Dear Evan Hansen.In a major departure from the acclaimed musical’s storyline — which centers on a straight teen, Evan (Ben Platt), coping with mental health issues in the wake of a classmate’s suicide — in the film version, Dodani (Atypical) portrays Evan’s family friend Jared as gay.This change is significant.
Dear Evan Hansen has long resonated with LGBTQ+ fans. After all, a “young person who is struggling with their identity and their place in the world…feels very queer to me,” Dodani attests.
But they have never seen themselves reflected until the film adaptation from director and screenwriter Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower).Queer representation isn’t the only boon.