Dear Evan Hansen


Dear Evan Hansen is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn".
The musical opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016, after the show's world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015, and an Off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theatre from March to May 2016. The show closed on September 18, 2022.
The show received critical acclaim. At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for nine awards, winning six, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor for Ben Platt, and Best Featured Actress for Rachel Bay Jones.
A film adaptation was directed by Stephen Chbosky and co-produced by Marc Platt, the father of Ben Platt, who reprised his performance in the title role. Released by Universal Pictures on September 24, 2021, it was a box-office disappointment and received negative reviews from critics. This, along with soft ticket sales caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, became the leading factors that would cause both the Broadway and West End productions to close.
The show continues to be performed worldwide, with Music Theatre International holding the licensing rights, which have been made available to amateur theatres as of December 8, 2025.

Production history

U.S. productions

There were several readings prior to the first stage production, all in New York:
A full workshop took place in March 2015 at Gibney Dance Center. It was initially called The PPL Project. Platt was involved in all readings and the workshop.

Productions outside the U.S.

The first city to produce the show after New York was Toronto, Canada, where it ran from March 5 to July 21, 2019 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Plot

Act 1

Evan Hansen, a bullied 17-year-old with social anxiety, depression, and a recently broken arm, is assigned by his therapist, Dr. Sherman, to write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day. Evan's overworked mother, Heidi, suggests that Evan ask people to sign the cast on his arm to make friends. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Larry Murphy struggle to connect with their own 17-year-old son, Connor, a sullen and equally depressed drug abuser.
At school, Evan meets precocious classmate Alana and his reluctant "family friend" Jared, both of whom decline to sign his cast. Evan runs into Connor Murphy, who misinterprets his awkwardness for hostility and pushes him to the ground. Connor's sister, Zoe, with whom Evan is infatuated, feels obliged to apologize for her brother's behavior. Evan wonders if his destiny in life is to always be ignored. Evan writes a letter to himself in the school library, wondering how he could talk to Zoe and if anyone at school would notice if he disappeared. Connor bumps into Evan again, this time ironically offering to sign Evan's cast. He finds Evan's letter on the printer and, at the mention of Zoe, becomes furious and storms out, taking the letter with him. Meanwhile, Alana ponders her own inner anxieties.
Days later, Evan is called to the principal's office, where Connor's parents tell him that their son has died by suicide. They found Evan's letter in Connor's pocket, and mistakenly believe Connor wrote it, indicating a close friendship between him and Evan. Connor's signature on Evan's cast strengthens the Murphys' belief, despite Evan's fumbling attempts to explain what really happened. The Murphys invite Evan to their house for dinner, where he tells them what he thinks they want to hear to avoid discomfort, pretending that he and Connor had secretly been best friends, and recounting a fictional version of the day he broke his arm at an abandoned apple orchard the family had visited years ago. Evan enlists Jared's help in creating fake, backdated email conversations between him and Connor.
After Evan shows the Murphys the fake emails, Cynthia is ecstatic to "learn" that her son had a friend, but Larry is hurt, believing Connor took his family and his privileged life for granted, and Zoe still refuses to mourn Connor because of how he treated her. However, after reading the "suicide note", Zoe notices that she is mentioned fondly and asks Evan why Connor would say that about her, so he tells her all the reasons he loves her under the guise of Connor saying them. Evan impulsively kisses Zoe, but she pulls away and tells him to leave.
Evan, motivated by a vision of Connor, enlists Alana and Jared's help in founding "The Connor Project" to keep Connor's memory alive, which the Murphys eagerly encourage. Cynthia asks Evan to wear Connor's necktie at its official launch. Evan suffers a panic attack but composes himself during the speech, which goes viral online. Zoe, overcome by the impact her brother and Evan have had, kisses him. Meanwhile, Heidi discovers Evan's viral video.

