ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

BRINGING THE ‘PARTY VIBE’ ON NEW TOUR

Anyone who has heard Ben Platt belt a note knows that there’s such a thing as angels. Platt — who sits relaxed with his labradoodle George as he chats with The RAGE Monthly — is gearing up to take that voice on his first national headlining tour since the pandemic to promote his sophomore album, Reverie.

Outside of his solo music career, fans of Platt are also familiar with his popular characters Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen and Benji from Pitch Perfect. He has established himself both on stage and in film as a force to be reckoned with, equipped with a vibrato ready to knock every note out of the park every time. Even though he has reached this level of stardom, he still remains humble, approachable and grateful for his opportunities.

“Things are good,” Platt said. “It feels simultaneously like I’ve settled in a really nice way in terms of my personal life. I’ve been with my partner [Noah Galvin] for a little while now, and I feel more at a stasis than I have in the past with my career. Before the pandemic, I was always so go-go-go. It was so frenetic.”

While life may be in a really great place for Platt, he said he’s eger and excited to get back to the stage.

“It’s been three years since my last proper concert. It’s nerve-wracking getting back into the swing of that. You can prep and rehearse as much as possible, but it can be hard to replicate that feeling. I’m just ready to get back on stage and get comfortable again. It’s what I feel the most at home doing and what I’ve been doing for a long time.”

Having grown up around the arts and doing musicals since he was a kid, that “long time” has seen Platt throughout most of his life. In regard to turning the love of theatre into a professional move, he said, “It’s tough to pinpoint the conscious moment where I decided to do it. It was a gradual realization that the place I felt most comfortable or at home with myself also happened to be the place where I could make a livelihood. I think once those things line up and you have the privilege of doing that, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else.”

The first taste of what he could possibly do came when he was 11 years old and went on tour doing The Carolina Exchange. “I think doing that show with all of these adults who have made it their lives and feeling what that’s like, I just couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he said.

Platt also spoke about his growth in the film and television aspects of his career, as well as the opportunity to put out his own music.

In terms of the upcoming tour and his first chance at showcasing Reverie, Platt said it’s got a little more “tempo, pop and dance moves” than the first tour.

“This one has more of a ‘party vibe,’ as they say, for sections of the show. Sprinkled throughout all of that will be songs from my first album, some covers, some musical theatre moments. It’s basically kind of what I’ve done up until this point,” he said. “Certainly, there will be some familiarity in terms of what people expect from me and types of songs I’ve sang in the past, with a more poppier lean.”

One of his favorites to sing when he hits the stage comes from his first album, Sing to Me Instead.

“‘Easy My Mind’ is a very calming song to sing and comes from a very special place in my heart. I’ve been singing it for so long now, it’s like a rocking chair kind of vibe.” Platt said. “I’m mostly excited to sing some of the more uptempo songs from this record. I wrote this during the pandemic when there were questions about whether live shows would ever come back. They’re very much built to be enjoyed live with people. ‘Childhood Bedroom’ is one I’m excited for the energies in the room and to be able to curate that experience will be so fun.”

Since everything for Reverie was created during the pandemic, Platt said the feeling of being able to share it live “feels bizarre and great. We made Reverie into a bigger pop and mainstream album to play with. There were a lot of Zoom sessions, and we had to adjust to the new normal because I didn’t think we could do it at first. I recorded it all in this little poolhouse studio. It felt like a lot more of a private experience, so I will always equate it with this kind of DIY moment that now gets to be sung for thousands of people.”

Another recent milestone in Platt’s career came on the ninth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7.

“That was so wonderful,” he said. “It was like Christmas. That show brings so much people joy, me included, and especially during the pandemic, it’s been, like, one of the greatest sources of happiness. It felt like going to Oz for a day, it was just so great. They’ve been doing it for a hot minute, so they have the whole thing down to a science, so going in as a judge was very curated and easy and joyful. I just loved it.”

On top of that, judging during an all-winners season was a spectacle itself, especially in an episode where the competition was almost done.

“It was the supreme crème de la crème,” Platt said. “I was nervous about having to critique because I love these queens, and I was apprehensive about saying negative things to people doing things I’d never be able to do. I was just lucky it was a winner’s season, and it was finding the brightest star out of a bunch of stars. I hope to go again. Me and my partner dream of doing ‘Snatch Game’ together, so.”

Fans of the main show of RuPaul’s Drag Race know that RuPaul likes to ask his finalists what they’d say to their younger selves. When asked the same question, Platt said, “It’s funny because I have some new songs from my forthcoming record that may or may not preview in this upcoming tour. That would be very exciting, but it’s all about what you might say to your younger self.”

With that in mind, he added, “The overarching thing I might say is not to worry quite so much. I certainly worry a lot now, and I think as a kid I was anxious as well. That’s just kind of in a lot of our DNA, especially queer and Jewish people. I would just drive home for him that this is the time of your life to be as present and as free as you can be. As you get older, there are more things you have to take on that come with maturity and awareness and perspective. Some is wonderful to have, and some is really difficult to have. So, I’d just tell him to be right where he is and take in each day and try not to focus too much on the days ahead and what’s coming.”

Platt plans to take that same advice on the road, kicking off his tour in Seattle, Washington (where, ironically, the winner of AS7 originally came from). You can catch him in San Diego on Friday, September 9 at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and in Los Angeles on Monday,September 12 at the Hollywood Bowl.

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