2021 is a big year for movie musicals, as a number of beloved stage shows have been adapted for film including In the Heights and the upcoming new take on West Side Story. The latest of these hit theaters last weekend, namely Stephen Chbosky’s Dear Evan Hansen. As you can see in the video above, star Ben Platt recently revealed which cut aspect of the stage musical he missed in the movie.
Adapting stage musicals to fit into a film’s length of time usually results in a number of songs and scenes being cut. Dear Evan Hansen was no exception in this regard, with Stephen Chbosky and company making changes to the story for a unique take on film. I had the privilege of speaking with Ben Platt ahead of the movie’s release, where I asked him which cut aspect of the stage musical he missed the most this time around. But rather than a cut song like “Anybody Have a Map?” it was a piece of dialogue. As he explained,
There is one joke that I loved from the musical that just didn’t really work in terms of film humor. It’s a very kind of theatrical joke where Zoe asks Evan if they can talk about something. And Evan starts to freak out that she’s going to break up with him and starts to spiral. And he’s like ‘I should have known, you were going to break up with me. Never mind, it’s fine. I’ll leave. Or actually you stay, I’ll leave. You want to leave? I’ll leave.’ It’s this big whole kind of comedic beat that’s in the musical where he just freaks out. And she’s like ‘I’m not breaking up with you.’ And he’s like ‘Ok, thank you. Sorry.’
Talk about a surprising answer. Because while hardcore fans of Dear Evan Hansen no doubt missed cut songs in the movie adaptation, Ben Platt doesn’t seem to share that sentiment. He told me in the video above that he didn’t think the film needed tracks like “Good For You” for this take on the story. Although he did miss having one funny scene opposite Zoe, played in the movie by Kaitlyn Devers.
Ben Platt knows Dear Evan Hansen as a piece intimately well. He created the title role both off and on Broadway, winning a coveted Tony Award for his emotional performance. That’s why his perspective on the material cut for the movie is so intriguing, especially now that Stephen Chbosky’s movie has hit theaters.
Later in our conversation Ben Platt went on to further explain why Dear Evan Hansen’s faux break-up sequence simply wasn’t going to work in the film adaptation. Specifically because it was perhaps a bit too over the top for the movie’s otherwise very realistic tone. As he put it,
And it just didn’t work. It was a bit too exaggerated for the film. So I understand why it’s not in there. But I did love that joke so I missed that joke.
As is the case with every movie musical, the purists out there will be judging Dear Evan Hansen based on how closely it follows the source material. Stephen Chbosky’s movie cuts four songs, while adding two new ones. It does appear that audiences are responding well, as the movie’s winning audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is in stark juxtaposition to the critical consensus.
Dear Evan Hansen is in theaters now. Ben Platt will appear on the small screen in The Premise and is currently filming his next film role in The People We Hate at the Wedding. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
