. When we started talking about this idea and trying to abstract it and think about what was at the heart of it, we started to think about the idea of connection immediately, that all of this had to do with the desire and the need and the hunger to connect. See you, rather. SM: I think the power of live theater is very potent, especially with a tale like this. Universal Pictures. Why do people, especially our age, feel the need to broadcast their sadness and their mourning? Phone numbers were never meant to protect or identify us, but we use them to do that all the time. "My name. Doesnt this acquaint? I was like, Oh, theyre going to do another bad Facebook. By the way, Facebook is bad in many ways, and as youre seeing with a lot of things that are happening right now from the murder to the suicides that are happening, not just that but fake news. This is in the song "Sincerely, Me". SL: Its incredible that that has been happening and happened around the show. I do think, though, that the weird thing about social media is weve all become high schoolers now. Im like, I told you.. SM: The song literally says you are not alone.. What do you think of things like that? I guess it shows the way people are interacting with culture today. SM: Hes not fictional to me anymore, because not only have I lived with him for so long, but I stand in the back of the theater. So you heard TikToks being banned. I want to continue to have that experience that I saw A Chorus Line 28 times, not on VR. Yeah, absolutely. Im going to keep pushing this because you got to see something in the new VR. SL: It feels like what all those fake news things are hitting on is a true emotion that people are feeling. Just weaponize. They might after hearing this. I was like, Aww.. But the lies are precisely what happened. You see why this happened to him, and this probably will never happen to him again because he learned the lesson. What do you think of what he did, because hes a fictional character but hes not? Final Scene and Finale by Dear Evan Hansen OBC - Karaoke Lyrics on Smule. What happens? Youll have it. See more ideas about monologues, acting monologues, dear even hansen. Its quite enormous in terms of how it gets known. I used to tell my kids to take it off the dinner table, but sometimes I have to have it at the dinner table. Jared pretends to be the guy whos got it all figured out, but all of these characters are lost and alone in different ways. I remember the school saying it wasnt terrible like this, but it wasnt one where she shouldnt have been in the video, and was, and this and that. SL: Theres going to be a moment when those feel like dinosaurs. I dont have time, but I will catch you later. I think Steven in less words than more actually captures that in Heidi. As much of a blessing as it is, we want the people who love our show and loved it first to be able to come. SM: It gives him something fun to do too. Its super hard for them to do anything good online. This was a day off. Youll receive a black mirror, where youre going to have that. SM: But in 25 years, they may have all been over and done with that panic. On that stage, and you also used it in your own marketing, you had Twitter, Facebook, what else? Yes, she is. SL: And loneliness, and so we immediately thought in a dramatic sense, Who would be the person who is unable to connect? Some of them are still about something fantastical, but theyre so much more rooted in reality. Its the experience.. Exploring grief, mental health struggles and the dangers of social media, the musical was embraced by young people for its honest . We give them a heads up. 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). 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. It was interesting because the schools are trying to struggle with these things too once things become apparent. He uses it as an art. I dont know if theyve discovered it yet. 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. I like to insult him, but hes a genius on Twitter. Summary. Monologues. At that time when people are going less and less analog and experience everything online, theres been some real cultural touchdown shows now. Everyones happy on Instagram, and everything is All food is delicious. On his journey to be found, he discovers the consequences of risking it all for the chance to . Yes, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt finally teamed up for the inevitable back-to-back Best Musical mash-up of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. There is nothing else. If you haven't seen the show, it's the story of how a teen's viral lie winds up revealing large, prickly truths to the people involved in the falsehood. You can find more episodes of Recode Decode anywhere you listen to a podcast. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. It led to offline, which was interesting. Of course he is the ringleader of that and the instigator, but there is some complicity. Theyre our community, because this show actually started out with a little bit of an ensemble that got cut after our workshop, but Will is the comic relief. 3. SL: Never send an email when youre angry has been the best lesson. We have friends calling friends. 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." Youll have it in your eyes. The authors adapted the novel from the original Broadway musical of the same name, which they also wrote. SL: Yeah, Ben Platt who plays Evan Hansen, who weve been discussing. 