A celebration of everything unique you bring to world

I HAVE to admit to being a bit worried about a good proportion of the audience at the opening of award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen on Tuesday night.

- By DEBORAH HALL [e-mail] @DeborahHall15

From where I was sitting, the majority of the seats were filled by older teens and young adults, many of them scrolling on their phones, as is the way these days, before curtain-up (and they were back on them again in the interval). The musical's theme surrounds anxious high school kid, Evan, who wants nothing more than to fit in.

It's all set against a backdrop of social media; the wish to present a different version of yourself; to be liked and included, and I just hoped anyone watching Evan's life spiral after an accidental deception brings him fame facing a reckoning with himself and all those around him in the process had the story speak to them in an enlightening way. More than once during this powerful performance, I wondered if anyone in the theatre might be going through something similar.