lisa at the April 28, 2019 performance of "Dear Evan Hansen" at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. Sep 23, 2019 - Explore Abby Gallegos's board "Monologues" on Pinterest. That problem, its the plot point. Right. Guide written by. In the wake of the election and people feeling all sorts of feelings and trauma, there was Social media actually did become a refuge for a lot of people, and a place to feel. Ultimately what is going to separate theater from everything else is not the content. They look happy as ever. SL: It feels like there must be a middle ground, because I do feel like ultimately what is going to separate theater from everything else is not the content. Again, it just gives credit to Stevens real knack for credible, authentic characters, because I think that is so true of so many men. SM: I just think its an incredible conversation starter, and when you start talking about these things, all kinds of good can come from it, not just in terms of being mindful, and maybe youre too disconnected from the world by being on your phones, but also, we have issue of loneliness, and people bring what theyre going through to the show, so mental illness, suicide prevention. But also confident that's important and . 23. He lacks friends. How do you feel like you can work into that, because he sells fake news? Its an interesting question, because throughout the preview process and throughout the out of town production in off Broadway, there were always a certain number of people whove thought he didnt suffer enough for what he did. That may be something else I would pay money for, but for me SL: But its different. Maybe they didnt have the tragic events, but were all a little bit like that. Its great to talk to you. It's a testament to the songwriting prowess of La La Land duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul that Dear Evan Hansen has gotten anywhere. Of course, they still owe one to common, be entertained. I brought my son, whos 15. "Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need a friend to carry you and when you are broken on the ground, you will be found." -You Will Be Found, 'Dear Evan Hansen'. I mean, of course its the heart of Any show with heart does resonate, and obviously, it becomes a phenomenon. That was me in high school. Maybe they didnt tell the lie. Shes trying to reach people. SM: For me, I like to think of it in a less logistical way. Offended by the "girly" clothes worn by his daughter's elementary school art teacher, one parent has taken aim at . It was written by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. Are you private? Its a musical about a high school student with social anxiety disorder and social media problems. I think that was really what I took away from it, and its interesting that Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook did a 6,000-word essay about this, essentially saying that the solution to an over-Facebook of the world is more Facebook. The new single "Found/Tonight," arranged by Alex . A fresh, intricately plotted book by Steven . So you heard TikToks being banned. Spoilers for the show and a trigger warning for discussion of ableism and suicide after the jump. Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, based on the Broadway show of the same name, features a beautiful soundtrack.The 2021 movie cut several songs from the Broadway show and added a few new ones, but overall, the musical's tone is not affected by these changes. SL: Yes, so people are writing fan fiction, and making fan art. People always say to me, Just take an hour. New York, NY, Linda Ray Dear Evan Hansen. SL: Absolutely. | Smule Social Singing Karaoke app Youll receive a black mirror, where youre going to have that. You talked about it at the beginning, but your show has benefited from that too. Right, and theyre all telling each other stories that arent true, which I think is fascinating. This sends Evan on a journey of self-discovery and . If you have the good fortune to become successful, you do become something more, but the essence of it is sitting in that theater. It was that and Angels in America were very big deals. If youre not that private, thats why you have that many and stuff like that. SL: Evan, if you track his journey, if you look at the granular level, the first time that the parents come to Evan and say, This letter, we found this letter with our son, the first thing he says is he didnt write it. They may have started finding us because Ben Platt was about to come out in the second Pitch Perfect movie, or because Pasek and Paul had a following of millennials who were very adept at social media. He uses it as an art. SL: Yes. SL: Theres going to be a moment when those feel like dinosaurs. The unfortunate thing about my kids is both their parents are highly technically literate, and so they cant fool us or anything. After Evan's parents' divorce, his father moves to Colorado to start a new family, and his mom works constantly and never has time for Evan. - The fourth letter in "Sincerely, Me" and the final letter of the first act. You dont know theyre happy. Then a week later, two of them divorced. Sometimes, people will say, Is it a show about death? I always say, Its absolutely not. Evan Hansen. It's also come under fire for an irresponsible portrayal of mental health . Is that retro like, Hey, lets put on our cashmere sweaters from the 50s, or not? That is an event. It must be seen to be believed." ADAM FELDMAN, TIME OUT NEW YORK. I know Hamilton didnt put things online, like