#dear evan hansen: media for guilty people | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

crackinwise · 3 years

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Forgive this ramble, but because the Dear Evan Hansen move is reportedly... badly adapted from its source, there's gonna be a bunch of people who get second-hand glib summaries of the original plot and declare it a trainwreck or problematic or tone-deaf, etc.

DEH, the stage musical, does not have a hero or a villain. It has awkward, lonely, mentally ill teenagers in our age of viral fame-chasing (the stage is filled with giant social media posts and texts) taking things too far, facing the consequences, and then learning to move on.

Evan resonates with people because of his depression, social anxiety and possible autism ("Waving Through A Window" gets me bawling). He first gets into this mess simply because he's too fearful to correct a grieving family's assumptions and doesn't want to hurt them. It spirals when he doesn't want to let go of the new family and love and popularity, and then the lie is so big it has a life of its own. No one watching roots for him to continue this way, but we still worry for when it inevitably comes crashing down. Because, when it comes out he was at his absolute lowest point and almost ended up like Conner, you understand a bit more why he would cling to the fantasy about having such a friend.

But there's no heroes anywhere else in the cast either. Everybody, save for Evan's struggling mom, uses Conner's death selfishly. Other kids at school want the clout or to feel like a special caretaker to Conner's fake legacy. Even Conner's family, who choose to believe a fairytale of their troubled son/brother because they feel guilty for just pegging him as an asshole and not bothering to help him. Which is a shame bc in one interaction Conner has with Evan, you see he did have a soft side and reached out to another lonely kid. For one second, you glimpse what might have been.

Adults play teenage characters all the time, so I'm not sure that's the movie's problem here. But movies for general audiences do rely on framing someone to root for more than in stage where rules and fantasy have a wider range to play. For film, it usually misses the feel and surreal setting of stage direction that kicks on your imagination. A good director could absolutely translate it to film, like West Side Story or more currently In The Heights. It doesn't sound like that was attempted here tho. Reviews coming out make the DEH movie sound more like the disturbing film Father Of The Year put to music.

Hollywood should just screw off and let musicals and stage plays be filmed as is like Andrew Lloyd Webber did decades ago, and Lin did for Hamilton recently. But PLEASE watch DEH in its original form, and if you need help finding that "slime tutorial" let me know.

#reviews no one asked for #dear evan hansen #dear evan hansen spoilers #dear evan hansen movie

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filminvasion · 3 years

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Dear Evan Hansen Movie Review

“Dear Evan Hansen” has already turned into the most maligned movie of the Fall so far so will I have to consider Stephan Chbosky’s adaptation of the stage musical a guilty pleasure? Nope. I have not seen the musical on stage but the movie is precious, filled with themes of depression, adolscent angst, resentment, grief, and confusion, as well as the all-encompassing ones of mental illness and suicide, yet comes off like a love letter and message of healing to those who suffer, as well as an uplifting musical that hits all the right notes in what is an emotional rollercoaster of a show.

Ben Platt has taken some flak over reprising the role he originated on Broadway. “30 year olds should not play High Schoolers”, people say. But tell it to “Saved by the Bell” cause Platt is a revelation as Evan Hansen, and if you have not seen the show, this is the movie’s first treat. Evan is filled with social anxiety, visibly shaken when needing to be around people. As therapy he writes notes to himself, one of which is later stolen by another troubled student who then commits suicide. When the note is found by the boy’s parents (Amy Adams, Danny Pino) they assume Evan was the boy’s friend and seeing how much joy that brings them, Evan plays into the lie.

Platt, a phenomenally powerful singer and quite possibly even better actor, becomes the pillar this tricky tightrope of a plot hangs on. Pains have been taken to make him look younger and they are not especially good, but your heart goes out to Evan from the very first scene- he captures the ball of nerves and confusion of never quite knowing what to do in the moment and as the lie continues to snowball- he is continually caught between giving people the happy goodbye they want and the truth- which would be scary to admit even for a low-anxiety person but also would only make people feel miserable.

