FLIP HTML5 is a Interactive html5 digital publishing platform that makes it easy to create interactive digital publications, including magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. She just goes about it perhaps the wrong way. Yes, she is. A battle over freedom of expression at a Concord, N.H., elementary school. How about do you feel about this, Steven? Do you not do that? 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. Then once she gets the letters, she uses them like shes almost a journalist, like, I got the memo, or something like that. SL: It had been off Broadway last season at Second Stage Theatre, and then it had been in D.C. at the Arena Stage the summer before. DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Evan and Connor both feel like their families don't listen to them. The school said, Well, we dont want to be punitive. I said, No, we want to be punitive. SM: Heidi Hansen, yeah, Evans mom. It must be seen to be believed." ADAM FELDMAN, TIME OUT NEW YORK. 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. What happens? Its quite enormous in terms of how it gets known. You talked about it at the beginning, but your show has benefited from that too. It means, Do your homework, brush your teeth. No, I get it, but you have to feel the panic of social media. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. SM: The father is an interesting nut to crack, because he at first doesnt emote about his pain. SL: Larry and Cynthia and Zoe, who is their daughter and Connors sister, are all really And Evan Hansen probably more who really SL: Yes exactly. SM: But in 25 years, they may have all been over and done with that panic. 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. Benj and Justin and I were just talking recently about how when we were in high school, we assumed that everybody was having more fun than we were, but now if youre a high school student, you have proof every day that everybody is happier than you are. 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. Riding the wave . He had another one on Snapchat, which is interesting. I wanted that tradition to continue where you have that collective live experience, where the turntable might stop, or just the experience that real actors are acting on their guts and instincts right in front of you. 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. Some of them are still about something fantastical, but theyre so much more rooted in reality. Its about a high school student with a social anxiety disorder and a problem with the internet. 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. SL: Everyone in the show is doing things for the right reason. See you, rather. SL: He is Evans family friend in quotes, which according to Jared means theyre not really friends. She has a very bitter sense of humor. Theres been some shows that have been real touchdowns, like Hamilton and some others that have been really Theres a new, I cant remember the latest one, but theres a bunch that Maybe its The Grand Hotel, one that seems fantastic in some ways. Absolutely. SL: Thats the thing. When you do that, you can make silly mistakes that give you a laugh, and horrible mistakes that ruin your life. On the advice of his therapist, he pens supportive letters to himself: "Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be an amazing day, and here's why. On that stage, and you also used it in your own marketing, you had Twitter, Facebook, what else? 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".. That problem, its the plot point. I think that is the beauty of Stevens writing. You cant keep doing that. When you were like that before, you didnt see it, and now you see the entire thing and what everybody else is doing. Right, and not even then because you start looking up things. And especially with the pain. On this episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, Kara is joined by the producer and book writer of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. Stacey Mindich and Steven Levenson talk about how the show reflects on how social media has changed the nature of community, and why it is still important to get people into a space where they can unplug and see live theater. It gets the people on an analog. Here's hoping I won't be a singing w. 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. Thats not going to work. Tickets are $69.50-$229.50. SL: Yeah, it begins with the boy in his room with his computer, and before the orchard, it ends with him finally face to face with his mother, no screens between them, really having to tell each other the truth. Then the next few days, it changed. When Dear Evan Hansen premiered on Broadway in 2016, it drew near-universal praise from New York's theater critics. Terms in this set (21) Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be a amazing day and here's why. The family needs this story just as much as he does. Well, something, and thats your weapon. Where do you see theater going? 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. Ive gone to theater in New York my whole life. SL: Absolutely. Its not scalable. Jared is often the voice of the audience, pointing out what were thinking, so he serves a really interesting and useful purpose. SL: Yes, absolutely, its just never-ending. The plot of Dear Evan Hansen begins with a letter, unsurprisingly given the title. SNAP boosts kept millions out of poverty during Covid. It could have happened 100 years in the future. I dont have time, but I will catch you later. I think Steven in less words than more actually captures that in Heidi. Evan attempts to find the acceptance and love he has been lacking in his life. A Note to Readers: This article contains significant plot points and spoilers from "Dear Evan Hansen" as they relate to teen mental health. If you go on Instagram, youll see all sorts of drawings and poems and songs. Reader support helps us keep our explainers