Unexpected, But Profound: A Response to the 2017 Tony Awards
Watching the Tony Awards last night, my heart sank when Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 only snagged a couple of the awards of the ten or so categories for which it was nominated. I just knew Josh Groban was going to win for best actor in a musical, but behold - Ben Platt and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen won the night! I remember exiting the Imperial Theater on a cold March night in New York earlier this year, full of soaring energy after watching the cast of The Great Comet. Yet, over the bustle of taxis and exiting theater-goers, I heard roars from the crowd down the street, who were waiting for the main star (a.k.a. Ben Platt) of a musical I didn't know. I had never heard of Dear Evan Hansen before that March night, so I looked it up on the bus back to DC, seeing it was about teen anxiety, suicide & depression and finding where one belongs in a community. I remembered the musical of my era about youth struggles - Spring Awakening. It covered the range of