Dear Parents,
Today is going to be a good day, and here’s why: “Dear Evan Hansen,” the Tony-winning smash musical, is in Seattle for a short run through Feb. 2. It’s a heart-wrencher, drawing an uncommon mix of laughter and sobs from rapt fans at the Paramount Theatre.
There’s no question about recommending the touring show to anyone with an interest in musical theater (and to some people without one.) The real dilemma is whether to bring kids to the show – and if so, which ones.
It’s hard to describe “Dear Evan Hansen” without spoilers, but it’s about a teenager’s suicide and the farcical web of lies it inspires. In the big picture it’s about human connection and lack of connection, anxiety, and the particularly hellish loneliness of adolescence. Timeless themes, but here they feel precisely timed to our era, with viral videos and hashtags and a set that orients viewers through projected computer screens. (In five years, it might even feel dated.) Somehow there’s a lot of humor along with the heartbreak.
Paramount reps say there’s no suggested age range for the show, but I left quite grateful that the 8-year-old stayed home. She would have loved the music, but the story would have baffled her and I’m glad she didn’t hear the crude sexual jokes. (She also couldn’t have handled the TSA-length bathroom line, which took up the entire intermission and still left us sprinting for our seats.) I’m torn on whether my sixth-grader would benefit from considering the weighty themes.
Teenagers, though, are a major yes.
“Beautiful and cathartic,” was the verdict from Lillie Wirth, a 16-year-old family friend who saw the show the same night.
We adults could identify with the parents in the show, and with our memories of high school. But memories are deceiving, and today’s teenagers don’t live the same lives we did. Does the show really ring true?
“It resonated a lot with me when it first came out, and live, it held up,” the Ballard High School junior said in a text. (Like I said, teenagers today live in a different world.)
On stage, it offered new dimensions even for fans of the soundtrack, said her sister Elsa, 14. “The live actors brought so much more raw emotion, and combined with the scenes you don’t get in the soundtrack it makes it even more beautiful.”
(I should add, go with teenage theater aficionados and their observance and knowledge will add a lot to the experience. I had no idea how demanding the show’s vocals were before hearing them describe the challenges.)
Plenty of shows appeal to adults as well as teens, but it’s rare to feel the visceral link this one offers to both. I went home wanting to hold all my kids close, just as poor tormented Evan Hansen’s mom embraces him, hoping they’d feel the same about me.
Show details:
Dear Evan Hansen runs at the Paramount Theatre (911 Pine St.) through Feb. 2. Most tickets available now are higher-priced resales, but there’s also a daily lottery for $25 seats. Note that the main Dear Evan Hansen website includes helpful links to crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and other nonprofits aimed at creating a better world for young people.