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. September 10, 2021. SM: I think if we want people to relate to the show, then the idea really is that I always said, If every mother in that audience doesnt ultimately want to hug Evan, then were not doing the right thing. We want everyone to essentially be kind and feel a warmth about our show. I think not just in my family but every family. Texting is even Theres not a thought that doesnt go down. 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. She just goes about it perhaps the wrong way. We felt like we actually hadnt seen a lot of theater doing that. Its the hardest ticket to get right now. There is no thing. It feels like somewhere, thats the solution to the fake news is to reach people in their core. Its a show about life and how we live it. I think for all of us on that dark day that we came to rehearsal, being in the theater where we all have the license to be the people that we are, the little strange quirky Evan-like people that we all are SM: Its a good place for people. SL: Even though the show isnt explicitly this, it feels like its from Evans point of view, I think, in a lot of ways. SL: Absolutely. 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. "Dear Evan Hansen" is a high school musical, but one in which the loneliness and pain of teen life is front and center, and the sense of isolation intensified in today's social media world. New York, NY, Linda Ray
Thats not going to work. Were all paying for that. Its also a lot about the impact of the internet on teens and everyone. Michael Grief and I are from another. My very last question which I ask everybody, and maybe here well do it a little differently. Whats been interesting to me is there is something about these characters in this world that, especially young people, really want to engage with. And intellig but, just be yourself!! He goes back to school. Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be an amazing day and here's why: because, uh, because today all you have to do is just be yourself. Whats happened is theres dozens of shows. 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. Talk about that idea of how you get that, because it does. It will be its own thing. SL: It does feel like there is something, especially with younger people wanting something unique and something you can touch. It was that and Angels in America were very big deals. SM: Well, its good to hear you say that. 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. He'll just hold on. He has social anxiety, which shapes his personality throughout the musical. Keep going until he sees the sun." 3. will2btenor 6 yr. ago. SL: Exactly. Do you feel like you should have Evan online? What I found interesting maybe you want to talk about is I dont want to get to the idea of where shows are too like whats at the heart of all these shows and these connections is that you dont insult technology. Certainly, if the show continues to do well, its something well entertain, but right now More likely, youll go out and do shows all over the country? SL: Partly because we see the shows so many times, so we get really granular, and its like, Oh, thats not quite right.. 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. What did you use that for?, SM: I had to explain to one of my sons how to actually call someones home, because theyre so used to calling someone directly. Everybody is super happy. It just continues. Also, dont worry if your hands are going to get sweaty for no reason and you cant make it stop no matter what you do because no, theyre not going to get sweaty. Thats something that I do think is new to social media. Book sales are going up, and Kindle and eBooks are really being bought by middle-aged people. Dear Evan Hansen is a 2021 American coming-of-age musical film directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Steven Levenson, based on the stage musical of the same name by Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. SL: Sorry, I dont think its retro. SL: They must be cyclical, but it feels like there are a few things going on, but one of them being the pervasive irony and sarcasm, for lack of a better word.
Oh my God. I call it sometimes movies are three-text movies or no-text movies, because Im not going to be able to text until Im done with this movie. Were here talking with Stacey Mindich and Steven Levenson, the producer and book writer of Dear Evan Hansen, the hit musical about a high school student with social anxiety disorder and social media problems. That is cool. Ive met Alana a hundred times. Hes the most awkward 17-year-old ever, Im going to have to tell you. 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 . SM: We dont have a current plan to do that. Do see it, and see that beneath the faade, were all searching for the same things. After one of these missives is stolen by a classmate who subsequently takes his own life, the deceased's parents believe it to be a genuine . They purposely didnt. Right, and not even then because you start looking up things. Because today all you have to do is be yourself. Dear Evan Hansen, Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why: because because today, . SM: For me, I like to think of it in a less logistical way. No lying. Is it this one square mile abroad or whatever? Okay. Within a couple of months, we found Steven, who had the right voice to create a musical that the three of them really wanted to be as authentic as possible. Platt is certainly not the first adult to play a teenager onscreen, nor is he the first to look his age while . . SM: It does start with a 17-year-old boy alone in his bedroom scrolling through social media. Im in my 50s. Your director Michael did Rent. I remember when Rent came out. Is that true? - The third letter in "Sincerely, Me". Well, its also become a war zone too, I mean, at the same time like a hellscape, like sometimes this was a SL: Yes. The unfortunate thing about my kids is both their parents are highly technically literate, and so they cant fool us or anything. SL: Exactly. Oh very much, so no matter what you do People bringing, its like an old Seinfeld episode, remember? SL: Yes, so people are writing fan fiction, and making fan art. Then last in this section, one of the things thats interesting because you did hit a meme with fake news and things that we think we get so excited about something thats real and genuine. . People always say to me, Just take an hour. I said yes. