Musicals and Mental Illness

Perhaps a controversial topic, I find many a problem in the increasing portrayals of mental illnesses in musicals. Without intent to offend, I wish to express that I do recognise the consolidation and escape that musicals can offer people with similar issues themselves. However, I believe there is a harmful culture surrounding this which is not often talked about, out of fear of offence.

Once again, I reiterate that the portrayal of mental illnesses in the arts can be a positive thing; namely to reduce stigma and provide escapism for audiences therefore musicals are an accessible means by which this can be done. And, I believe this can be done effectively — take Next to Normal as my prime example. But, I do raise concerns of the overuse of such themes in musicals specifically targeted at teenagers.

To consider my point I will focus on three popular musicals aimed specifically at the teenage market; Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill and Heathers. I do not think these are overwhelmingly terrible musicals, in fact I have only ever listened to the cast recordings of all three, therefore what I say must be taken with a pinch of salt. Also, this is not to say that these musicals do not do a lot of good; they may well do, but I recognise some areas of concern regarding themes covered and lyrics used.

Dear Evan Hansen

Following Hamilton’s success, especially amongst teenagers, Dear Evan Hansen quickly emerged as the new favourite in 2017 — winning the Tony Award for Best Musical that same year. The plot follows the suicide of Connor Murphy and a socially anxious teenager, Evan Hansen, who fabricates a friendship with Connor after his death for popularity and to draw the attention of a girl who sparks his interest.

On premise, I have a lot of problems with this discourse. Evan Hansen, the socially anxious teen who so many teenagers identify with, is by no means a role model. Effectively, I believe the character within the story is using mental illness and suicide to his advantage and this can hardly do anything to reduce stigma surrounding such problems. I do recognise the overwhelming consensus that Dear Evan Hansen is tackling themes such as suicide and anxiety is a positive way to break stigmas surrounding these issues however, taking some of the lyrics and songs, I contradict this.

One of the staple songs of the musical, and in my opinion one of the most enjoyable, is the catchy, Waving Through a Window. Behind its catchy tune and singalong-worthy material, the song addresses Evan Hansen’s social anxiety and disassociation from those around him; ‘On the outside always looking in will I ever be more than I’ve always been?’ and ‘give them no reason to stare, no slipping up if you slip away.’ It is important that these themes are accessible and I think it is brilliant that people can identify with such poignant lyrics yet I recognise a problem, possibly an unpopular opinion here. Whilst these lyrics are recognisable as symptoms of Evan Hansen’s social anxiety, they are also examples of common teenage angst. This is where I believe problems can arise; with the popularity of the musical among teenagers — could it be that their identification with the character and his outlook is symptomatic of jumps to self-diagnosis? Could this do more harm than good?

Although I say this, I recognise the importance of the musical as a whole in working to reduce the stigma of mental health and expressing positive messages. This is best done in the songs You Will Be Found and Disappear. The lyrics in these songs, and their positive connotations, are uplifting and I believe they serve only in a positive way. Taking the chorus of You Will Be Found for example;

‘Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need a friend to carry you, and when you’re broken on the ground, you will be found.’

This is where I believe that musicals can tackle mental illness effectively in a positive light, reminding the audience that ‘maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay.’ And, there is no doubt that Dear Evan Hansen sends anti-suicide messages and positive reinforcements continually through its lyrics; ‘no one deserves to be forgotten, no one deserves to fade away.’ This is the positive effect of Dear Evan Hansen’s tackling of such difficult themes which, I believe, it does effectively in this context.

But, are we then glorifying mental illness? It’s unrealistic to assume a chorus chanting behind you in support of your battles, so in making mental illness the central theme — are we stigmatising it in its own right? Are we focusing so intently on its content that it secularises Dear Evan Hansen to be colloquially described as ‘the one about suicide and anxiety’?

Be More Chill

I find a lot of problems with some of the lyrics in this show and the casual way in which serious issues such as self-harm and suicide are tossed around. Personally, I do not think it is healthy to throw these phrases around in everyday life, therefore it shocks me that it is seemingly acceptable within a musical reaching thousands of people — especially considering its target audience of teenagers.

