FYI: ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Is Actually Not About a Gay Teen

Contents:

• WHY DID PEOPLE THK DEAR EVAN HANSEN WAS A GAY MIL?
• EW TALKS YA: REVIEWS OF A BTERSWEET GAY ROM-, THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN NOVEL, AND MORE

WHY DID PEOPLE THK DEAR EVAN HANSEN WAS A GAY MIL?

(Please e back when you’re done.) Search the terms “Evan Hansen gay.” And then scroll to your heart’s ntent. You’ll fd no shortage of people the procs of disverg, as the Broadway mil–turned–major motn picture heads for theaters everywhere on Friday, that Dear Evan Hansen is not a queer story—that the tular Evan Hansen is not some sad, gay kid gettg bullied and ridg out high school the bathroom at lunch.

EW TALKS YA: REVIEWS OF A BTERSWEET GAY ROM-, THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN NOVEL, AND MORE

Yet this pervasive notn, that Evan is gay, lgers on, years sce the Broadway blockbter’s but. The entire plot hg on the dience buyg to the ia that he is anx and weird but not gay.

Baked to the song are both homophobic unrton and the lgerg notn that perhaps Connor and Evan doth prott too much. There are supposed jok about how life whout Connor was “rough” or “hard,” and the even more blatantly homoerotic le, “Our iendship go beyond/ Your average kd of bond/ But not bee we’re gay/ No, not bee we’re gay/ We’re close but not that way/ The only man that I love is my dad.” It’s also worth notg the role of Evan Hansen has been played by a strg of out gay actors. (Ben Platt, the OG Evan and star of the film, is, fact, currently datg another former Evan, Noah Galv.) Which is not at all to suggt gay actors n’t play straight, but this public knowledge and stg pattern certaly do ltle to shape the narrative away om the ia that “this is a gay story.”.

But ’s unfair to say that to watch Dear Evan Hansen and fd gay subtext is like readg tea leav for a hidn sign.