TOW #18 - Dear Evan Hansen Cast Recording

Dear Evan Hansen is a new Broadway musical written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. It stars well-known actor Ben Platt and, after only a few months on the Great White Way, it is one of New York’s hottest shows. It has received extremely positive reviews and is a box office favorite. As a result of this success, the chief actors and actresses created a recording of the main songs from the show. This cast recording was released on February 3, 2017, and it is being sold on amazon.com in audio form for fifteen dollars. The recording producers  hope to reach a wider audience than those that frequent Broadway shows. While musical fans will also enjoy the show, Pasek and Paul hope other people will get into it as well. As a result, the album cover features a light blue color scheme and a clear font to sell as many recordings as possible. In turn, the increased record sales are intended to boost ticket sales. The light blue color scheme implies a very mellow show, with sweet songs and a happy ending. While this might not be true, it is a good marketing technique as, in general, people enjoy listening to music that makes them feel good. For most, this is sweet, uplifting music. The light blue color scheme helps get this idea across. Additionally, the clear, large, and bold font places an emphasis on the title, which is certainly not traditional of Broadway shows. In a way, it is very mysterious, as it does not give away the main plot of the show, nor its subject. This encourages people to buy the album as they are interested in finding out what the show discusses. The boy’s cast also plays a role in the mystery.  Ultimately, the use of rhetorical devices that appeal to a wider variety of people is what makes the album cover so successful. This helps accomplish the purpose, which is to convince more people to buy tickets to see the show. However, the show’s true best friend is word of mouth, not the recording. As more people see Dear Evan Hansen and word spreads, ticket sales will skyrocket. The cast recording is just a tool to speed up this process.