Act 2

Evan and Alana pitch a fundraising campaign on The Connor Project's website, to raise $50,000 to restore the abandoned apple orchard. Meanwhile, Jared continues to help Evan write fabricated emails. After Heidi learns about Evan's speech about Connor online, she asks him why she never knew about this or the "friendship", and they get into a fight. Evan runs to the Murphys' house, where he bonds with Larry, who offers Evan Connor's old, unused baseball glove. Zoe tells Evan that she does not want their relationship to be about Connor, but about the two of them. Evan becomes preoccupied with Zoe and neglects Heidi, Jared, and The Connor Project.
On one of his many visits to the Murphys, Evan finds they invited Heidi for dinner. She is offended to learn they want to give Connor's college fund to Evan. At home, Heidi and Evan fight, with Evan telling her he has found family in her absence. Heidi, Alana, and Jared converge in Evan's conscience, compounding his guilt and doubt over his decisions. Evan debates with the vision of Connor about whether he should tell the truth.
Alana has become suspicious about Evan's "friendship" with Connor, so Evan shows her Connor's "suicide note", which paints a more bitter picture than the letters about the boys' friendship. Realizing that the letter is the key to fulfilling the fundraising goal for The Connor Project, Alana posts it online where, to Evan's chagrin, it also goes viral. The public begins to blame Connor's wealthy, previously dysfunctional family for his suicide, making them the targets of harassment. Evan walks in on the Murphys fighting among themselves about the blame and finally admits to them his fabrication. As the Murphys leave in disgust, Evan absorbs his perceived brokenness as inescapable. Heidi recognizes the "suicide note" online as one of Evan's therapy assignments and apologizes to him for not seeing how badly he has been hurting. She recalls the day his father moved out and promises that she will always be there for him when he needs her.
A year later, Evan is still living with his mother, working at a store to earn enough money for college the next semester. Zoe invites him to meet her at the orchard, which has been reopened in Connor's memory, and they connect for the first time since Evan told the truth. He apologizes for the pain he caused and Zoe forgives him, saying the ordeal brought her family closer together. They share a moment before parting ways, in which Evan asks why she wanted to meet him at the orchard. Zoe tells Evan that she wants him to see the orchard.
Evan mentally writes himself one last letter reflecting on the impact he has had on his community and questions what is to come next.

Roles and principal casts

Cast


Notable Broadway cast replacements

  • Evan Hansen: Noah Galvin, Taylor Trensch, Andrew Barth Feldman, Jordan Fisher, Roman Banks, Ben Levi Ross
  • Zoe Murphy: Mallory Bechtel
  • Heidi Hansen: Lisa Brescia, Jessica Phillips
  • Cynthia Murphy: Christiane Noll
  • Larry Murphy: Manoel Felciano
  • Connor Murphy: Alex Boniello
  • Jared Kleinman: Gaten Matarazzo

    Character Descriptions

  • Evan Hansen – A high school senior with social anxiety. He is assigned by his therapist to write letters to himself about why each day will be good, which becomes the catalyst for the plot of the story.
  • Heidi Hansen – Evan's mother, a nurse's aide who attends paralegal school at night, often leaving Evan on his own as a result.
  • Connor Murphy – A classmate of Evan and high school senior who, like Evan, is also a social outcast with no friends, and is a frequent drug user, getting high to cope with his aggressive and violent tendencies. Connor eventually takes his own life during Act 1. His ghost appears in Evan's mind throughout the rest of the musical.
  • Zoe Murphy – Connor's younger sister and Evan's longtime crush. She was never close to Connor, even hated him and thought he was a monster, but wishes she had known him better and turns to Evan after he lies and says he was friends with Connor.
  • Cynthia Murphy – Connor and Zoe's stay-at-home mother. She is constantly trying to keep her fragile family from falling apart but is often unsuccessful.
  • Larry Murphy – Connor and Zoe's busy and distant father.
  • Jared Kleinman – Evan's droll and sarcastic friend. He helps Evan and Alana found The Connor Project.
  • Alana Beck – Evan's earnest but melodramatic classmate. She is constantly looking for academic and extracurricular activities to boost her collegiate chances.

    Musical numbers

;Act 1
  • "Anybody Have a Map?" – Heidi, Cynthia
  • "Waving Through a Window" – Evan
  • "Waving Through a Window "* – Evan
  • "Waving Through a Window "* – Alana
  • "For Forever" – Evan
  • "Sincerely, Me" – Connor, Evan, Jared
  • "Requiem" – Zoe, Cynthia, Larry
  • "If I Could Tell Her" – Evan, Zoe
  • "Disappear" – Connor, Evan, Alana, Jared, Larry, Cynthia, Zoe
  • "You Will Be Found" – Evan, Alana, Jared, Zoe, Company, VC
;Act 2
  • "Sincerely, Me "* – Connor, Jared
  • "To Break In a Glove" – Larry, Evan
  • "Only Us" – Zoe, Evan
  • "Good for You" – Heidi, Alana, Jared, Evan
  • "For Forever "* – Connor
  • "You Will Be Found "* – Alana, Jared, VC
  • "Words Fail" – Evan
  • "So Big/So Small" – Heidi
  • "Finale" – Evan, Company
  • Not included on the Original Broadway Cast Recording