a ton of stuff. SL: Sarah Ruhl, the playwright, had a play called Dead Mans Cell Phone, where she had a line where she said, The only two places that are safe from cellphones now are theaters and churches.. "It takes a little patience, takes a little time. Its also a very traditional show, if you think about it. It becomes a way of bringing people together, of making everyone feel less alone, and yet its all premised on this lie. We have a contact list from our website of multiple thousands and thousands and thousands of people that most shows dont have. When I was talking to Jeffrey Seller, and he said that he thought that online had so much to do, the conversation thats just continued on and on and on about this show. We can overcome vaccine hesitancy. He goes back to school. SM: Again, thats good to hear. Some have argued, for example, that the film's message is toxic. It is a conversation starter. At that time when people are going less and less analog and experience everything online, theres been some real cultural touchdown shows now. So many shows and movies and everything else, a lot of literature about that, finding connection, or you try to make people feel better about the idea that you can be connected in this interconnected world, where I think nobody has felt lonelier than ever before. Right, and not even then because you start looking up things. Dear Evan Hansen, the smash-hit, Tony winning 2015 musical, was, depending on your outlook, a poignant depiction of the mental health perils of high school, or an unrelentingly . As Steven said earlier, they write to us in droves. Oh my God. Why dont we start with you, Stacey? There is no thing. I dont know how old you are, but it was mind-blowing, and I went a dozen times. Ben Platt, playing an anxious teenager . I always say about Alana, if you ask her, she has a million friends. The musical premiered in July 2015 in Washington, DC, debuted on Broadway in 2016, and later won six Tony Awards in . It feels like somewhere, thats the solution to the fake news is to reach people in their core. Were all feeling the same insecurities. His life is compounded by the fact that he has social anxiety, although I think we have found that people look at him and bring their own problems to him. Its just assaultive. SM: If you dont, somebody might throw it at you, but you have to. Absolutely. Stacey, why dont you go through the story so people get a sense of what happens. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. Audition season's in full swing, so I thought I'd share a clip from my self-tape for the Dear Evan Hansen national tour! I asked them what they wanted to do, and Benj Pasek told me a story that was just the germ of what happened in Dear Evan Hansen, but it was something that happened in his high school life where a senior, they were all in the senior class, and a senior passed away from drugs. Im not even worried about it though, seriously, because its not like, uh, its not going to be like that one time you had the perfect chance to introduce yourself to Zoe Murphy at the band concert last year that time when you waited afterwards just to talk to her and tell her how good she was and, like, you were going to pretend to be so casual like you didnt even know her name. But also confident; that's super important. Scene 1: We start on a black screen. Dear Evan Hansen is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. Hes making up a story, but its a story that actually becomes true for him and for all of these people, so its like there are so many weird layers, and then you start to feel a little dizzy. Technology is the oxygen of the world now. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. DEAR EVAN HANSEN YWBF Mug Regular price $20.00 USD Regular price Sale price $20.00 USD Unit price / per . How long have you been developing it, Stacey? I think what took so long from launch to the Music Box Theatre was actually eight years but it was crafting of what we call our underlying rights. I think shes a very important character for some reason, being a mom to SM: Very, very, because she is the one that he comes home to in the end and discovers his, I hope spoiler alerts are okay, but discovers he has something that he didnt realize before. Evan Hansen, an awkward, lonely high school senior, struggles with Social Anxiety Disorder. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall SM: I think the power of live theater is very potent, especially with a tale like this. Thats not going to work. Who would find that most difficult? Evan was who we eventually created. All of those people are actually real people too that we asked just among our fan group to send us videos of themselves. I will email my husband, Chinese for dinner? His name is Eric, but a different Eric will email me back, and say, Sure, Chinese works for me. We just do things in a haze. Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez, and the Easter egg-ification of the Hollywood feud, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to two life terms for murdering his wife and son. This has been really fascinating. 