Review: Dear Evan Hansen

 Last Wednesday I went to a matinee performance of Dear Evan Hansen at the Noel Coward Theatre on Londons West End. It’s a musical that I already knew a lot about, having listened to it almost religiously when it first came out in 2016. Yet, I long moved past it after listening to newer musicals which far more suited my taste. But upon hearing that show would be closing in September I thought I should go and see it before I miss my chance. 

In general the show has extremely catchy music and the cast performed wonderfully through out. But what I found the most interesting and have always found the most interesting about Dear Evan Hansen is the plot. It both simultaneously a presents a necessary and important message whilst also managing to have some rather dubious undertones which go unresolved.  Perhaps the most important message it does push is that everyone is important and that ‘nobody deserves to be forgotten’. Hearing those words as a teenage was vastly important to me and I’m sure is as important for many people who have seen the show. Indeed, Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a boy suffering with anxiety and depression as he tries to keep the memory alive of a boy who committed suicide despite not knowing him (although admittedly at the time the other characters thought they were best friends). The show highlights the struggles many of us go through, in our inability to fit in with a crowd and the pain of feeling alone. I think for these themes alone it is an important musical for people to watch, as it conveys feelings many of us have but are too afraid to talk about, making you feel seen and less alone. 

The show also explores other important ideas such as grief. Perhaps more than any other show I’ve seen Dear Evan Hansen is able to highlight the different ways people grieve, how some look back fondly and others can only remember the bad. The song Requiem does a beautiful job at conveying this, the thoughts three different types of people have over a lost loved one. It is extremely poignant and the song which brought me closest to tears. Another theme that the show addresses well is the rise of social media and the importance it plays in all our lives. How it can connect us with everyone but how at the same time it can make us feel more alone than ever. Social media plays an essential role in the show, acting as the catalyst to Evan become well known and well liked due to his support of his lost ‘friend’ and want to keep his memory alive. Showing how social media can truly connect us and that even strangers can care for us. But at the same time it highlights the toxicity of social media and the negative impact it can have, how strangers can judge you despite not knowing you and how dangerous sharing facts about your self with people you don’t know. It is a musical for the new generation that have grown up online as the commentary on social media is extremely well thought out and will connect deeply with many young people today. 

However there is a glaring issue with the plot which became more and more criticised as time went on. That is Evan doesn’t face an consequences for his actions and as such the moral of the musical becomes rather weak. Evan essentially lies throughout the musical, lies about knowing the boy who died and creates a new life for himself, inserting himself into the family who had just lost their son. Whilst you can initially feel sympathetic for Evan when he first lies, as he only does so as not to upset the boys parents who believes Evan knew the boy well. Evan doesn’t stop when it goes too far, and essentially continues to lie no matter the cost and the damage it causes. Before long it seems like Evan isn’t lying out of kindness or because he has anxiety but because he wants to continue creating a better life for himself. Evan seems more like a manipulator than an anxious teen. Eventually Evan is forced to come clean. Yet, he faces little consequence other than losing the family he had made for himself, as his lies are never revealed to anyone but them. Ultimately the conclusion feels weak in comparison to the rest of the show. Of course it would be hard for them to create a realistic conclusion where Evan faces the consequences and doesn’t end up in a worse place than he was at the start (which was perhaps the worst place his character could realistically be). But because of this inability to have a conclusion where Evan faces the consequences and grow from them it ultimately leaves the audience unsatisfied and Evan remains an unlikeable manipulator at the end. Leaving you without an ending moral and a sense of disappointment from what is otherwise a good show. 

While ultimately the show does form a weak conclusion I still believe Dear Evan Hansen is a show that you should definitely see as it succeeds in so many areas. The music is extremely well written, the performances are all very emotionally charged, and some of the plot points and general themes maintain a real importance.