By Laura Moyer 4:39 a.m. is a hideous time to get a text message. But the 100 or so students who received it on a chilly March morning knew they were lucky – picked by lottery from more than 900 UMW applicants for a free trip to see live New York theater. Wake up! The day has arrived! Time to get to duPont Hall to get on the bus to go to NYC to see DEAR EVAN HANSEN on Broadway! The script and cast recording of Dear Evan Hansen were the subject of this year’s Common Experience – a campuswide reading-and-listening pursuit involving students, faculty, and staff. It’s the fourth year for the Common Experience program (originally Common Read) and the first to highlight a theatrical work. Dear Evan Hansen is a musical, but it’s no frothy comedy. It deals with loneliness, social alienation, teen suicide, and a deception that spins out of control on social media. The UMW community created a video performance of the musical’s gorgeous anthem You Will Be Found – about clinging on … [Read more...]