Hello! Welcome to HerConnect Voice, where we are talking all things performing arts and the power of connection. My name is Lindsay Ann Dow. I am the Her in Her Canuck Voice, and this season I'm taking you behind the scenes of my first ever professional production, Dear Evan Hansen. This is a multi-tony award-winning musical debuting for the first time in Kelowna BC, Canada this spring. So, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats and enjoy the show. Well, folks, we made it. June 10th, 2026. Today is opening night of Dear Evan Hansen. Crazy. We're embarking on an 18-show run over the next two and a half weeks. We've been working hard, and I am very happy to say we are ready. I have been quiet these last few weeks, yes, and for good reason. When I started this podcast, I knew the risk was going to be, without a doubt, creative bandwidth. Here I am in a show for the first time in decades, learning lines, choreography, meeting and bonding with new people, and I'm gonna add another new creative task to my plate. Yeah, I knew. But I also knew I could drop it at any time. No one is holding me to account, and the show has always come first. Well, the show had to come first over these last few weeks. It has been all-consuming for all the obvious reasons, but maybe most unexpectedly on an emotional level, leaving me pretty depleted for, quite honestly, much else. And it goes without saying that this isn't just any show. It requires no, it demands heart and soul and emotional connection that goes deep. To bring this story to life and make it resonate, to become a movement, it had to grab hold of us first so that we could bring it to you. It is not just acting, singing, standing in the right light. It's a feeling that I promise you we all now feel, and we're able to let that energy flow evenly between us each show. Because we all understand our unique part of the story and the role we have. Which brings me to the story. I'm releasing this special episode to tell the story, not mine or those of my castmates, but the musical Dear Evan Hansen. You've no doubt heard bits and pieces sprinkled through the previous episodes, but I'm a firm believer in knowing the story when walking into a show for the first time. It allows you to relax, enjoy the music, delight in all the creative expressions of the show without feeling like you have to hang on to every word that is said. You may disagree, and that's fine. If so, turn this off now as there are spoilers ahead. I will also take this opportunity to warn you of the subject matter. It is rated for mature audiences due to themes of mental illness, suicide, grief, and there is colorful language throughout. While I believe it is done tastefully and only gives us a glimpse into real life, using suicide as the ultimate risk to mental illness and disconnection, I also know there are families who are hurting, and this subject matter is too fresh too soon. I also know there are families who don't understand. Mental health is a new concept for many of us, and so for those people, this story can bring feelings of discomfort that are too much to bear. Please turn this podcast off if this warning is concerning you. Early in the show, he sings Waving Through a Window, one of the musical's most famous songs, which captures how invisible and isolated he feels in his everyday life. Evan's therapist encourages him to write letters to himself, beginning with Dear Evan Hansen. One of those letters, through a mistaking public printer incident, ends up in the possession of Connor Murphy, a troubled student at school, and the older brother of Evan's crush, Zoe Murphy. Shortly afterwards, Connor dies by suicide. His parents, Cynthia and Larry Murphy, discover Evan's letter among Connor's belongings and mistakenly believe it proves that Connor and Evan were best friends. The letter is written to Evan Hansen, they believe Connor wrote it. Wanting to comfort them and desperate to feel connected himself, Evan goes along with the misunderstanding. To support the story, Evan invents memories of their friendship. He tells the Murphy family about adventures that never happened in the song For Forever, painting a beautiful picture of an ideal friendship and giving the family comfort during their grief. Meanwhile, Evan's family friend Jared Kleinman helps create fake email exchanges between Evan and Connor. This leads to one of the show's funniest and most popular songs, Sincerely Me, where Evan, Jared, and an imagined Connor create the fake correspondence together. As Evan grows closer to the Murphy family, Zoe struggles with mixed feelings about her brother. She, her mother Cynthia, and father Larry express their grief differently in the powerful song Requiem. Evan and Zoe later grow closer, eventually sharing the romantic duet Only Us. With the help of another student, Alana Beck, Evan launches the Connor Project to honor Connor's memory. During a school assembly, Evan gives a heartfelt speech that goes viral online, leading to the show's anthem, You Will Be Found. The song becomes a message of hope and connection and is probably the musical's best known number alongside Waving Through a Window. For the first time in his life, Evan feels seen. He gains friends, attention, and a sense of belonging. But everything is built on a lie. Eventually, the truth begins to unravel. Jared, Alana, and Evan's mother, Heidi, all confront him. Their anger and disappointment explode in the song Good For You. When the truth is finally exposed, Zoe and the Murphy family feel deeply betrayed. Near the end of the show, Evan fully admits what he has done in the emotional song Words Fail, where he finally stops making excuses and takes responsibility for his actions. It is often considered one of the most powerful moments in the musical. The story concludes with Evan rebuilding his relationship with his mother. Heidi sings So Big, So Small, a moving song about unconditional love and being there for someone even when they've made mistakes. By the end, Evan has lost the false life he created, but gained a better understanding of himself. The musical doesn't end with everything fixed, but it ends with honesty, growth, and hope. Through songs like Waving Through a Window, For Forever, Sincerely Me, You Will Be Found, Words Fail, and So Big, So Small, Dear Evan Hansen explores what it means to feel invisible, to make mistakes, and ultimately to find connection. Well, there you have it, Dear Evan Hansen, in roughly five minutes. Now you know. I will be playing Cynthia Murphy, and I have interviews with our Zoe Murphy and the man himself, Evan Hansen, in previous episodes, so check those out. And coming soon we'll hear from the rest of the cast, including our fearless leader, Randy Leslie. There are 18 shows, and then it's over. We open tonight, June 10th. Tickets are available at Kelona Actors Studio.com. Until next time.