Because I’ve been such a rubbish blogger this year, this is a post I should have written ages ago but I’m just getting around to it now. I’ve even had a load of notes written up for ages, so there’s no excuse!
This year, I seem to have developed a huge love of musical theatre, so much so that I even joined a local musical theatre group and I’ve performed in my first show. I was only in the ensemble but I had such an amazing time and I’m already excited for our next one!
One of the shows that launched my love of theatre was Dear Evan Hansen. I can’t remember now why I decided to listen to it, but I’m so glad I did because I fell in love and now I’m OBSESSED. For a while, listening to the original Broadway cast recording was pretty much a daily occurrence, because the songs just make me so happy. (Well, most of them.)
About the Show
Dear Evan Hansen is about Evan Hansen (if you couldn’t tell from the title), an anxious teenage boy who makes up a story about being secret best friends with Connor Murphy, a boy from his school who committed suicide. Evan and his friends set up The Connor Project, a student project dedicated to keeping Connor’s memory alive and showing students that they all matter. However, as all of this is happening, Evan buries himself deeper and deeper into a hole as he keeps up this pretence that he was Connor’s best friend, and when people start to notice inconsistencies in Evan’s story, his life kind of goes downhill.
It’s such a beautiful show with songs that make you want to sing along. If I could go back in time, save loads of money, and fly to New York to see Ben Platt star as Evan Hansen, I totally would. Or if I could go right now and see Andrew Barth Feldman play him (he’s so young at just 16, and he’s incredible!!), then I would happily pay so much to do that. However, the show is coming to London in November and I’m SO EXCITED! I’m just hoping I can find the time (and money) to get a ticket, because it’s definitely not a show I want to miss.
The Book Adaptation
Last year, the YA book adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen was released. I think that’s really cool – I don’t know of any other instance where a show was adapted into a book, rather than the other way around!
As someone who hasn’t seen the musical, only listened to the soundtrack, reading the book was a great way to learn more about the story and to figure out where the songs fit into the show’s plot. The songs do a fairly good job of telling the story, but the book filled in all the gaps I had.
Not everyone is able to go and see the show on stage, so telling the story in a more accessible way – in the form of a YA book – is really cool, and has allowed so many people to access the story without having to afford to see the show!
The book itself is written really well, and if you don’t know that it’s a stage musical, I don’t think you’d lose anything from the book. It works really well as a standalone piece of fiction, and the characters are written in enough depth to enjoy the book without having to know anything about the show or listen to the cast recording. (If you can listen to it, though, then definitely do!)
I originally listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed it – it was read well, and there’s a song in the soundtrack that they intertwined into the story, which I loved. I also have a physical copy of the book, so I definitely think I’m going to read it again in physical form.
If you’re a fan of the show and haven’t read the book, I’d recommend it so you can see how they compare. Or if you know nothing at all about the show, the book still works as a perfect standalone YA novel that deals with themes of mental health in an all-ages-friendly, accessible way.
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