3. As part of BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media), their beat is primarily Buffalo theater, but . SL: Partly because we see the shows so many times, so we get really granular, and its like, Oh, thats not quite right.. You see why this happened to him, and this probably will never happen to him again because he learned the lesson. SL: Its really a credit to our director, Michael Grief, and our designers Dave Korins, and Peter Nigrini was our video designer. What happens? They might after hearing this. Im going to keep pushing this because you got to see something in the new VR. I was expecting that. He begins to type. I saw it recently, and its about isolation. Dear Evan Hansen. SL: Yes, and she actually We always try to be careful thats shes never a villain. They dont ever have to say to the mother, Hi, its Danny. I think not just in my family but every family. 2 sentence. The eponymous Evan has been tasked by his therapist with writing pep talk letters to himself to help him visualize success: "Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be a great day." That's the big, like, that's number one: be yourself. Directed by Stephen Chbosky, this powerful film . 21 terms. Put your phone away. He has a single mom who is trying her best, but not perhaps succeeding. Not all of them hit. Its the experience, sitting there in that theater in that one place with that one performance. Now, that mosaic as we call it in our key art is all 100 percent our fans faces. But would you have plans to do that, to have a digital version of it after? SM: It does start with a 17-year-old boy alone in his bedroom scrolling through social media. SM: The comic Jared Kleinman, who together with Alana are also, theyre our great chorus. If you would like to give a public performance of this monologue, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor. The most iconic track from the musical remained, while some of the new songs are used to flesh out supporting characters. If you go on Instagram, youll see all sorts of drawings and poems and songs. Its got to be something else. Stacey and Steven, welcome to Recode Decode. SM: It is, although I must say, to me, Hamilton is a movement, a phenomenon, something that is SM: It is. Dear Evan Hansen: The Movie By Stephen Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Adapted for film by Jack Gorzynski *note: a / means that the line was cut off by the next line. That is something as Stacey said that is organic and then we cant control. This article originally appeared on Recode.net. So feeling like I was telling you earlier that Dave is working on a VR version of Othello. Im thrilled Othellos going to get to people, so Im not adverse to that idea. The Oscar-nominated actress will return to a musical role for the first time since 2011's The . SM: Were struggling and learning. And interesting. VOX teens experienced a matinee performance of "Dear Evan Hansen" at the Fox Theatre, thanks to the generosity of VOX community partners Most Valuable Kids of Greater Atlanta and Broadway in Atlanta. The only thing I knew about Dear Evan Hansen before this point was that the main character had a broken arm. How did this become a phenomenon? Shes a true survivor. It becomes something else. It was actually really meaningful. I do think you should get some of it a little bit online, because I think certain parts of it are really resonant in this age, and really talk about things in a really fair way. Evan has a therapist who asks him to write letters to himself. SL: Yes. I thought it was going to be an attack on technology, which I dont mind by the way, but it was really smart. Dear Evan Hansen:It turns out, this wa. I cant wait to see Hello Dolly. I cannot wait to just delve into that beautiful history of a musical, but the new theater that is exciting to me is being created by young people who have something very interesting to say about the way theyre seeing the world. Then also how connection isnt connecting. As the performance began, Evan was alone. SL: Yes. Do see it, and see that beneath the faade, were all searching for the same things. September 10, 2021. They put new pictures, theres all these things. Were here today on Recode Decode in New York City, and were talking to Stacy Mindich and Steven Levenson, the producer and book writer of Dear Evan Hansen, which is a show I saw. We didnt have Uber. You used to pay for social media with your eyeballs. Monologues. JustANumberToYou. You dont actively participate in the world, but thats how you comment. Despite its Broadway credentials, "Dear Evan Hansen" hits screens faced with an inherent tension: Can its songs and cast, led by Ben Platt reprising his Tony-winning role, overcome the . Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. It sounds crazy, but theres all kinds of things that werent happening in that time period. The teens are doing revenge porn like Evan. It was interesting, too, because the show opened on Broadway right after the election. EVAN. He described the set design to Architectural Digest: "I wanted to create a design that would feel as complex, encompassing, and dimensional as the cultural impact of the films themselves.". Treacly and manipulative, "Dear Evan Hansen . Doesnt this acquaint? Dear Evan Hansen is a musical.The music and lyrics were written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Steven Levenson wrote a book based on the musical). Have they had their social media horror shows yet or not? I was looking at the social media on the show. CW: This article references suicide.Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources. 24. Thats been the lesson Ive learned. We give them a heads up. It went from off Broadway, and then you developed it over time, and added to it. Its not scalable, as they say. When I was younger, I was like, Oh, Ill just put this book on my physical book, like, What?. She is surrounded by friends, but really, she doesnt have many. There is feeling like Its disturbing how real it feels. