This was probably one of the first Broadway musicals to tackle the social media frenzy of Gen-Z. It was groundbreaking, breathtaking and, in a way, eye opening. It didn’t take too long for Dear Evan Hansen to become a phenomenon, so now, producers believed it was time to make this musical into a movie. The story will definitely speak to those who have at some point in their lives struggled with depression, alienation or loneliness to name a few of the teen angst it addresses.
It was a no-brainer to get Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner, Ben Platt, to reprises the role of Evan in the movie, however, one thing that puzzled me throughout the movie is why did the producers cast actors who are way older than their characters? Is it because Ben Platt is 27-years-old and the other actors shouldn’t look like they could be his children or is it that the producers have not gotten over the Hollywood casting trend from the last century?
Playwright, Steven Levenson, also had the benefit of writing the movies script, which kind of makes you baffle why would he change it so much in the big screen version. The transformation from stage to screen will even make people who know the source material buffle, I do get the original material is over five-years-old and in social media that is an eternity, yet you get the feeling that there is an unjustified exploitation of vulnerabilities young people go through. Yes, adolescence is difficult, but should it be so difficult as this flick portrays it for well over two-hours…
Undoubtedly, the movie introduces a whole new generation of fans to Evan Hansen, yet this movie is a good example for when a stage show should stay where it originated (on stage) and don’t jump too high to a territory that might ruin it. It is not an easy decision, but I will still give it a THUMBS UP!!!