The cast is great across the board really, from Julianne Moore (Evan’s mom) to Adams and Pino- who reveal the quiet desperation of parents who are and were consistently at a loss in helping their troubled children, to Kaitlyn Dever as the boy’s sister (who Evan also has a crush on)- still trying to come to terms with her brother’s psychosis even after he’s gone, to Amandla Stenberg as the school president who hides her own anxiety issues. Nik Dodani (from Netflix’s “Atypical”) also provides some levity as Evan’s only (and family) friend. This also looks at family trying to recover from great loss, students dealing with hard issues, social media’s role of solidarity and hypocrisy when dealing with said issues, as well as morality vs. what people want to hear.

And then there are the songs, which hit a home run from the opening scene- some of the best include the heartbreaker on alienation (“Waving Through a Window), Stenberg’s inner monologue on what we hide (“The Anonymous Ones”), Evan’s idea of a perfect (and unfortunately fake) friendship (“For Forever”), and reaching out (the musical’s triumph “You will be Found”). “The Greatest Showman’s” lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul also give us love ballads and humorous asides but again i’m more impressed at the feeling they hit on with each song. “Dear Evan Hansen” is something downbeat that somehow manages to be poignant but also an uplifting piece of acknowledgement, acceptance, and support. It may be longer than need be and Platt’s age distracts a bit. But listen and watch the kid. A hard lesson will be learned and it does it in a way that leaves us leaving on a theatrical high.

#dear evan hansen #ben platt #julianne moore #amy adams #danny pino #nik dodani #movie #movies #movie review #Movie Reviews #film #films #Film Review #film reviews #kaitlyn dever #musical #broadway

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gracie-p8-officialblog · 4 years

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Rules: you can tell a lot about someone by the type of music they listen to 🎵🎶 hit shuffle on your media player and write down the first 20 songs, then tag 10 people, no skipping!

Tagged by @christinesdaae! Thanks!

I'm just gonna shuffle through my liked songs playlist on Spotify XD.

The Beauty Underneath-Love Never Dies 2018 Cast Recording

TOKIMEKI Runners-Nijisaki High School Idol Club

Deep Resonance-Aqours

Doki Pipo ☆ Emotion- Rina Tennoji

Once Upon A December (Anastasia Epic Orchestra Version)-Alala

Make it-I☆ris

Sincerely (Violet Evergarden) Piano Instrumental-Fonzi M

Times are Hard For Dreamers (Prologue)- Amelie

New Romantic Sailors-Guilty Kiss

Jingle Bells ga Tomaranai-Aqours

Kiss The Girl-The Little Mermaid OBCR

MY MAI☆TONIGHT-Aqours

For Good-Wicked OBCR

Move on now (DJ Kazu and co. Mix)-STAR☆ANIS

Mamma Mia-Mamma Mia

Your Fault/Last Midnight-Into The Woods

One Day More-Les Miserables OLCR

KOKORO Magic "A to Z"-Aqours

Only Us (Dear Evan Hansen)-Piano Dreamers

Lay All Your Love On Me-Mamma Mia

Tagging @faded-florals @theres-music-in-you @youcanlolyoucansayohwell @bububalloon and whoever wants to do it! Sorry if you've done this already, I'm late to the party as always

#Tag game #Playlist game

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phanchester · 5 years

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For the positive asks!! ❤️😊📖📺💕😍🎶🎙️(That's a lot sorry you can ignore some of them if you want akksksk hah)

don’t worry, i love answering asks. if i missed any please tell me i am very careless and probably forgot to answer lol)

😊: what are some things you do to cheer yourself up when you’re having a rough day?

well, i guess it depends on what i’m feeling like. a lot of the time i watch dan and phil and sanders sides while curled up in bed wearing two hoodies. sometimes i get myself a plate of biscuits, because i am kind of addicted to those things. i try to do things which involve very little brain power so i can just sit and relax and calm my nerves. that also means i try to not go on any social media so i can just relax. i also sometimes sit and reread a book while listening to some calming music or i watch a musical bootleg on youtube.