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn".. 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. In 2020, the Oscars stage saw a "swirling cyclone" of Swarovski Crystals thanks to Jason Sherwood, production designer for the 92nd Academy Awards. What begins as a little white lie becomes a way of comforting this family. This has been really fascinating. We have parents who come with each other on their theater date night, and they come back and they bring their kids. Its a musical about a high school student with social anxiety disorder and social media problems. SM: That was never meant to be literal, because we hope the show will live for many years, and these things may become dinosaurs. I had Jeffrey Sellers and Richard Hamilton on, and Ive been fascinated with theater my whole life. How do you feel like you can work into that, because he sells fake news? It was mind-blowing to see Rent at that time. When I first heard the song Anybody Have a Map? which was our third or fourth opening number to the show. I hope it goes on forever. It was interesting, too, because the show opened on Broadway right after the election. Its the experience, sitting there in that theater in that one place with that one performance. Only, I think, every other person who comes there feels that they can relate to the eight characters on the stage. This election, fake news everywhere kind of thing, and now the president just uses it as a catch phrase. But yet he goes along with it, he goes along with the lie. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. SM: Every show is different. 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. Right. What do you hope to accomplish, each of you? He has a cast from falling from a tree, and his mother urges him to get people to sign it as a way of making friends. Its not scalable, as they say. You have to up the game. How long have you been developing it, Stacey? Fun Fact: Tom queued for . Yeah, I often called it, Twitter, a hellscape. Why its so hard to get answers on long Covid. The Broadway hit-turned-film Dear Evan Hansen ' s ending created some controversy and a flurry of questions. SL: No, Alana is She is desperate to keep a bright smile on and to show everybody how great she is. DEAR EVAN HANSEN Stripe Collection Polo . A fresh, intricately plotted book by Steven . Okay. Then your other extra characters are also very interesting, like the girl who SL: Alana, who is our voice of social media in a lot of ways. When I first heard the lyrics, I could have sworn that these guys were sitting at my breakfast table, that they had literally just taken notes and written a song about me. You had the memories of when you saw it, when you didnt feel acquainted, but you couldnt revive those feelings. An interesting thing is he started with Rent in a lot of ways. What happens to theater going forward then? Hes told to write these daily affirmations, Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a great day, and here is why. That is the beginning of our story, is him writing one of these letters, and its the first day of school. I think its going to be that experience could exist, but it wont be the same. 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. You used to pay for social media with your eyeballs. Not all of them hit. Social media now lets you have People put up that video. Some of them are very funny, but a lot of them are very earnest and horrible in some way, and thats what you do. I do hope and it seems to occasionally work this way that people are leaving the theater, and at least being more mindful I think of the way that they use technology.
People are going back to handmade in some ways, and people are really hungering for SL: Exactly. Its really interactive. It goes wild with people holding up signs that say, #youwillbefound, supporting the Connor Project and Evan, and the idea that this boy made a friend and all of that. They mistakenly believe that it is a letter that Connor meant to write to Evan. Thats super interesting. Other sets by this creator. Thats the big, like, thats number one: be yourself. The most iconic track from the musical remained, while some of the new songs are used to flesh out supporting characters. his left arm, facing the screen, alone. SM: Shows have changed so much. 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. That meant that we would have to find some way to communicate the ubiquity of technology as it is in our lives into this story. They put new pictures, theres all these things. Ben Platt in "Dear Evan Hansen." "Dear Evan Hansen" has been criticized because Ben Platt is a 27-year-old playing a student. "You Will Be Found" is the tenth and final song in Act One of Dear Evan Hansen. Theres just nowhere except the theater where you really do.
