“[I’m] quite bored,” Ben Platt quips after I suggest to the Grammy, Emmy and Tony-winning performer that he hasn’t got much going on at the moment. Back in May, Ben released his acclaimed third studio album Honeymind, a collection of breezy, Americana-inspired lovey-dovey anthems dedicated to his fiancé Noah Galvin, before holding a three-week residency at Broadway’s legendary Palace Theatre.
There, the inaugural Evan Hansen was accompanied by a plethora of industry icons such as Kacey Musgraves, Kristin Chenoweth, Kristen Bell, Cynthia Erivo, Nicole Scherzinger, Alex Newell and Rachel Zegler. More insane star power incoming: Meghan Trainor, Leslie Odom Jr., Skylar Astin, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, Brian d’Arcy James and Sam Smith. When Ben’s face appears via Zoom, he’s post-Palace, mid-US tour and pre-‘I want to marry you Noah because you look nice in that cardigan’ – (that bit will make sense later) – so, at the moment, he’s the “good kind of knackered”.
“When it rains it pours, that kind of thing,” says Ben. The star tells GAY TIMES that he’s apprehensive about summarising his love for Noah via vows because of his 48-minute tribute to their four-year romance (stream Honeymind now!). “I’ve expressed it so many times in that way, that I’ve never sort of just hit it on the head without being all lyrical about it. So, I’m nervous I won’t be as good at it.”
Here, Ben Platt begs that I edit his vows (that is not true at all) and reflects on his stint at The Palace Theatre, as well as the creation of Honeymind. He also addresses the long-awaited third season of The Politician, his upcoming musical with Paul Mescal and Beanie Feldstein and – really important – how he got to kiss Superman.
Ben Platt, how are you?
Fatigue from the tour, but all good things!
You must be absolutely knackered.
It’s been quite a run, because we went right from The Palace onto the road. The good kind of knackered.
How is life at the moment? I know that you haven’t got much going on, so you must be quite bored?
Quite bored. No, life is good. As soon as I finish the tour, I’m getting married and going on my honeymoon. When it rains it pours, that kind of thing.
Ben, if I was releasing an album, going on tour and then getting married I’d be having a mental breakdown.
Thank you so much. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel! I’m pretty Type-A. So for me, it’s like one day at a time. Like, what can I tackle in these 24 hours? Also, any kind of finish-able task is so attractive to me. If I can book our flights or deal with the addresses for our wedding list, or write my notes for an arrangement for the show whatever it may be, anything that’s actionable is so satisfying to me.
And how is the wedding coming along?
It’s good. I think because we’re both performers and we’ve been both at events where we’ve had to handle a lot of attention, or that are high stakes, a little bit of the pressure comes off. We’re just excited to be married to each other. Also, it’s partially for our families. It’s a way of honouring them in their communities and treating it as the joyful, wacky thing that it is.
The British aren’t big on writing their own vows, we kinda just do the pre-written. Do Americans actually do the soppy thing you see in films when someone says, ‘I love you so much, I love you from the moment I saw you in that cardigan’?
Of course. When they say, ‘When I saw you in that cardigan.’ Yeah, it’s quite common. We’re doing them. Tradition is lovely, and we’re Jewish so there’ll be some Jewish things in the wedding. The vows are the opportunity to say your intentions in terms of why you’re doing this in the first place. I feel a lot of pressure because Noah’s a very talented writer.
Alright then, send me your vows and I’ll have a gander, because I do write sometimes.
You’re gonna give me some notes?
Yeah, I’ll let you know if it’s good to go.
Thank you.
Congratulations on all of the above, especially your residency at The Palace Theatre. What was it like to play an album of queer love songs in such an iconic venue?
Really liberating. At first I was scared, just because of the calibre of people that have played there and the history of it. It made the stakes very high, but I focused on making sure I was doing my version of it. It was the opportunity to bring together all these worlds I’ve been straddling in the last few years in terms of music and Broadway. The queerness element was the best. What’s nice about New York is that it’s such a warm and easy arrival for material like that. When I go on tour, I’ve gone to places where it’s less of an assumed thing. When I start playing in a more Midwestern place where it’s not as much of a given as it is in New York, people feel like they need permission to laugh at the queer jokes, queer content and queer romance. That’s one of the biggest energetic differences. In New York, it gets to be part of the tapestry, like a celebratory part of it.
You were joined by a few icons. Was there one particular artist where you thought, ‘Fuck… I’m singing with this person’?
I have two answers. The first is Cynthia Erivo because she’s been a wonderful friend to me since we did The Color Purple and Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. Her work ethic and talent have been a huge source of inspiration and support. The first time we sang together was at the Kennedy Center, which was her turf. I felt honoured to be welcomed into that world, so to return the favour with that very iconic Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand moment was something I’ll always remember. Then, there’s Sam Smith. I very much idolise their music and they were a huge part of what made me feel like there was going to be space for me as an artist, that I could be super forthright about my queerness, romantic relationships and pronouns of my romantic relationships. It’s amazing to see someone so mainstream and talented living that so fully. To team up and sing one of the songs from their most iconic record… I don’t know where you go from there?
