An adolescent male stands downstage, a searing hot spotlight singularly illuminating his isolation. The teen fumbles through his index cards, desperatedly searching for the lost place in his speech and an anchor for his fear. His lower lip trembles while this young man unevenly sucks in oxygen, trying to remain afloat. He falls to the floor in utter emotional pain. Watching this you worry that he has just irreparably crumbled. The young man’s name is Evan Hansen, the eponymous protagonist of the musical Dear Evan Hansen.
The score is elegiac and moving and fresh, with music and lyrics by the songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Lyrical themes, such as when Evan implores himself to “step out of the sun” return and evolve. Songs, such as “So Big, So Small”, gut you with their beauty and depth.
Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones in Dear Evan Hansen (Photo: Matthew Murphy)
As gorgeous as the music is, it cannot fully explain the avid devotion to the show. There is nothing edgy about this musical, like the fandom that Rent inspired in the mid-1990’s. Nor is there anything utterly genre-shifting, like another certain new musical (hint: it rhymes with Spamilton).
What accounts for this devotion? Dear Evan Hansen captures a sense of dis-ease that is prevalent, especially among today’s adolescents and young adults, a forgotten corner of the youth culture that is neither hip or cool, but anxious and afraid. The two times I have witnessed this show in person, I was awed by the number of teenagers who were rabidly devout to this show. I heard so many of them, both inside and outside of The Music Box Theatre and the self-named “Fansens” online, professing their connection to the social anxiety (or what we psychologist have categorized as Social Phobia) portrayed with unnerving honesty by the lead actor, Ben Platt. He communicates this internal struggle with true dramatic brilliance through tics (constantly fiddling with the top of his pants), nervous habits (biting his nails) and tears that practically spill into the first row of seats.
Through the narrative journey of the character and by the finale of the show, Evan’s symptoms have ameliorated. (Note: He references that he stopped taking his psychotropic medication on his own, which we psychologists and psychiatrists NEVER recommend doing without medical supervision due to the risks and possible side effects of withdrawal. Please consult with your treatment providers before making this change on your own.) Although he is not cured, he is demonstrably better. For the myriad numbers of adolescents dealing with anxiety who have seen this show and/or listened obsessively to the cast album, they have found their everyman hero, someone who not only represents them but finds a way to “step into the sun”.
If you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, check out the Anxiety & Depression Association of America for resources and to find a treatment provider in your area.
