Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"The musical finds endless nuances in the relationships among its characters, and makes room for some leavening humor, too. . . . it should also appeal to just about anyone who has ever felt, at some point in life, that he or she was trapped 'on the outside looking in, ' as one lyric has it. Which is just about everybody with a beating heart."--Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
"Smartly crafted, emotionally open-hearted and ideally cast, it's a new musical that has been embraced by millennials--yet its appeal is universal. Dear Evan Hansen is the best new musical of the year "--Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal
An original musical that explores the poignant desire for human connection in the tumultuous life of one young man. Evan is shy, lonely, and bullied for it--teeming with the irrepressible emotions all too familiar with anyone who's ever been a teenager. After a tragedy strikes, Evan's life suddenly gets turned around, but is it ultimately for the better?
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's previous collaborations include the musical Dogfight (Lortel Award for Best New Musical), A Christmas Story, the Musical, James and the Giant Peach, and Edges. Their music for the movie La La Land earned them a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Steven Levenson's plays include The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award), Core Values, The Language of Trees, and Seven Minutes In Heaven. He is currently a writer and producer on Showtime's Masters of Sex.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical "The musical finds endless nuances in the relationships among its characters, and makes room for some leavening humor, too. . . . it should also appeal to just about anyone who has ever felt, at some point in life, that he or she was trapped 'on the outside looking in, ' as one lyric has it. Which is just about everybody with a beating heart."--Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
"Smartly crafted, emotionally open-hearted and ideally cast, it's a new musical that has been embraced by millennials--yet its appeal is universal. Dear Evan Hansen is the best new musical of the year "--Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal
An original musical that explores the poignant desire for human connection in the tumultuous life of one young man. Evan is shy, lonely, and bullied for it--teeming with the irrepressible emotions all too familiar with anyone who's ever been a teenager. After a tragedy strikes, Evan's life suddenly gets turned around, but is it ultimately for the better?
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's previous collaborations include the musical Dogfight (Lortel Award for Best New Musical), A Christmas Story, the Musical, James and the Giant Peach, and Edges. Their music for the movie La La Land earned them a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Steven Levenson's plays include The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award), Core Values, The Language of Trees, and Seven Minutes In Heaven. He is currently a writer and producer on Showtime's Masters of Sex.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical
"Dear Evan Hansen lodges in your head long after you've seen it or heard it or read it. It feels like a pure expression from young writers at a crossroad of coming to terms with who they are and what they want to say about the world. Its honesty and truths haunt and ultimately open us up to ask the same question, no matter what our age or crossroad: What are the lies we tell ourselves?" -James Lapine (from the Foreword)
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed could be his. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he's always wanted: a chance to belong. Deeply personal and profoundly universal, Dear Evan Hansen is a groundbreaking American musical about truth, fiction, and the price we're willing to pay for the possibility to connect.
*This publication includes the book and lyrics to the musical, as well as a foreword by James Lapine. Please note that it does not include the musical score.*
Steven Levenson is the book writer for Dear Evan Hansen. His plays include If I Forget, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, Core Values, The Language of Trees, and Seven Minutes in Heaven. A graduate of Brown University, he served for three seasons as a writer and producer on Showtime's Master of Sex.
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul are the song-writing team behind Dear Evan Hansen. Previous musicals include A Christmas Story: The Musical, Dogfight, James and the Giant Peach, and Edges. Their film projects include La La Land (for which they won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "City of Stars," with composer Justin Hurwitz), Trolls, Snow White, and The Greatest Showman. Their television credits include The Flash, Smash, and Johnny and the Sprites. Both are graduates of the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Program and members of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.