The most successful musical of our time, czech premiere
The seventeen-year-old Evan Hansen is a perfectly normal American high school student, but his life is certainly not easy. He lives alone with an overworked mother, is bullied at school and suffers from social anxiety and depression. Plus, he broke his arm not too long ago. He is tasked by his therapist to write letters to himself describing what will be good about each day. So Evan writes a letter in the school library that begins with the words “Dear Evan Hansen”, wondering how he could talk to his beloved Zoe and if anyone at school would notice if he disappeared. However, the letter is accidentally found by tough guy Connor Murphy, Zoe’s brother. A few days later, Evan is called to the principal’s office, where Connor’s parents tell him that their son has died by his own hand. They find his letter in Connor’s pocket and mistakenly believe it was written by Connor, indicating a close friendship between him and Evan. Feeling embarrassed by the whole situation, Evan starts telling his parents what they want to hear, pretending the two boys were secretly best friends. In addition, he and his friends Jared and Alana begin to fabricate fake, back-dated email conversations between Connor and him, and become embroiled in a carousel of lies and suspenseful situations...
The chamber musical Dear Evan Hansen premiered on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016. The work, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and a libretto by Steven Levenson, soon became almost cult, was received with great enthusiasm by audiences and critics alike, and the production was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won six statuettes. It also won a Grammy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and many others. And it certainly wasn't just the brilliant and cleverly composed songs that made it happen, but also the themes the musical tells. In an entertaining and touching way, it warns of the danger of drowning in the boundless waters of social media, where lies can easily turn into truth. It raises questions about whether a lie can be taken to heart and whether we really know as much about our loved ones as we think we do. In his review of the musical for Arena Stage, Derek Mong wrote that "though the themes of sadness and loneliness are serious, the musical is anything but bleak."
The original story of the musical was also turned into a literary form. The novella for teen readers, published in 2018, was adapted by American actor and songwriter Val Emmich in collaboration with the original authors of the musical. Evan Hansen also appeared on screen in a film directed by Stephen Chbosky. The film was released in cinemas on 24 September 2021, but was nowhere near the success of the theatre original.
This unique musical sparkler of recent years will be presented by the Brno City Theatre in its Czech premiere, translated by Zuzana Čtveráčková and Petr Gazdík and directed by Brno City Theatre director Stanislav Moša at the Drama Theatre.
