"Sincerely, Me" Question
"Sincerely, Me" Question
#1"Sincerely, Me" Question
Posted: 7/19/17 at 9:04am
Hi! So I have a bit of familiarity with DEH, but a lot of my family and friends like it so I've heard a lot of the cast album. It seems like Sincerely Me is one of the few comic numbers in a pretty heavy show, yet in the way the staging is described, it seems to be quite the opposite. The fact that they're using the dead Conner as their puppet is a bit slimy, looking at it from the big picture. For those who have seen the show, is there supposed to be an ironic juxtaposition between the lyrics and Evan's actions? Is this something that is more up to the audience to interpret? Or is it a comic number and nothing more? Thanks for any clarification, thus has been nagging me for a while!
MusicAndPassion
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/05
schubox
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/16
MyLife
Broadway Star Joined: 12/2/06
#7.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 10:28am
" The fact that they're using the dead Conner as their puppet is a bit slimy, looking at it from the big picture."
The entire show uses dead Conner as a puppet and it is very slimy. While meant as a comic number, I don't think your interpretation is that far off necessarily. "Sincerely, Me" sets the stage for the rest of the show.
#8.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 10:46am
I would say the number is darkly funny. The more you really think about it, the less fun and lighthearted it does seem to get though. Still one of my favorite numbers in the show though because the lyrics actually work to tell a story rather than just vaguely describe emotions and ideas that have nothing to do with the plot.
But yes, to answer your question, there is not a creepy corpse puppet incorporated into the staging.
#9.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 11:36am
But yes, to answer your question, there is not a creepy corpse puppet incorporated into the staging.
"
Well, I actually worded that wrong, what I meant to say was that it seemed like they were metaphorically using Conner as their puppet (in how he sang everything they were typing). Good God, a literal puppet would be downright terrifying!
VotePeron
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/2/13
#11.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 6:13pm
One of the most interesting things about this character is that there are several separate Connors in the show - all of course played by the same actor in the same costume. There is actual Connor at the beginning. Then after his character is killed off, this is the first time the actor returns. Here he is the "new and improved" Connor that they are creating in the their emails. This isn't "dead Connor", this is a character based on him that Jared and Evan are making up. Later he will appear as Evan's adviser - kind of a guardian angel.
leighmiserables
Broadway Star Joined: 4/26/17
#12.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 9:57pm
asimplegal2 said: "I would say the number is darkly funny. The more you really think about it, the less fun and lighthearted it does seem to get though. Still one of my favorite numbers in the show though because the lyrics actually work to tell a story rather than just vaguely describe emotions and ideas that have nothing to do with the plot."
I was basically going to say the same thing. It's funny while you're watching it, if not a little jarring at first to see a character we just established killed himself pop up and act merry. Then later in the show (or later in the day) when you really stop and think about it, you go, "Huh...that was actually...really messed up." I don't know if that was the intention or not, but personally I think it makes the song much more interesting.
herewegoabc
Leading Actor Joined: 1/26/08
#13.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 10:25pm
The way Connor is used throughout the entire show is essentially "slimy," but Sincerely, Me doesn't play that way at all. It's just a silly number- probably the funniest part of the whole show. Obviously the audience knows the entire time that it's pretty messed up, but the way it plays is so entertaining that you don't really think about it. Plus, Sincerely, Me is mostly Jared's Connor, and while Jared is very much to blame for his own actions in the whole course of the show, he wasn't trying to gain anything out of the emails (outside of twenty bucks). He was just writing to have fun, and that's how it plays.
As the show progresses, things get much worse and much more uncomfortable. As heartbreaking/moving as some of the other parts are (You Will Be Found), Connor is far more exploited/used than he is during Sincerely, Me.
#14.
Posted: 7/19/17 at 11:02pm
The song is hilarious,but there are a lot of other songs that feel a whole lot ickier. I loved the show but felt a bit unsettled after. I am in the camp that Evan didn't mean for things to get so over-blown and that Connor's parents started the chain reaction after Evan tried to tell them they weren't friends. That said, so many twisted lies. I feel it none of it was malicious, but still it gets icky.