📖: what’s a book/series you could read over and over again?

this is super cliche, but i could reread harry potter over and over again and i would never get bored of it. yes, i may hate jk rowling’s guts and yes, i may have read books with much better writing techniques and a much better story, but i have to give it to her. the world she creates with harry potter? marvelous. beautiful. a classic i could reread a thousand times and never get bored of it. i also love rereading a series of unfortunate events because it honestly is such a brilliant series with a such a unique vibe. i am also guilty of rereading friday barnes wayy too many times. friday barnes is basically a book aimed to a demographic who is a lot younger than me but it’s still so funny and it flows together in a wonderful manner.

📺: what’s your comfort TV show/movie that you watch to feel happy?

look, okay. i hate voltron. i absolutely despise voltron because of how they dealt with klance and how season eight turned out but the earlier seasons? so so good and so so rewatchable. i also love doctor who to an unhealthy degree. i think i’ve rewatch season two of new who about a thousand times - and yes, i cry every single time i watch those last two episodes.

💕: what’s something you love about yourself?

idk man i like singing i guess lol

😍: what’s a trait you admire in other people?

ngl, i envy other people’s happiness and strong will to live. i also admire people’s obliviousness to the terrible things happening in the world around them. sure, they may be hit with the harsh and cruel reality when they grow older and they may internally collapse with grief, but as dancing through life from wicked says - “life’s more painless for the brainless”.

🎶: name a song that reminds you of a happy time, or of someone you love.

for this, i’m just going to list a bunch of songs without context and see what people think.

history maker - dean fujioka

bohemian rhapsody - queen

the schuyler sisters - hamilton: an american musical

biggest blame fool - seussical the musical

doctor who theme tune - murray gold

hedwig’s theme - john williams

what is this feeling - wicked

circle of life - carmen twillie and lebo m.

take me home, country roads - john denver

naughty - matilda the musical

🎙️: what’s your favourite song to sing along to?

again, going to list a bunch of songs.

the entirety of the death of a bachelor (especially emperor’s new clothes, death of a bachelor, crazy = genius, the good, the bad and the dirty and house of memories)

okay fine basically anything by beebo (especially say amen (saturday night), hey look ma i made it, high hopes, this is gospel, girls/girls/boys, i write sins not tragedies, lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, northern downpour, nine in the afternoon and the ballad of mona lisa but like any of them)

any heathers song (especially beautiful, candy store, the me inside of me, seventeen, lifeboat, shine a light (reprise) and meant to be yours)

any hamilton song (especially alexander hamilton, aaron burr, sir, my shot, the schuyler sisters, you’ll be back, helpless, satisfied, wait for it, guns and ships and washington on your side)

sincerely, me - dear evan hansen

any mcr song (especially helena, i’m not okay, welcome to the black parade, i don’t love you, cancer, mama and na na na)

any fob song (especially centuries, immortals, my songs know what you did in the dark, sugar, we’re going down, the phoenix, thnks fr th mmrs, this ain’t a scene, it’s an arm race, the kids aren’t alright, just one yesterday, uma thurman, what a catch, donnie, golden and the last of the real ones)

any dodie song (especially would you be so kind, human, sick of losing soulmates, she, in the middle, an awkward duet, dear happy and secret for the mad)

any jon cozart song (especially youtube culture, harry potter in 99 seconds, tourist and after ever after 1, 2 and 3)

sweet dreams (are made of this) - eurythmics

take on me - a-ha

toxic - britney spears

bohemian rhapsody - queen

sorry that was a lot i just like a lot of songs and have a lot of feelings. thank you @uwillneverknowwho for asking these questions, it was a lot of fun and i really enjoyed it.

positive asks

ask me more asks!

