I saw Dear Evan Hansen!!
I have been listening to the official score of Dear Evan Hansen for probably over two years now, and I’ve been completely obsessed with it. The lyrics and themes for this musical are probably my favorite of any musical or Broadway show, ever.
Dear Evan Hansen (I’m going to abbreviate it with DEH) is a fairly new musical. It started in 2015 and is set in modern-day high school. After it’s premiere, it won SIX Tony awards, including Best Musical. DEH covers very heavy themes of suicide, mental health, friendship and family. It’s definitely not a musical for children or teenagers under the age of, maybe 14 or 15. There is strong language (cursing) and, of course, the heavy story line.
I saw DEH in Houston at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. There is parking available for $12 for special events right next to the Hobby Center that is a quick 5-minute walk away. I bought my ticket for DEH as soon as they went on sale and sat in row G for about $240(-ish). It’s about 7 rows back from the stage. I could’ve gotten a seat closer to the stage, but I didn’t want to have to look up the entire time, so I sat a few rows back and my line of sight was perfectly in line with the stage. I didn’t have to look up or get a cramp in my neck. My ticket price was so high because I chose a Saturday night show. If I went on a weekday, it would’ve been much cheaper but I wanted to treat myself to a night out. It was definitely worth the money!
Before I saw DEH, I treated myself to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston. I have a small goal to visit every Hard Rock Cafe, so I checked Houston off my list. I had delicious veggie fajitas and a beer. I went to dinner and DEH by myself and I know that doing things alone makes some people uncomfortable, but I challenge you to try it and see what happens. I really love solo travel and doing things by myself, and I think that everyone should try it at least once in their life.
After dinner, I went to the Hobby Center and found my seat. As always, the show began about 8 minutes late (I’ve found that most shows start a few minutes late).
I won’t give away the entire plot, but here are a few tidbits. DISCLAIMER: IF YOU DON’T WANT A FEW SPOILERS, STOP READING. I will let you know when to read again (look for the caps).
DEH is about a lonely and awkward teenager, Evan Hansen, who writes letters to himself: “Dear Evan Hansen, Today’s going to be a good day and here’s why.” A kid in his class, Connor Murphy, steals one of his letters and later commits suicide. Connor’s parents find the letter in his pocket and think that Evan is Connor’s friend. They absorb him into their family (Evan has a single mother who is busy all of the time) and Evan makes up stories about them being friends when they weren’t. The musical goes on with Evan’s make-believe story. Evan and one of his real-life friends make a Facebook page and fundraiser in honor of Connor’s memory and to commemorate that “No one is alone.” They raise enough money to plant an apple orchard nearby and Evan’s story comes crashing down, exposing him as a fraud. The concluding scene shows Evan, now in college, and Connor’s sister in the apple orchard – she wanted to make sure that Evan saw what he did for Connor, despite what he did to the Murphy family.
DISCLAIMER ENDS. Okay, no more spoilers.
It’s a very dramatic, heavy and emotional musical. You will definitely need to bring a few tissues because I think that everyone cried, especially in the second half and the very end. The singing and acting of the entire cast was absolutely incredible. I had the understudy for Evan Hansen and I couldn’t imagine that anyone else would’ve been better. He was so amazing, and the woman who played Connor’s sister was a beautiful singer. I honestly wanted to see it again as soon as it was over and debated buying another ticket for a later show.
For me, this musical hit really hard. I was raised by a single mother and had thoughts of suicide and loneliness when I was a teenager, too. I was the real-life Evan Hansen. It was a lot to handle but this musical has really helped me a lot. One of my coworkers saw the musical as well and said that it was her second favorite musical, ever – right under Hamilton. Overall, I highly recommend seeing Dear Evan Hansen if it’s in your town or if you can go see in on Broadway in New York!
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Thank you for reading! Have you ever heard of Dear Evan Hansen or have you ever seen it? What do you think about it? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!
Xoxo’s
Emmalee
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Emmalee Mauldin 