Waving Through a Window

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"Waving Through a Window" is the second song from Act 1 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.^[1]

Synopsis[]

The song is the main protagonist, Evan Hansen's "I want" song, which dives deeper into his struggle with his social anxiety disorder and his longing to be accepted by his peers at high school and in his community ("On the outside always looking in, will I ever be more than I've always been"). It begins after Connor Murphy, following a joke Evan's "family friend" Jared Kleinman makes to him about his hair length, pushes Evan to the ground after mistakenly interpreting Evan's awkwardness as making fun of him. A dialogue break occurs after the first chorus, when Connor's sister Zoe runs into Evan to apologize for her brother's behavior, which results in Evan acting awkward to her. Evan then continues singing alone until the entire cast joins in to back him up on the final chorus.^[2] The song is reprised in the following scene in the computer lab after Evan writes the note that becomes the catalyst of the events that follow, and a second time by Alana Beck before Evan goes to the Principal's Office to meet with Zoe and Connor's parents, Cynthia and Larry, after Connor commits suicide.

Lyrical analysis[]

During the build up to the final chorus, Evan repeats the line "When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around, do you ever really crash or even make a sound," referring to his suicide attempt at Ellison State Park, which took place the Summer before the story began. The line returns in the song's first reprise and in "Disappear" near the end of Act 1. According to Benj Pasek, that line was originally written as “If a tree crashes in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?” and it was Steven Levenson, the musical's librettist, who came up with the idea of Evan "literally falling in a forest," resulting in the final lyric.^[3] The first verses of the song ("I've learned to slam on the brake, before I even turn the key...") return in "Words Fail" during Act 2.

Reception[]

In his review of the Broadway production of the musical for The New York Times, Charles Isherwood praised Ben Platt's performance, writing "...when Mr. Platt sings Evan’s songs — including the touching introductory cri de coeur, “Waving Through a Window” — we can simultaneously hear the heartsore, conflicted young man and the intelligent, kindly kid buried inside him."^[4] On July 23, 2020, "Waving Through a Window" was named the "Most Listened To Song From Musicals In The Car" from a study by Halfords analyzing the top "road trip" songs from multiple genres through Spotify playlists.^[5]

Charts[]

2021 film version[]

"Waving Through a Window" will be featured in Universal Pictures' upcoming 2021 film adaptation of the musical, starring Ben Platt, who will reprise his performance in the titular role. The film, set to premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021,^[7] and for a theatrical release on September 24, 2021, is directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Levenson, who also serves as an executive producer with Michael Bederman and Pasek & Paul. Ben's father Marc Platt and Adam Siegel serve as producers.^[8] In the film, the song is moved to the first scene in Evan's bedroom following his opening monologue, resulting from the cutting of "Anybody Have a Map?", the opening number of the stage musical. This version of the song was made available as an exclusive download from the soundtrack on August 26, 2021, alongside "You Will Be Found." It will be released on the same day as the film.^[9]

Cover versions[]

Katy Perry covered the song to promote the musical's national tour.

• In 2017, Owl City recorded their own version of the song and released it as a single.^[10]
• In 2017, a cover of the song by Thomas Sanders, Dodie Clark, and Ben J. Pierce was released on YouTube.^[11]
• In 2017, a cover of the song by Austin Colby, Nick Lehan and David Rowen was released on Rowen's YouTube channel.^[12]
• In 2017, string quartet Well-Strung released a cover of the song as a music video.^[13]
• In 2017, Kurt Hugo Schneider in collaboration with VoicePlay released a cover of the song as a single with an accompanying music video.^[14][15]
• In 2017, Rachel Tucker recorded the song for her album On the Road.^[16]
• In 2017, Matt Bloyd and Garrett Clayton released a cover of the song on YouTube.^[17]
• At the songwriters' request, the song was covered by American singer Katy Perry in 2018 to promote the musical's touring production and subsequently included on the deluxe edition of the cast recording.^[18][19]
• In 2018, James Corden, who moderated the panel for the Los Angeles stop on the Book Tour to promote Val Emmich's young adult novel adaptation of the musical, sang the song for the fans in attendance.^[20]
• In 2018, Utah-based and family-owned production company Working with Lemons released a cinematic music video of the song, featuring Porter Bagley as Evan Hansen.^[21]
• In 2018, Peter Hollens recorded an a cappella medley of this song and two other songs from the musical, "You Will Be Found" and "For Forever," and released it on YouTube.^[22]
• In 2019, internet personality Nick Pitera released a cover of the song.^[23]
• In 2019, Ramin Karimloo covered the song for his album From Now On.^[24]
• In 2019, Pentatonix released a cover of the song as a single with an accompanying music video.^[25]
• In 2019, 13-year-old Asher Reynolds released a music video of his version of the song.^[26]
• In 2019, Darren Criss performed the song at the 5th Annual Elsie Fest.^[27]
• In 2020, Lindsay Pearce of Wicked performed the song as part of BroadwayWorld's Living Room Concerts series.^[28]
• In 2020, the song was parodied by the Holderness Family as part of a If Broadway Songs Were About Quarantine medley in which this and other Broadway songs' lyrics were changed to be about being stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[29]
• In 2020, the song was performed as the finale of the HBO Max special Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020.^[30]
• In 2020, The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC released a virtual performance cover of the song on YouTube.^[31]
• In 2021, Stephanie J. Block, Deborah Cox and Lea Salonga performed the song as part of that year's virtual edition of Broadway Backwards.^[32]

References[]