Commentary: Onstage, 'Dear Evan Hansen' hails the difficulties of parenting. The movie gets it wrong
Onstage, “Dear Evan Hansen” begins with what is essentially a duet. Heidi Hansen, the mother of The Boy Who Lies, and Cynthia Murphy, the mother of The Boy Who Dies, are in their respective homes, simultaneously trying to get their sons motivated for their first day of school.
In both cases, the plot then begins to unfold: an ostracized teen fibs about his friendship with a deceased classmate; the lie spirals wildly out of control, thanks to the trending tendencies of tragic-but-inspirational content online. Evan repeatedly refuses to correct the mounting misunderstandings because of what it all gets him: the adulation of his classmates, the affection of his crush and, most fascinatingly, the attention of the grieving family.
Ben Platt, Jennifer Laura Thompson and Michael Park played Evan and the Murphys in the original Broadway cast of “Dear Evan Hansen.” Heidi finally realizes what’s been happening when the Murphys invite her over for dinner — to Evan’s surprise — and announce that they’d like to gift Evan with the college funds they saved for Connor. At home, Heidi scolds her son about the horror he’s committed: not necessarily the lying itself, but doing so to step into a family he prefers over the one he has.
Evan and Heidi, played by Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones in the original Broadway cast of “Dear Evan Hansen.” These parental sentiments are arguably a major part of what has made the stage show — running on Broadway, the West End and on a North American tour — a hot ticket. So it’s quite a shame that a majority of it is absent
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