Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

For centuries, people have been imploring one another to remember this or that historic event, tragic or otherwise. They don't, however, always say exactly what you should remember or why. So what happens when we learn the wrong lessons about our history? In If I Forget , Steven Levenson ( Dear Evan Hansen ) explores this question through the lens of what it means to be a modern American Jew. (Though the play is set in mid-2000 and early 2001, the conversations and debates feel fresh, and like they could be taking place in 2017.) Michael Fischer ( Jeremy Shamos , terrific and restrained as Michael tries not to be the agitator) and his wife, Ellen ( Tasha Lawrence ), have traveled from their Brooklyn home to Tenleytown, a Washington, DC, suburb. Michael's father, Lou ( Larry Bryggman ) still lives there, in the Fischer family home, though he's not doing too well. Michael's sisters, Holly ( Kate Walsh ) and Sharon (a compelling Maria Dizzia ) live in town, and shar...

Dear Evan Hansen, Today is going to be a great day, and here's why. An original, emotional, affecting musical, free of stunt casting, is on Broadway. It has hints of other musicals (particularly Next to Normal ), but that's what happens when young writers are inspired by those who've come before. Written by Steven Levenson (book) and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (score), this musical is about loneliness, and the ways things that are supposed to connect us these days (social media) can also be terribly isolating. It's about learning who you are, and stepping out into the world. It's about learning who your children are, and loving them unconditionally. It's going to be a great day because Levenson's book is both funny and touching; Pasek and Paul's score features accessible pop (so it sounds natural in the teen characters' mouths) and smart, raw lyrics that reveal depth of character. It's going to be a great day because Rachel Bay Jones ...

We're much more tuned into other people's lives—you can check in on people via an ever-growing number of social media platforms—but does that mean we're any more connected? That seems to be at the crux of Dear Evan Hansen , a beautiful original musical that just opened at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre. Written by Steven Levenson (book) and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (score), the show centers on Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a high school senior whose awkwardness and social anxiety have kept him on the periphery of social circles. His therapist has given him an exercise: every day, Evan is to write himself a letter beginning with, "Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day because..." One of Evan's letters ends up in the wrong hands. When it does, rather than set the record straight, Evan seizes on the opportunity to become known; to have friends; to get a taste of what he considers a good, normal family life. (Evan's parents are divo...