free for all. It was interesting because the schools are trying to struggle with these things too once things become apparent. Youll receive a black mirror, where youre going to have that. It will be its own thing. The new single "Found/Tonight," arranged by Alex . But its very kind to these people who are struggling to each of them in a different way, which I think is an interesting way to do that. Thats been the lesson Ive learned. Thats what I really appreciate is it wasnt an attack. People bring whatever they have themselves or they know about to him, but hes lonely and isolated. Today in the red chairs are Stacey Mindich and Steven Levenson, the producer and book writer of Dear Evan Hansen. Its a musical about a high school student with social anxiety disorder struggling to connect with people around him, including his crush, Zoe, and her social outcast brother Connor. Support our mission, and make a gift today. 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. SL: It feels like what all those fake news things are hitting on is a true emotion that people are feeling. SM: Again, thats good to hear. They find their son through him, and then this story snowballs from there. Today is going to be a good day, and here's why; because today, no matter what else you are you. You didnt have the answer, which was, I was like, Remember when you didnt have the answer, and you just argue, you get drunk, and that was it? That was the entire thing. You had the memories of when you saw it, when you didnt feel acquainted, but you couldnt revive those feelings. 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. Theres something about this story. Thats one of the things lets talk about how you weaponize social media. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall I was just talking to him about the phenomenon of Hamilton and what its like, and as he pointed out, Hamilton ultimately is just the show thats going to happen at 8pm tonight. producer and book writer of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.. How long does it ? You have to up the game. Its got to be something else. 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. SL: It does feel like there is something, especially with younger people wanting something unique and something you can touch. Do you know what I mean, like thats what we got. SM: The extraordinary thing that happened with this show right from our very first production at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., was that people organically found us. SL: That was our initial Just thinking about the story, we knew that that was the easy obvious way of doing social media and of telling the story would be to poke fun at our using this technology to post as something that were not, but we felt like that was obvious. You are instructed to turn your phone off, and so it is an hour or two hours where you get into a story in a way that you cant anymore when youre watching television or even in a movie theater, because you can be rude like that in the movie theater. That may be something else I would pay money for, but for me SL: But its different. DEAR EVAN HANSEN is "the most vital and important musical of a generation" (Daily Mail, Baz Bamigboye) with "a raw, relevant and exhilarating score" (BBC Radio London, Jonathan Phang) from the songwriters of The Greatest Showman and La La Land.. A timely and timeless new musical about struggling to connect in a hyperconnected world, DEAR EVAN HANSEN is the winner of 3 Olivier Awards . 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. Each of you take one and talk about what they mean and what youre trying to do. View Dear Evan Hansen opening monologue.docx from AA 1Dear Evan Hansen, Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why: because because today, all you have to do is just be yourself. Youll have it in your eyes. Theres a moment where he says those were private, those letters, and she has no idea what he even means by that. We are all looking and seeing how much fun everything else is thats happening. I think she is an incredible depiction of contemporary motherhood, whether you're a single mom or not, busy, under pressure, trying . People have said to me, theyre sure he has Aspergers or something else. Thats something that I do think is new to social media. Nobody in this world wants or rather, everybody wants to believe the story that he tells. Connor is his classmate and lives lavishly with his parents and sister. 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! Or even knowing phone numbers, but thats another thing. TikTok isnt really limiting kids time on its app. - The third letter in "Sincerely, Me". 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. Because she wants to use it for that, she wants to use it for advantage. SL: Even though the show isnt explicitly this, it feels like its from Evans point of view, I think, in a lot of ways. You could see as experienced, everyones got to have the heightened sense of experience all the time. Or something like a Snapchat, of course the filters would be tasteless, like, Hey, lets make everyones face funny.. SL: Thats been a constant negotiation with how specific do we want the 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? Is that your name? SM: It is the beauty of the show, I think, and the reason why people do want to talk about it when they leave the theater, that you can interpret it the way you want to. How Trump uses it is fascinating. Getting back to how you do theater, do you feel good about theater now that people ? Now its all about Trump. People are going back to handmade in some ways, and people are really hungering for SL: Exactly. We have a contact list from our website of multiple thousands and thousands and thousands of people that most shows dont have. 