#emilee's asks #em answeres questions #asks #answered #uwillneverknowwho

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piestrudel · 7 years

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how to cheer yourself up: do a Facebook theatre meme then post it on tumblr because Facebook is my vaguely more professional form of social media

Musical I Dislike: for some reason, Carousel was never my cup of tea. i don’t wanna hear about ur clambake or ur Boy Bill u horny kids

Musical That's Overrated: i don’t like calling a show overrated because that feels sort of judge/subjective??. i guess if anything, i don’t like Wicked as much as some folks seem to? same with Dear Evan Hansen, or what I’ve been exposed to by listening to the cast recording and watching promo clips.

Musical That's Underrated: The Cradle Will Rock. such an important show in musical theatre history that deserves more exposure than it gets

Musical I Love:  Something Rotten!, always,,

Musical I Cherish:  Les Misérables, my gateway musical. also- The Sound of Music, my first musical.

Musical I Sob Through: Fly By Night. Next to Normal. Great Comet.

Musical That Keeps Me Laughing:  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Guilty Pleasure Musical:  usually anything by Andrew Lloyd Webber, tbh, so shoot me

Game Changer Musical:  i guess it’s a tie between Something Rotten! and The Prom?? they both really ended up broadening my view of theatre a lot even if it seems odd because they’re both pretty strictly comedic

First Musical I Ever Did: ahem…a little ditty called “Help! I Need A Vacation!” I played Distressed student #2. i peaked in 4th grade

Musical I am doing now:  I’m not stage managing a musical now (I can’t even imagine a Bernabé musical, my goodness), but my most recent musical I worked on as an ASM was First Date and it was NOT a musical i liked

Musical I want to be in:  i’d LOVE to be involved with a production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Favourite show I have done:  this is like picking a favorite child. i guess the show I grew the most from SMing was Comedy of Errors.

First Musical I Ever Saw: The Sound of Music! my stepmom showed it to my brother and me when I was, like, four. the rest is history and my walls are covered in theatre posters and i’m never going to escape this hell

people who should do this: @thoroughly-modern-musicals , @martinmoran , @i-am-the-wallflower , @writingplays , @earlinde-amwamane , @kayleefabulous , @squarecutorpearshape , @dlsknows

(if i tagged you u DEFINITELY do NOT have to do this, like this isn't even a proper Tumblr Tag Meme but I just wanna hear folks Not from Facebook talking about theatre. also I know there’s a few of y’all who i tagged that I don’t actually Talk to much but if you’re here i value your musical theatre musings and would love to hear about your favorite stuff!!)

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littlemissshortypants-blog1 · 7 years

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#1 100 Random Facts About Me!

