Still waving through a window: Why musical Dear Evan Hansen resonates even after a decade
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Dear Evan Hansen musical composers and songwriters Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Follow topic:
- Dear Evan Hansen, a musical about a teen's mental health struggles, is playing at Sands Theatre until Nov 16, having won multiple awards since its 2016 Broadway debut.
- Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul note the musical's themes of loneliness and connection resonate due to social media's impact. "Your worst moment does not define you," says Pasek.
- The duo, now EGOT winners, value their long partnership, citing communication and respect. The musical blends pop, rock, and folk styles.
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SINGAPORE – Nearly a decade after its Broadway debut in 2016, the musical Dear Evan Hansen is far from fading into theatre history.
Written and composed by award-winning American songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, it follows the story of teenager Evan Hansen, who struggles with social anxiety, insecurity, depression and his relationship with his mother. Then, the tragic death of a schoolmate shocks the community.
The latest production of Dear Evan Hansen, featuring a British cast, is showing at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Theatre till Nov 16.
The musical made its debut in Washington, D.C. in 2015 before heading to Broadway, and won seven Tony Awards in 2017, including Best Original Score for Pasek and Paul. The pair also won the Best Musical Theatre Album at the 2018 Grammys.
They tell The Straits Times over Zoom from New York that when they began writing for Dear Evan Hansen in their 20s, they “never imagined the global reach it would eventually have”.
Paul notes that the timing of its popularity over the years – parallel to the explosive growth of social media – lent even greater resonance to its themes of loneliness, mental health and the desperate human yearning for connection.
Adds Pasek: “With social media becoming a dominating force in young people’s lives, there’s a real sense that they feel more isolated and alone than ever.”
While the 40-year-old composers say it is hard to pick a favourite number from the musical, they both agree that Waving Through A Window is especially significant to them.
Pasek explains that the song – a metaphor for watching life from the sidelines, feeling unheard and longing for acceptance – helped them define the emotional direction for the entire Dear Evan Hansen score.
“We basically threw out all the songs once we wrote it,” he says, adding that it became their North Star.
‘Your worst moment does not define you’
Dear Evan Hansen follows the story of the titular teenager, who struggles with social anxiety, insecurity, depression and his relationship with his mother.
PHOTO: MARC BRENNER
Inspired by a personal, painful event when Pasek was in high school, the musical balances its portrayal of mental health struggles with music that blends pop, rock and folk styles.
He stresses that the musical has an important message for young people: Your worst moment does not define you.
“We live in a moment where when someone makes a mistake, the world of the internet wants to eviscerate them.
“We all are human and we are fallible. We do stupid things. We hope our show reflects that there’s always the possibility to do better and to become a better person, and that redemption is possible.”
Adds Paul: “The most meaningful feedback we have received from audiences is the way our musical starts conversations between people.”
He explains that the topics addressed are issues that “sometimes we don’t share because we’re embarrassed to think that we’re the only ones who experience something that can be hard”.
He adds: “We’ve had people writing to us (saying) they saw themselves reflected on stage, and they are encouraged to talk to their parents, children and friends.
“That, to us, is the greatest pinnacle of what we want to be able to do as songwriters.”
A creative partnership built to last
Dear Evan Hansen musical composers Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul.
PHOTO: DIRTY SUGAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Pasek and Paul met when they were undergraduates at the University of Michigan in the United States while pursuing musical theatre. Their creative partnership started when they wrote school productions.
After graduation, the pair worked on musicals like A Christmas Story and James And The Giant Peach. They subsequently collaborated with American director Damien Chazelle and American music composer Justin Hurwitz to write the lyrics for La La Land (2016).
The musical romance, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, won six Oscars in 2017, including Best Original Song for Pasek and Paul for City Of Stars.
The success of Dear Evan Hansen gave Pasek and Paul greater creative freedom, allowing them to focus on passion projects such as The Greatest Showman. They composed the songs and wrote the lyrics for the 2017 musical film starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya.
The musicians earned a Best Original Song nomination for This Is Me at the 2018 Academy Awards and a second Grammy win in 2019 in the Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media category.
In 2024, they won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics for the song Which Of The Pickwick Triplets Did It?, featured in the third season of the comedy series Only Murders In The Building (2021 to present).
With that Emmy, Pasek and Paul became part of the elite group of EGOT – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards – honourees.
Says Paul: “We never intended to do things for awards. More than anything, it’s given us more freedom, not more pressure.”
Having worked together for over 20 years, Pasek and Paul liken their professional rapport to a marriage – nurtured by clear communication, mutual respect for each other’s creative instincts and a willingness to see disagreements as a strength, not a weakness.
“You learn how to work together, and the advantage of all these years is that we have a lot of shortcuts,” Paul says. “We know how to be quick in a room together, like a well-rehearsed duet.”
Book it/Dear Evan Hansen
Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue str.sg/E8yT sistic.com.sg
When: Till Nov 16, 7.30pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays), 1pm (Saturdays and Sundays), 6.30pm (Sundays)
Admission: $68 to $188 via Marina Bay Sands’ website (
