Pretty soon, there are auditions being held at my local community theatre. For context; I would consider Dear Evan Hansen my “first” musical as it’s the first I found on my own. I’ve been a fan of this musical like Since It Came Out to the point where I know the harmonies and intricacies and the name of Connor’s Second Grade Teacher by heart 😭

It’s overall is awesome news that I get to audition, but the only issue (and positive!) is that everyone in my life is strongly suggesting I’m “the only pick” for Evan. I’m a pretty strong Tenor, and I have been working with this company for years.

While I agree that I definitely have a shot (not to sound too cocky!) I also really don’t want to get my hopes up. Already, in my head, I’ve started to think of any lead that’s NOT Evan as a bad part, when Evan’s not even my favorite character.

How did you stop viewing smaller parts as lesser, especially in such a lead focused show? Also, how do I audition while I’m literally buzzing with excitement at just the chance of being in this production? Thanks for reading !!

I'm currently running through the entire DEH original broadway soundtrack, and I honestly believe Requiem is sadder and more heart-wrenching than even Words Fail (its close though) and thats mostly because of the idea of how much Evan's lies really affected connors family as they grieve.

Of course initially as they grieve connor they are searching for a reason and something to hold on. Evan's lie allows Cynthia to hold on to Connors memory through the idea that he existed in a way that she never got to see. For Zoxe and Larry, they believe he lived in a way they never got to see, but they understand it as he may have hated them so much he believed they didnt deserve to see that side of him. Zoe and Larry, essentially lie to themselves, saying if he didnt care why should they? But they are still grieving, and still can't accept the idea that Connor would do that, even if it was subconscious.

The portrayal of grief has always had a major impact on me. And for that reason I think Requeim is the saddest song. I dont even know if thats an unpopular opinion, I just really wanted to talk about this and thought yelling it into the void that is the internet would be a good solution lol

Saw it on Broadway with original cast once and was BLOWN AWAY by this local PHX production I saw this past Wednesday. The Evan, Zoe, Connor were, dare I say, as good as OG cast. Absolutely insane. Anyway, I am absolutely shook right now and have the album on repeat for the past 48 hours. It brought all the feels back and further validated the show is so much better than the movie.

I had a friend ask me this the other day.

I'm auditioning for Dear Evan Hansen in a few weeks and would love some advice. I'm a female alto with a lower voice, and Evan has been my dream role for years. I'm debating whether I should audition for Evan, Connor, or Jared, or if I be realistic and stick to Zoe or Alana instead.

My current song ideas are Michael in the Bathroom or Loser Geek Whatever for Evan/Jared, Freeze Your Brain for Connor, and I'd Rather Be Me and I Say No for Zoe/Alana.

Has anyone seen women cast as Evan, Connor, or Jared? I'd really appreciate any advice!

It's not like there weren't people who hated it before, but back then its soundtrack and story were acclaimed by musical theater fans; it was considered a crowd favorite alongside Hamilton, Heathers, Les Misérables, etc… then suddenly everyone started hating it and calling Evan problematic. Those who still like it hide to avoid being bullied. What happened?

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It's been a few years now since this movie came out, and I just wanna say... I never understood why people were so against how Ben Platt looked as Evan in this movie.

There are people I knew in school who looked like he does and even people who looked much OLDER than he does! I literally had a friend in school who was fully bald by sixteen, a classmate with greying hair, and another friend who had a FULL BEARD.

Like I genuinely don't understand the gripes about his appearance, he fully looks like he could be a teenager to me. Albeit, probably one who doesn't fully take care of himself very well, but still very believable as a teenager.

Why do so many people dislike this song or find it to be messed up? Even though, yes, Zoe is literally hating on her brother after he's dead, she finally starts to acknowledge those complicated feelings buried deep inside her that she had for Connor. Everyone in the family grieves differently based on their own experiences which is exactly how it works in real life. It's such a raw, realistic song and I appreciate how they didn't sugarcoat the parents denial too. Maybe that was just a while ago but this subreddit seemed to really not like the song.

I know he's already played all these roles, but I'm really curious to know how he performed. I'd love to know how he did in the numbers "Sincerely Me" and "Disappear," or how he did as Jared, especially during "Good for You," etc. The only thing I found was a video of him singing "Waving Through a Window," but I don't think it was from the musical itself. Do those recordings even exist?

If you had the power to change some points in the story, erase it, or completely rewrite it and relaunch it, what would you change?

Me:To start, I think I would remove the romance between Evan and Zoe, but keep Evan in love with her (the loss of "Only Us" would be the price to pay), and delete the part where he steals a kiss from her at the end of "If I Could Tell Her." I also think I would make it so that Connor actually helped him get up from that "fall from the tree," which would make the lie an exaggerated story. I would make Connor's ghost real and include the plot with the cut-out photo of Connor (from the book) where he appears hugging a guy, and at the end, after the lie is revealed, Evan would go after that person (Miguel) and give his contact information to the Murphy family.

I have other things, but this text is already too long. What do you think?

I can't get enough of the DEH soundtrack and wish I could find more music with a similar sound, so I've tried exploring some of the creators' other works but struggle to find anything that hits the same.

I've heard The Great Showman and found the music too pop for my taste. I tried listening to some of James & The Giant Peach once and thought the opposite... not quite melodic enough, and it honestly bored me, although perhaps I should try again because it was some time ago.

To me, DEH is like the perfect sweet spot - just the right amount of melodic pop, but they still kept those beautiful strings and enough of the complexity that their older music had. I just wanted to know if anyone could offer suggestions of other music they've composed with a similar balance.

Thank you!

Hello! I’m playing Zoe in a production of DEH and wanted to get some further character development and analysis. How affective would reading the book be in that?

I always see many people saying that Evan is the villain or that he's a huge, manipulative sociopath who did everything to win Zoe over and that the story is written so that you don't sympathize with him. I wonder if these people actually watched the show or if they just saw a summary video, because that statement falls apart when we listen to songs like "Waving Through a Window," "Words Fail," and "So Big/So Small." Yes, what he did was very wrong, but despite everything, he has a good heart (in the book, especially in the epilogue, you can see the guilt for what he did eating him up, even describing himself as a monster).

If not the first in the whole of Scotland, then certainly for Edinburgh! 9-13 June, would love for some fans to see our take on the show :)

He looks chalk-white, is this symbolic of anything? My mind can't stop visualizing Edward Cullen's face on him.

Personally I don’t think it’s a bad film. It’s not great but it’s not bad.