I've decided to set myself a blog challenge for March which entails publishing a post everyday! I've already failed with this as this post is a day late but it wasn't as easy as I thought! So here goes #1 100 Facts About Me! 1. I'm named after the song 'Kayleigh' (shocker right?) by Marillion but I actually don't really like that song. 2. I prefer my middle name (Rose) to my last name (Allan). 3. I've had several nicknames including Kayleigh Allan, Kayls, Kayleigh-Steve, Steve and Little Miss Shorty Pants. 4. If I was born just over a week later, I would have been in the year below. I'm only a baby. 5. I'm a bit like a penguin; clumsy but adorable ;) 6. I've only ever been on a plane once (which is going to change very soon!) 7. I'm spending my summer working at an American summer camp in North Carolina and also by going on a North American road trip with added time in Orlando and New York (have I mentioned that already?) 8. I don't drink alcohol. It's not really something which appeals to me. People always try and get me to drink and often tell me 'it's just like pop' to which I respond 'yes, so I can just drink pop'. Perhaps it's also to do with the fact I don't like the idea of not being in control, everyone complains afterwards and it's expensive! 9. I'm good at not giving in to peer pressure. 10. I believe that you can have a good time without drinking alcohol but most of the time people think I'm drunk anyway because I'm a crazy gal. 11. I've never had a proper boyfriend (yet). 12. I'm a little (a lot) obsessed with musicals. 13. Aaron Tveit is my number one celeb crush (and when we watched Assasins featuring him, my best friend and I held hands all the way through). 14. But Jeremy Jordan, Wesley Taylor, Gideon Glick, Ben Fankhauser, Ramin Karimloo and George Blagden (the list goes on) are up there too. 15. I once got dried paint stuck in my eye as a kid and had to go to hospital. I vividly remember there was also a kid there who had broccoli stuck up his nose. 16. It took me three whole appointments at the opticians until I was able to wear contact lenses. 17. I broke my leg when I was younger by falling off a scooter. 18. As a kid I used to be scared of Santa Claus. 19. I once got admitted to hospital because I refused to take this disgusting orange medicine (which I can remember the taste of now). 20. I was deputy head girl and a prefect at high school and helped the head girl run the student council. 21. I never took drama at gcse but the career I'm heading into is acting. 22. I spend the majority of my wages on show tickets. But it benefits the career I am going to go into so it's not a waste of my money as some people seem to think. 23. I've performed onstage with Alfie Boe at The Echo Arena. (After a theatre group I was involved in bombarded him with tweets on twitter). 24. I've lived in Liverpool for a year studying musical theatre on a Dance and Drama Award. 25. I left my 3 musical theatre course after a year so I'm currently on a gap year and I'm loving it. I've learnt so much about myself and other people and I've also met lots of new people. 26. I'm a chocoholic. 27. I also love peanut butter (and almond butter and pretty much any other nut butter). 28. I'm easily distracted by anything pink and sparkly. 29. I've been to Disneyland Paris twice. 30. I've been a part of an original musical written by one of my friends. 31. My favourite film is Back to The Future and I can recite lots of phrases from it. 32. I've never read or watched the whole Harry Potter series (but I am in the process of reading the books so don't shoot me!) 33. I love learning new things, having new experiences and exploring new places. 34. I'm very small. Like below average height. People think I'm still 15... 35. I have a pen pal from Germany who I've been writing to for over a year. 36. I am a really fussy eater. I used to never touch any food that was saucy, sloppy or slimy. I've gotten better but I still tend to ask for most of my meals plain. 37. I really like twitter. I think it's good form of social media to meet new people and find out news about the world. 38. I help run a twitter account for a musical theatre site named Act 1 Act 2. 39. I once volunteered at Leeds Festival; it was my first time camping and my tent leaked. 40. My favourite Ben and Jerry's flavour is Phish Food. 41. I am an only child. 42. I like vintage things and wish I had more vintage clothes so I could establish my own quirky style. 43. My favourite TV series (which I can think of right now) are Red Dwarf, Friends, It Could be Worse, Chewing Gum and Miranda. 44. I really want to get hidden rainbow roots in my hair. 45. I'm (supposedly) allergic to Rabbits, Cats and household dust? Cats do make me feel on edge though so maybe that's a good thing for me... 46. I often get asked if me and my best friend are twins/sisters because apparently we look alike (Our families have gotten us confused at times?!) 47. My guilty pleasure is secret eating. You can often find me sneaking in the kitchen to get snacks shhh. 48. I attract some really weird guys but never actually anyone I like. 49. I'm a Disney fan. My favourite princess is Rapunzel. 50. I enjoy travelling and my favourite way to travel is by train. I feel like a lot can be accomplished on a journey. 51. I took art at college and for one of my projects I made a corset, tutu and waistcoat based on Assassins the musical. 52. I can fold my tongue in half and keep it there without using my teeth to hold it there. 53. I hardly ever burp and when I do it shocks me because it's not something that usually occurs. 