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. SL: Then there are a lot of expressionistic approaches to the internet, which is like fractured images and text. SM: Its actually so much simpler then that. You can read some of the highlights from the interview at that link, or listen to it in the audio player below. September 21, 2021. Shes a true survivor. He has just done incredible work, and its so exhaustive and so detailed. You can also contribute via, Full transcript: Broadways Dear Evan Hansen Producer Stacey Mindich and book writer Steven Levenson on Recode Decode, This story is part of a group of stories called, 9 questions about the threats to ban TikTok, answered. Maybe that does feel retro, but its something that people are missing. Talk about how you got to Dear Evan Hansen which, by the way, I dont want to call it the Hamilton of this season, but it kind of is. When I was younger, I was like, Oh, Ill just put this book on my physical book, like, What?. It was a smart way to talk about hard things. 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. All right, Ill follow you. I saw the early versions of it. 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. One of the things that I think is really striking is despite this awful situation, youre very kind to their characters. I think shes a really funny, dark person. 24. He is in a total of 11 musical numbers. Then at the same time, when you have this going, this fake news and where it leads to, how do we get back to community? 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. DEAR EVAN HANSEN YWBF Mug Regular price $20.00 USD Regular price Sale price $20.00 USD Unit price / per . It started with the idea of a high school experience, that you had this high school experience, and then how it iterated itself. 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. I always say about Alana, if you ask her, she has a million friends. I think, from scene to scene, that changes, but I think Michael Greif and I have represented the parental point of view here, and theres a line that A lot of confusion over it, go over the confusion, and what is this, and what does it do, and I dont understand it, and its technical. 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. It was mind-blowing to see Rent at that time. Dear Evan Hansen is a novel published in 2018. We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and 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. This time, this time he won't let go. Your show, which you cant get tickets to or someone in Kansas cant see it, some lonely teenager, its a very different thing that you could instead of reaching How many people fit in your theater every night? SM: We dont have a current plan to do that. . SM: Were struggling and learning. You used to pay for social media with your eyeballs. "My name. I know Hamilton didnt put things online, like a ton of stuff. Approachable. That is an event. I want to finish up on what do you hope where to go, where it happens, because you definitely, youre very current. But they want to continue the relationship. Its just made me more aware of when Im using technology as a crutch or as a way of avoiding interactions. A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never . Technology is the oxygen of the world now. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. It's easy to see why they cut it down for length and time and also to make it vague enough that Connor could've written it just as easily as Evan. Theres not a night where I dont shed a tear sometimes at a song, Im surprised, that never made me cry before. The national tour of Dear Evan Hansen plays Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sundays at 1 PM and 6:30 PM through March 5 at the Eccles Theatre (131 South Main Street, Salt Lake City). Why its so hard to get answers on long Covid. SM: But its a great symbol of the need for community because she uses knowingly, unknowingly, the experience of Connors death and Evans decision to create the Connor Project, to create a community and a role and a life for herself. SL: Its really a credit to our director, Michael Grief, and our designers Dave Korins, and Peter Nigrini was our video designer. Obviously, your star is well known from Pitch Perfect.. I dont know if theyve discovered it yet. Giving a speech at Connor's memorial assembly, Evan soon shoots to fame, the Connor Project growing after his speech is put online, many people empathizing with Evan's words. 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. Stacey, why dont you start talking about that idea of how you create an analog experience of just one place and mostly New York City or wherever to reach audiences, especially young ones? Keep going until he sees the sun." 3. will2btenor 6 yr. ago. Like its central character, Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a bit of a lovable misfit: a rare instance of a hit Broadway musical being adapted for the page. . "Even if you've always been that barely-in-the-background kind of guy, you still matter." - Val Emmich, 'Dear Evan Hansen'. 3. 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. On Broadway. SM: For me, I like to think of it in a less logistical way. Dear Evan Hansen Monologue. View in iTunes. But also confident; that's super important. 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. 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. It is an awful, awful thing he does. Just, uh, you knowbe true to yourself. SM: What about all the angry people whod tweet? On his journey to be found, he discovers the consequences of risking it all for the chance to . And the father? They have a son, Connor, who has been trouble for a very long time. "It takes a little patience, takes a little time. Its the experience.. Now Meta and Twitter want your money, too. Essentially, this other boy, Connor Murphy, ends up through a strange series of circumstances taking the letter from Evan, and later offstage, Connor ends up killing himself, and the only thing that his parents find on his person is this letter to Dear Evan Hansen.