{"id":823083,"date":"2026-05-26T10:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/823083\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:49:38","slug":"arden-theatres-dear-evan-hansen-tackles-issue-of-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/823083\/","title":{"rendered":"Arden Theatre\u2019s \u2018Dear Evan Hansen\u2019 tackles issue of suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Schimen Scott wasn\u2019t too much older than the characters in \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d when she tried to end her life, distraught because her mother didn\u2019t believe that her stepfather had sexually assaulted her.<\/p>\n

Now on stage at the Arden Theatre Co.<\/a> and extended through July 5, \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d<\/a> is \u201cvery, very accurate,\u201d said Scott, education and training manager at the National Association on Mental Illness \u2013 Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt resonates with me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In 2000, when playwright Benj Pasek was a student at Friends Central High School in Wynnewood, a classmate killed himself and was mourned by fellow students who barely knew him.<\/p>\n

That experience roots the plot of Pasek and collaborator Justin Paul\u2019s \u201cDear Evan Hansen.\u201d The story in the Tony Award-winning musical centers on one of the fictional classmates, Evan Hansen. A socially anxious and depressed loner, Evan erroneously becomes identified as a secret friend of Connor, the classmate who killed himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, this play brings to light suicide and brings it to light among students,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blake Ehrlichman (Jared Kleinman), Evan A. Kaushesh (Evan Hansen), Julian Perez (Connor Murphy) in Arden Theatre Company\u2019s 2026 production of Dear Evan Hansen (Ashley Smith\/Wide Eyed Studios)<\/p>\n

For this production, opening during Mental Health Awareness month in May, Arden is partnering with the Philadelphia branch of NAMI, the nation\u2019s largest grassroots mental health organization. NAMI provides support, education and advocacy for people affected by mental illness and their families.<\/p>\n

What is striking to Scott about Arden\u2019s \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d production (she\u2019ll see it when she returns from her honeymoon), is the way it focuses on suicide\u2019s all-too-common ripple effects.<\/p>\n

In \u201cDear Evan Hansen,\u201d a mishap involving a letter Evan wrote to himself to as part of his therapy ensues when the letter comes to be seen as a suicide note written to Evan from Connor, a sullen and depressed drug user who abuses his sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor was experiencing mental health issues,\u201d Scott said. \u201cMaybe they weren\u2019t being addressed. Maybe the bar is too high at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe, she said \u201cConnor was masking,\u201d pretending to be and feel what he was not, just as she was when she was a teenager being abused by her stepfather. \u201cI was the class clown. I wanted everyone to feel good because I was dealing with trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Hailey Lara (Zoe Murphy) and Evan A. Kaushesh (Evan Hansen) in Arden Theatre Company\u2019s 2026 production of Dear Evan Hansen. (Ashley Smith\/Wide Eyed Studios)<\/p>\n

Horrified by their son\u2019s death, Connor\u2019s parents embrace Evan, as the closest connection to their deceased son. They support Evan\u2019s plan to restore an apple orchard in Connor\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

That too is typical, Scott said. \u201cParents will do anything to keep a memory [of their child] alive including idealizing someone who may have found the child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not unusual for parents to start foundations or embark on projects so that other families don\u2019t have to suffer as they did.<\/p>\n

Often siblings will suffer, she said, trying to fill their deceased brother or sister\u2019s shoes. \u201cThe child that passed away is idolized where the living sibling is just existing. Parents are so locked into their grief that the family suffers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Evan, the mishap over the letter becomes his ticket to acceptance from his classmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor\u2019s dying is creating Evan,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvan has had a taste of a social life. Even though it\u2019s under false pretenses, he\u2019s being accepted. So now, he\u2019s going to do more and more. It\u2019s like feeding the lie and in feeding the lie, he\u2019s part of the lie,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could lead to suicide too. All the pressure. The kid is experiencing a new life. He has acquaintances. They are engaging socially in ways he didn\u2019t before. There\u2019s acceptance,\u201d she said, and kids will do a lot to be accepted.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s vulnerable, Scott said, as are his schoolmates. \u201cA lot of kids have PTSD,\u201d or post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor and Evan are two faces of suicide. Connor committed the act, but Evan is still trying to stay afloat \u2013 living with suicide ideations and wanting to fit in at all costs,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

The dissonance Evan experiences builds tension in the play leading to an emotional outcome.<\/p>\n

\"\"Evan A. Kaushesh (Evan Hansen) and Julian Perez (Connor Murphy) in Arden Theatre Company\u2019s 2026 production of Dear Evan Hansen. (Ashley Smith\/Wide Eyed Studios)<\/p>\n

If Scott had her way, teenagers and families with teenagers would see this play, making sure to discuss its themes. In some cultures, she said, talking about suicide is unacceptable. And, in other cases, many good-intentioned people believe that talking about suicide can plant a seed that can later flower into tragedy.<\/p>\n

Scott disagrees with both premises, and says talking about suicide opens a path to getting help.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an important topic, Scott says. She points to a WHYY News article<\/a> reporting on the School District of Philadelphia\u2019s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey<\/a>. According to the survey, 46% of all high school students felt sad or hopeless in 2023, up from 33.9% a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

One in five (21.4%) considered suicide in 2023, up from 14% in 2013, according to the same study. Whites, tenth graders, and females were at the highest risk. The survey noted that 13.2% of all students actually attempted suicide, with 4.7% requiring medical treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuicide is not a joke,\u201d Scott said. \u201cSuicide is permanent. Kids don\u2019t realize that suicide is permanent. You only have one life. It\u2019s not like the movies,\u201d where people survive like a cat with nine lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moral of the story is that you are not alone and there are people that you can talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"NAMI Youth & Advocacy Manager Lexie Taylor and Arden Theatre Associate Artistic Director Jonathan Silver address the audience ahead of the Pay-What-You-Choose final dress rehearsal of Dear Evan Hansen.<\/p>\n

As part of its partnership with NAMI Philadelphia, Arden held a pay-what-you-choose final dress rehearsal performance benefiting NAMI Philadelphia on May 20, with local college NAMI affiliates in attendance. Playbills will include a letter from NAMI Philadelphia chief executive Kyle Carter and a list of resources for help. Patrons will receive more info in a post-show follow-up email.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d themes will be discussed in a pre-show pizza party on teen night performances, May 29 and 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for teenagers, 13 to 18.<\/p>\n

To find help in a crisis:<\/a><\/p>\n