54. I can listen to a musical soundtrack on repeat. At the moment it's Dear Evan Hansen which I've just booked tickets to! #firstbroadwayshow 55. I would like to write a book/play one day. 56. I would also like to star in a one woman play and I admire the people I see perform in them (when they're good of course.) 57. I played a Geordie version of the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella in which I wore a Mad Hatter outfit and put pegs in my sparkly, coloured back combed hair... 58. I have been in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as part of the children's choir several times and can recite every word (and pretty much action) of the show. On my last performance I swapped seats with a friend so that I could spend my last performance on the top step. 59. I once got asked if I was from Scotland? (By a Southerner) 60. I'm often told I speak posh or very northern. There's no in between. 61. I work in The Blackpool Tower Ballroom. 62. I worked at Strictly last year and Anton Du Beke blew me a kiss. 63. Toasted scones from work is my favourite smell. I think I have acquired an unhealthy obsession with them since working there tbh... 64. I could probably recall all the names of the dances done at the ballroom but not actually dance any. 65. I rode to prom in a camper van. 66. I got 100% on my first acting assignment during my first year of higher education. 67. I once did some method acting and went out dressed as a made up character with a crutch and speaking with a stutter...(I created the character from a random picture shown to me from the internet which happened to be a ridiculously obese woman). I also played Medviedenko from The Seagull which resulted in me borrowing my best friend's boyfriend's clothes and drawing a beard on my face. Additionally, I played Scullery from Road; a homeless alcoholic... 68. I don't swear unless I have to on stage. 69. I've climbed a waterfall with a fractured little finger. 70. I studied German at GCSE and I can only remember a few words/phrases (one being Guten Tag) 71. I've played Miss Dorothy in Thoroughly Modern Millie and July in Annie. 72. I love people watching. 73. I'm terrible at accents. 74. I like tall guys in suits and glasses. 75. It annoys me when people think 'writ' is a word. It's 'I have written' or 'I wrote'. 76. I tend to cry when I'm not expecting to but not when I do expect to. 77. I cried my eyes the whole way through the second act of Book of Mormon because I found it absolutely hilarious (so much so the actors were laughing at me because I was on the front row). 78. I remember once when I was a kid I swung on a curtain in someones house and got kicked out. 79. In primary school I remember having a water fight with my friend in the toilets and got told I wasn't allowed to partake in IT so has to read a book instead 80. I've climbed a volcano in, snorkelled in the sea and been in a submarine in Lanzarote. 81. It makes me angry when people leave the theatre during the bows, before the show has fully finished. I've only done it on one occasion and that was at the interval (because the show was absolutely unbearable and it meant I could get home before silly 'o clock in the morning) The show was supposed to present Shakespeare's character's death's humorously but I'm pretty sure I didn't laugh once and one section of the show even included watching a fake fly buzzing on a camera for a good 5 minutes. 82. It also annoyes me when people eat (loudly) during a performance. Have some respect for the actors. 83. I hate not having a plan (especially when I'm on a holiday to a new place). 84. I have a wide taste in music. My Spotify playlists range from musicals (of course) to pop punk to rock to pop to folk to jazz...it's safe to say I like a little bit of everything (apart from dubstep because that's just a no no). 85. I have high aspirations and I've very critical of myself. 86. I once went on a tinder date (don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon). 87. I love milkshakes and hot chocolate. 88. The theatre cafe is my favourite cafe. 89. My favourite Starbucks syrup is gingerbread. 90. Sometimes bus drivers just charge me for a child on the bus without me asking. 91. I once played Oliver in a high school show and was faced with some onstage disasters...when being pushed into a wooden coffin, (a disaster in itself) my mic pack fell off and I picked up a tape measure instead. The big long napkin string thing I had to pickpocket out of Fagin's pocket had already fallen out so instead of picking it up I mimed stealing it and I also thought a 'nightcap' was a literal night cap, as apposed to a drink one drinks before bed. 92. I cried for a full hour when my high school music teacher told me he was leaving. 93. My uncle lives in Australia but I've never been there or seen him since I was a baby. 94. My favourite type of monkey is a squirrel monkey. 95. I'm really pale and barely tan. Once I got sun stroke at West End Live and threw up all the way home on the Coach for 6 hours...the sunburn was still visible 6 months after. 96. I tried peanut butter and jam together for the first time the other day and it was actually really nice. 97. I'm probably the most indecisive person you will ever meet. 98. I want to live in London one day (and potentially New York). 99. I ask for steak well done and my favourite type of steak is rump. 100. I don't drink coffee but you'll always find me in a coffee shop.

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