Very ‘Dear’ theater talk
BROADWAY’S “Dear Evan Hansen” just opened. It’s a dear hit. People who don’t even want to see their horoscopes want to see this musical about fulfillment.
In comes Zendaya. Young. Successful. Beautiful. Silky hair. Her behind smaller than my earring. Buttery leather jacket. Spike heels that laced up to her elbow.
“Nothing left for me to still want,” she says. “I already have everything. I can buy what I want.” Yeah, like, no kidding. Even the guy with her was too young for kindergarten. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the songs. Slim, pressed blue suits, neat ties. No facial fuzz. Handsome. Polite. They look like accountants but are the creatives behind the lyrics in the new film “La La Land.” Since Angelina spit out Pitt they’re the industry’s most wanted pair.
Together they said: “‘ Dear Evan Hansen’ began by exploring growing-up themes, which we understood. Writing it took eight years. Daily for the last five. We survived on pizza, but didn’t know we’d accomplished anything until a tryout in DC. Then, when everybody laughed and nobody left, we suddenly knew.”
So like their Evan Hansen character, what in life do they want?
Paul: “Just to kiss my child.” Colin Callender, a producer of the new Harry Potter show: “It opens 2018. Millions of dollars are now remaking the Lyric, that nearly 2,000seat barn, into our smaller theater.” So what’s he still want in life? “Oh, please. More. More. The next project. More.” Tina Fey: “What I don’t have is the ability to sing like people in this show.” Sara Bareilles: “I’m sick. I have a fever. I only need to feel better.” Charlotte d’Amboise, who’s starred in “Cats,” “A Chorus Line,” “Pippin,” “Sweet Charity”: “I know what I want. More money!”