When are we getting the Sam Smith and Ben Platt ‘Unholy’ remix?
Okay?! Well, you have to get a cut of it because it’s your idea, so I’ll let you know.
It’s been lovely to watch you promote this new album on all these major talk shows because it is so unapologetically queer and, in 2024, it still feels rare to see that on mainstream TV. What does that mean to you?
It feels important and conscious to be a representative in that way. At the same time, it’s just the reality of my life. It’s the most natural thing. To edit or be particular about details of it would take so much away from the authenticity of the music. I don’t necessarily go into these moments like, ‘I’m going on TV to talk about being gay’. But, I’m reminded that, especially in other parts of the country, it’s really important to see and nice to give a positive and joyful celebratory space to. I feel lucky to be part of that conversation.
With this album, surely you don’t have to write vows? At the altar you could just be like, ‘Stream Honeymind!’
That’s why I’m honestly so nervous about it. I’ve expressed it so many times in that way, that I’ve never sort of just hit it on the head without being all lyrical about it. So, I’m nervous I won’t be as good at it.
You said that this album restored your faith in making music, so how did you feel about your career as a recording artist pre-Honeymind?
It’s a learning curve of seeing what’s successful and what types of songs are having, like, TikTok moments, that are digestible and radio-friendly. It’s very hard not to get pulled into that way of thinking, it’s not a great place to be making art from. So doing this album, particularly because it was with people who treat songwriting with such purity, I just feel so separate from that conversation. It’s about making a song that you feel is worthy of putting out into the world, that you want to go beyond you. It was just a beautiful return to form, I would say.
What was it about the folk and country genres that allowed you to communicate your love for Noah?
I turned 30 when I was writing the album. Also, our relationship is sort of the most settled thing that’s been in my life, so that was the kind of music that felt the most reflective or where I was at, attitude-wise and emotionally. Writing in that more Americana and folk space felt organic to those stories and those kinds of songs.
I also need to congratulate you on the success of Theatre Camp, which was one of the funniest comedies of 2023. What was it like to see the overwhelmingly positive reaction to a queer independent film?
Thank you, it was wonderful. It was something we made a long time ago, just as something fun to do and that we really believed in. We spent several years trying to develop it into a feature and really push it up the hill. It was an amazing restoration of faith that, if something is completely authentic, you really do find people who believe in it, no matter how untraditional or “niche” it is. It was hard to make a film that was partially improvised, had children in it and was about musical theatre with no giant box office people in it. It was an uphill battle, but it was such a satisfying thing to trust the specificity of what we were trying to do and have faith it would resonate with people. I’m so happy that people find it funny.
Ben, when I found out I was talking to you, I knew I had to speak with you about one project of yours in particular…
I knew this was coming.
The Politician, aka the most chaotic show in history.
“Chaotic” is right.
The show where Jessica Lange famously said “all gays do is munch butts and celebration Halloween”.
And Judith Light in a thruple. It doesn’t get better.
Do you know if a season three is actually happening? Or are you under oath?
No, I wish I knew. I would always be game. I’m still very close with lots of folks on the show, so I know everyone would be too. Ryan [Murphy] always mentioned that, someday, he’d want to wait until we got older and do it again – and about 112 different things! So, if he ever decides he wants to come back to it, I would love to do it. But truly, I have as much information as you do. Listen, it’s not over until Ryan decides it is. We’ll see!
And now your on-screen love interest is goddamn Superman [David Corenswet]?!
Isn’t that fun? I got to kiss Superman.
My actual dream.
Before I even knew!
With acting and singing, what kind of fulfilment do you get from both? How does it differ?
I love getting out of my own head and focusing on being someone else. That’s really something I’ve always loved, both in terms of the art of it all and then just having the opportunity to escape my own worries. But I also do love getting to share and be transparent as myself, because I’m a pretty introverted person so, sometimes, I have trouble doing that, like one-on-one or in person. The suspense on stage somehow makes me feel a bit more open. Overall, live performance is definitely my favourite medium.
You’re about to star alongside Paul Mescal and your good friend Beanie Feldstein in Merrily We Go Along, which takes place over 200 years. Are you able to say anything about that or are you, again, under oath?
We’re in the process. We’re shooting our next sequence soon. We’ve done two of them already and we’re just chugging along. If you think about it too far in advance, it gets too crazy. Like you said, it felt like 200 years, but it’s with Stephen Sondheim and one of my best friends. It’s an amazing little checkpoint to have every so often. I feel the same way about that as I do about this current season of busyness: just one thing at a time.
Thanks for chatting with me today Ben. I hope the rest of your tour goes swimmingly and make sure to send me your vows, because the wedding obviously can’t go ahead without my approval.
I’m on it. Do you prefer Word or Pages?
Pages.
Got it.
Honeymind is out now.
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