I seriously believe that the song I love play rehearsal stigmatises mental illness and is not at all a positive reinforcement for teenagers. Particularly, I have a problem with two sets of lyrics within the song — one which trivialises depression and self-harm and one which trivialises Attention Deficit Disorder. Firstly, the harmful lyrics; ‘not depressed as in like kill yourself depressed, no I’m not into self-harm, dude I swear here check my arm.’ The song, I believe, aims to align itself with teenage angst but completely misses the point as it trivialises the very real mental illness of depression and uses self-harm as a poorly timed joke. Not only this but it makes the assumption that depression and suicide are coordinating factors and this is simply naive. Bearing in mind this musical is aimed at teenagers, I see these lyrics as a harmful stigmatisation of the illness wherein it is put across as a joke (when it quite obviously does not constitute a laughing matter). This is similar to the comedic ploy of ‘I also have a touch of ADD — where was I?’ Here, the notion of having an Attention Deficit Disorder is openly mocked and used as a cheap joke. How can we say that the arts are positive tools for communication with hard-hitting themes such as of mental illnesses when they are portrayed in this manner?

Similarly, we see this glorification of mental illness, particularly anxiety, in line with Dear Evan Hansen. The protagonist, Jeremy’s anxiety is considered in the 8 minute opening number ‘More than Survive’ but, again, where can we draw the line between diagnosed anxiety and teenage angst? This is where I believe fandoms for these musicals are particularly harmful; they find characters such as Jeremy and Evan cute and awkward with the way they navigate their social settings but this in itself is a glorification of anxiety; ‘cause freaking out is my okay’. Whilst tackling themes in musicals this way could be overwhelming positive, trivialising and glorifying mental illness is not the correct means to do so.

However, there is one aspect to Be More Chill that I find particularly moving and am thus reluctant to shroud the entire musical in negativity. The song Michael in the Bathroom recounts one character taking a breather from the overwhelming social setting of a party. Whether this is a purposeful representation of social anxiety or not, George Salazaar’s performance is stellar. If we take this as a purposeful example of mental illness in a musical, I believe that the topic can be handled effectively. Drumming home the ‘ugly’ side of mental illness rather than the ‘cute’ side that is often observed in musical theatre, Michael in the Bathroom quickly became one of my favourite songs after originally being so dubious.

Heathers

Of all musicals, I find most problems with Heathers which, to me, is both over-hyped and does not have positive themes. The plot follows Veronica Sawyer and her boyfriend J.D; Veronica’s motivations are clear as she wants to fit in with the popular clique and J.D’s motivations are likewise clear as he intends to ‘accidentally’ kill those that he does not like. The veil for these accidents is suicide and this is overtly detrimental to wider social perceptions.

Call me old-fashioned but surely a musical, with a predominantly teenage audience, should not consider suicide as a means of manipulation. Once again, the lyrics themselves are detrimental and this is seen particularly in the song Yo Girl regarding one character’s attempted suicide; ‘just another geek trying to imitate the popular people and failing miserably’. Despite this phrase being said in an ironic fashion, the casual use of suicide as a plot device is detrimental. I strongly believe that if a musical, especially one aimed at a teenage audience, tackles suicide as a central motif, then it cannot be casually mentioned and used as a dramatic device for manipulation and character advantages.

This is where contemporary musical theatre gets things so wrong. The rise of ‘contemporary’ musicals such as Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen and Be More Chill aim to consistently reject authority; namely in the form of rejecting intervention from parental figures in the stories. Taking Yo Girl yet again as the prime example, Heathers alienates the character of Veronica from her parents — proving that they cannot understand teenagers; ‘your problems feel like life or death.’ Typically, I would find no problem with this but the alienation of teenage angst from parental authority only fuels a harmful culture. And, we can see it among many contemporary musicals such as how Evan’s mum in Dear Evan Hansen, in the opening number ‘Anybody Have a Map?’ is puzzled at how she should handle conversations with her son. Whilst Dear Evan Hansen is slightly more reassuring as there is a resolution within the parent-son relationship, Heathers is reinforcing a divide between parental authority and teenagers. Which, for young audiences, is not a positive message.

All in all, contemporary musical theatre has been a positive driving force in involving young audiences in the musical sphere. However, the portrayal of mental illness can often be a detrimental concept which only serves to reinforce stigmas of mental health and make it more of a ‘popular’ ideology than one for serious concern.

Rachel Tatam