SL: Yes, Rent was very big for all three of us. SL: Yes. People have said to me, theyre sure he has Aspergers or something else. It sounds crazy, but theres all kinds of things that werent happening in that time period. I can only tell you the funny story that we all just do things too quickly, and we make silly mistakes all the time. SM: Heidi Hansen, yeah, Evans mom. Were talking right now to Stacey Mindich and Steve Levenson, the producer and book writer of the hit show on Broadway, Dear Evan Hansen. When we get back, well talk about where theater is going as we move forward in the digital age. Nobody in this world wants or rather, everybody wants to believe the story that he tells. You did a super effective job at depicting how something takes off virally, and you used the set design where the information is just cascading and flooding down the picture of how it feels like your phone is. 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. It should go everywhere, because I think its real. Approachable. Its a wonderful show. Then once she gets the letters, she uses them like shes almost a journalist, like, I got the memo, or something like that. But the idea that we need to get Theres no more offline communities, and were not connected offline anymore. Thats what was strong about this, was it? SL: It is, but that idea that these shows, all they are is the next performance. Put your phone away. We can overcome vaccine hesitancy. He is in a total of 11 musical numbers. You will never regret having slept on it. Its so funny when youre looking up things, like, What is that, or what is that? I was at a party the other night, and someones like, What do you think happened in his first night? If only we had a device that we can search and find things out, but then I remember dinner parties where you just didnt know. Now Meta and Twitter want your money, too. I think she is an incredible depiction of contemporary motherhood, whether you're a single mom or not, busy, under pressure, trying . Yeah, but also, it is the agony of social media, and now you can see it. That is something as Stacey said that is organic and then we cant control. Likewise, the character whose death triggers the events of the musical, Connor Murphy, can be viewed both as a redeemable character or a villain. Whats the worst social media thing youve done? I have been for so many years, and people come up to me and say, Im Evan. This is a very current show, and also just like you said, a traditional story of loneliness. Evan and Connor both feel like their families don't listen to them. But once she gets on the blog, she blossoms. We want some cause for what theyre learning, the things. Can you talk about that idea of do you think he pays enough for what hes done, or does he have to pay? Can you talk about each of the characters? I think it goes back to this authenticity. Were on Apple Podcast, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, SoundCloud and more, or just visit recode.net/podcasts for more. I think thats how the world feels to someone like Evan. Section 230, the internet law the Supreme Court could change, explained. Stacey, why dont you go through the story so people get a sense of what happens. Youre also not trying to do lesson learning. The new single "Found/Tonight," arranged by Alex . Silence. Thats why I think its a character. It was so fascinating because it was so old and so relevant at the same time, so you felt the age of it because it felt old, like what youre talking about. Ben Platt plays the title role, reprising the performance that he originated on stage six years earlier. She has a very bitter sense of humor. Sometimes, lessons were learned, and youre like, Oh.. SM: Terrible, terrible, but no, were in a tiny theater really, and we very much want people to come and see us. The "Dear Evan Hansen" Trailer Just Dropped, Featuring A Very 27-Year-Old Ben Platt. When you were like that before, you didnt see it, and now you see the entire thing and what everybody else is doing. How about do you feel about this, Steven? SL: I think storytelling is going to continue to evolve into different forms and formats. I thought it was going to be an attack on technology, which I dont mind by the way, but it was really smart. All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. We havent really made a big deal about it right now, but our key art shows Evans torso with his arm in the cast. When we announce a new block of tickets on sale, we give the fans a two-hour heads up, because as you said, it is hard to sell tickets, and that hurts us in some ways. SM: What about all the angry people whod tweet? SM: Sort of, but the thing that youd try so hard to do when youre marketing a show is create a way for word of mouth to happen. 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. Just look at the HPV shot. SM: Think about this, Steven, if they do a revival of this show in 25 years, they could do it in a retro way with no projections. START. . Guide written by. APPLE BOOKS REVIEW. Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a high school student suffering from extreme social anxiety whose desperate desire for acceptance leads him into a web of lies following the tragic death of a . They have a son, Connor, who has been trouble for a very long time. And intellig but, just be yourself!! Ive had people say, Im Heidi, or, My nephew is Evan, My nextdoor neighbor And so he is just one of those absolutely, utterly relatable authentic characters.