Breaking The Fourth And Fifth Wall
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine|Issue 61

How Dear Evan Hansen Has Gone Beyond the Stage to Impact Teen Suicide, Bullying, Mental Illness and Social Media.

Iris Wiener
Breaking The Fourth And Fifth Wall

Dear Evan Hansen began as a germ of an idea about the yearning for a connection with others; co-lyricist and writer Benj Pasek was considering the embellished ties his teenaged peers had to a suspected victim of suicide. Pasek went on to explore the idea of connecting with a tragedy further alongside writing partner, Westport’s Justin Paul, during their college years, and before long the pieces of the story began to come together. Skip ahead to more than a decade later, and the Tony Award-winning musical is transcending the stage as it breaks a proverbial fifth wall. After all, Dear Evan Hansen doesn’t end when the curtain drops, nor does the show simply reach beyond the stage to its audience; an integral aspect of this production has always been its outreach, which producer Stacey Mindich admits has far exceeded the DEH team’s expectations.

Laying the Foundation

Ben Platt plays the title character in the show about an isolated, lonely teenager who unintentionally becomes a social media sensation and a representation of the compassion that is lacking in most high school students. DEH centers on themes of teen suicide, bullying, mental illness and social media, amongst others, which led Mindich to consider how the show needed to offer supportive outlets for people who were experiencing similar problems. “From very early on, I didn’t feel that it was right to put on a performance of this show without some resource in the program that said, ‘Here’s where you can call to talk about it some more,’” she recalls.

This story is from the Issue 61 edition of Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 61 edition of Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM LONG ISLAND COUNTRY CAPITALIST MAGAZINEView All
Women Create Their Own Opportunities In New York's Growing Weed Industry
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Women Create Their Own Opportunities In New York's Growing Weed Industry

Women Create Their Own Opportunities In New York’s Growing Weed Industry

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 59
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Saint In The City

Seeking the star man on the streets of soho.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Breaking The Fourth And Fifth Wall

How Dear Evan Hansen Has Gone Beyond the Stage to Impact Teen Suicide, Bullying, Mental Illness and Social Media.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

The Heirs

Eleanor belonged to that class of New Yorker whose bloodlines were traced in the manner of racehorses: she was Phipps (sire) out of Deering (dam), by Livingston (sire’s dam) and Porter (dam’s dam).

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

We Can End America's Addiction Crisis... But Only Together

I had a horrible feeling that late October Friday in 2012.

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

One Atlantic Events

Over the ocean, your perfect special event venue is waiting.

time-read
1 min  |
Issue 61
The Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

The Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center

The Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 59
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Vice President Joe Biden Redraws The Battle Lines In America's Longest War

I know of no cadre of people in the world more desperately in need of hope than the sixteen million people with cancer,” Vice President Joe Biden told the nation’s leading cancer researchers and clinicians at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago on June 6, 2016.

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Mah Jong Memory

I remember mah jong through a haze of memory and my mother’s Benson & Hedges cigarette smoke.

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 61
Long Island Country Capitalist Magazine

Colonial Day Along The Gold Coast

Do you know about colonial day?

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 61