Dear Evan Hansen Blog

By: Jay Sihm

With a fairly minimal set, the world of Dear Evan Hansen is created, instead, by lighting and projections. From the first step into the theater, I saw large panels of scrolling social media feeds with accompanying bells and buzzes, establishing the interconnectedness between the virtual and reality in the show. As the lights dim, a beeping alert asking to silence all phones is repeated amongst all the screens, and the show begins. 

 

Though not mentioned in the program, the role of the internet is played by the projections, a complicated array of snippets showing Evan’s Word document as he types his letter, the Skype messages between Evan and his friends, the YouTube comments underneath the “You Will Be Found” video, and the Twitter page for the Connor Project, just to name a few. Adding further to the technical prowess are the live recordings of Alana and Evan displayed amongst the screens, the embodiment of their YouTube videos for the Connor Project. 

 

Dear Evan Hansen is an exemplar of modern theater, with its long list of accolades ranging from performers to orchestration to directing. But for me, in addition to the emotional performances of the actors, the subtle use of wardrobes to show time, and the impressive moving sets, the masterful use of projections illuminated the possibilities for how stories can be told in theater.