SOW: Waving Through a Window
January 27, 2017
Just in time for the beginning of Broadway’s spring season, Benji Pasek and Justin Paul (songwriters for projects such as La La Land and NBC’s Smash) released the first single from the original cast recording of their new musical, Dear Evan Hansen, which is to release on February 3. “Waving Through a Window” keys into title character Evan’s social anxiety and the isolation he feels from the rest of his class. Ben Platt, who has played Evan since the musical’s off-off-Broadway opening in 2015, shines in his masterful performance of Evan’s conflicted character, belting: “I try to speak, but nobody can hear / So I wait around for an answer to appear / While I’m watch, watch, watching people pass / Waving through a window” against a symphony of percussion and string. Between Platt’s vocals and the Pasek and Paul duo’s lyricism, I think the song measures up with those from shows of Broadway’s past such as Rent and Spring Awakening. The song’s message about social anxiety reaches beyond the circumstances of Evan Hansen and enthralls audiences who can relate with their own experiences, depicting social anxiety in a way that refrains from diminishing those with it. Compared to other works dedicated to expressing the struggles of anxiety, I believe this song did a much better job of simplifying the issue rather than glorifying it. Although the cast recording is yet to be released, “Waving Through a Window” is available on iTunes now, and additional songs from the musical are available at http://www.dearevanhansen.com. Dear Evan Hansen is currently on Broadway at the Music Box Theater in New York.

When I first met Jaz I was surprised at how lovable she is. This girl who is the current Editor in Chief for newspaper, who is a quiz bowl state champion, and the president of the writing center, put so much on her shoulders and will make you surprised at how well she handles everything that gets thrown at her. Jasmine Fernandez is the girl who makes you want to live her life for even a second, adored by all who meet her and baffled by how many faculty members she has befriended; to the point where she even attended board meetings.
She is the silly person everyone wants to be friends with, I mean if you saw someone sitting in a Panera for eight hours wouldn’t you have the urge to go speak to this mindless girl?
Many people call her ‘mom’ seeing how she cares for all of her friends, and honestly everyone who she meets. Instead of calling her my mom I would prefer to call her my comrade, seeing how we both go through the same struggles in life, dealing with the drawbacks of high school and life.
Rather than letting the torments get to her and slow down her path to Cornell Jasmine confidently thrives on through high school, as she states, “I am so grateful for the opportunities i’ve had and lessons i’ve learned in those gates but i’m also really excited to move onto the next”. Having the ability to push obstacles out of her way to focus on what actually deserves her attention, causes many around her to envy her, and secretly hate her, but that is besides the point.
-Vanessa Carillo
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