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. On our stage at the end of Act One, in our Act One finale called You Will Be Found, the projections which basically is the internet goes viral. Then also, the hashtag, my favorite expression is hashtagavism, that we get these hashtags. She just goes about it perhaps the wrong way. Laura Baronet. When you were like that before, you didnt see it, and now you see the entire thing and what everybody else is doing. I think whats interesting about the fake news is clearly, facts dont work to dispel it. He is the son of Heidi and Mark Hansen. SL: Then there are a lot of expressionistic approaches to the internet, which is like fractured images and text. I think she is an incredible depiction of contemporary motherhood, whether you're a single mom or not, busy, under pressure, trying . Just, uh, you knowbe true to yourself. What do you think of things like that? You do feel in this thing. Whereas if you adapt a musical into a film, or adapt it into a TV series or a VR, then it becomes that. SL: No, Alana is She is desperate to keep a bright smile on and to show everybody how great she is. I hope youre okay. SM: What about all the angry people whod tweet? It feels very much like a phone going up. Seeking 2 Actor Team for Spring Absolutely. I like to insult him, but hes a genius on Twitter. My lesson here that will change my life forever was that this kind of word of mouth, you cannot manufacture. Listen to Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Ben Platt & Kaitlyn Dever on Apple Music. They have a son, Connor, who has been trouble for a very long time. SL: I actually have in my mind the minimalist version of the show with no projections and no SM: The words, the score, and the actions. He wanted to write something about his generation. Why do you think this resonated? The thing I feel about the relationship between the show and whats happening in the world is, I remember we had rehearsal the day after the election, and showing up to rehearsal, everyone was so depressed. The "Dear Evan Hansen" Trailer Just Dropped, Featuring A Very 27-Year-Old Ben Platt. Where else do you actually have to put your phone away? Right now, I was just invited to a showing in San Francisco where we will be wearing VR headsets during the show, and its going to be SM: Thats the Encounter Within Broadway. Do you want to take a little plug, Steven? But once she gets on the blog, she blossoms. I dont think it was the tech. This is fake news, either of you. That was really where we began, was with that phenomenon, and I think what the three of us all found interesting was instead of parodying that or satirizing that, trying to look at what is underneath that impulse, and why do people feel the need to connect in that way, whats propelling that on a human level. I think its going to be that experience could exist, but it wont be the same. I was so happy to be in that room telling the story about people rising above the lies and finding unity together. The power ballad that closes act one of Dear Evan Hansen, it marks the moment when Evan, a socially anxious teenager, delivers a heartfelt speech about a friend, Connor, who has recently met with tragedy.Shaking with emotion, Evan recalls a time that Connor helped him, and he . A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never . I dont know if theyve discovered it yet. Here's hoping I won't be a singing w. I can tell you, because Im a super old person, it was so great not to know anything or have a phone around. Thats one of the things lets talk about how you weaponize social media. You see how this kind of thing can actually happen. Teens can still click right on through the new screen time limit. It was like the most thrilling moment of my social media life that somebody I thought was cool and young liked my picture, so it works. It is a duet sung by Connor's father and Evan, titled "To Break in A Glove." Though it is literally talking about the correct way to break in a baseball glove, it can also be talking about . Thats right, and when she gets it, boy, its interesting. You can find more episodes of Recode Decode anywhere you listen to a podcast. Well, I had to explain the telephone to one of my kids recently, like a payphone because they saw a payphone. What happened in your play is the online frenzy created an offline community of the families and everything else. This is in the song "Sincerely, Me". Evan and Connor both feel like their families don't listen to them. Well, its also become a war zone too, I mean, at the same time like a hellscape, like sometimes this was a SL: Yes. It was at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C..It opened on Broadway in December 2016 at the Music Box Theatre.It won six awards at the 71st Tony Awards.Two of them were the Best Musical and . Dear Evan Hansen takes on challenging subjectsdeath, grief, class, mental illness, social media, social anxietywith unapologetic trust in the power of contemporary pop music to tell complex stories onstage. Universal. Theyre all by the time we meet them at the beginning of the show, they have been through hell already. We didnt have to buy the rights to a book to make this. Now its all about Trump. Social media proved its relevance outside of establishing the modern setting as the speech goes viral all over the internet, an important plot point expressed beautifully across the digital . DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.