Ben Platt Is Kicking Off His ‘Homosexual Americana’ Period With A Live performance Residency

Ben Platt is about to usher within the subsequent part of his music profession this spring with a Broadway return and a nod to his self-proclaimed “foremothers,” Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.

To have a good time his third album, “Honeymind,” Platt is about to carry out a sequence of 18 live shows at New York’s Palace Theatre, starting Might 28. In doing so, the Emmy-, Grammy- and Tony-winning actor and singer follows within the footsteps of Garland and Minnelli, each of whom performed the Palace of their primes with sold-out residencies. He’ll additionally develop into the primary performer to grace the century-old theater’s stage since 2018, when it closed for a $2.5 billion renovation.

Although the Might 31 launch of “Honeymind” appears auspiciously timed to the Palace’s reopening, Platt by no means envisioned himself enjoying the historic venue as a solo artist. Nonetheless, he’d been on the lookout for methods to bridge his Broadway background together with his work as a singer-songwriter, so when the Palace alternative arose, it felt like “the universe really did me a favor,” he mentioned.

“So many people I admire, from the days of yore to the Barbra [Streisands] of the world … that kind of synergy doesn’t really exist anymore,” Platt instructed HuffPost in an interview. “Doing something that felt like a little tapestry of all the things that I do felt like an exciting idea.”

As for these “foremothers,” he added: “I wouldn’t be here, as happy and openly queer as I am, without those two women and everything they stood for, and the support they gave the LGBTQ+ community. So I feel immense pride, and I want it to be a show they would both love.”

Platt’s residency live shows will probably be directed by Michael Arden, who received a Tony final yr for the Broadway revival of “Parade,” through which Platt additionally starred. Songs from “Honeymind” will probably be prominently featured on the present’s set listing, however Platt additionally plans to incorporate quite a lot of particular friends in addition to some basic covers and “a Broadway moment or two.”

A Los Angeles native, Platt rose to nationwide prominence in 2012 when he portrayed Benji Applebaum within the film musical “Pitch Perfect.” His breakout position, nonetheless, arrived 4 years later when he endeared himself to a technology of theatergoers because the tormented teen protagonist of the Broadway smash “Dear Evan Hansen.”

It was throughout his “Evan Hansen” run that he signed with Atlantic Information. His debut solo album, 2019’s “Sing to Me Instead,” was a sterling showcase for his powerhouse vocals, that includes piano ballads and different self-reflective tracks. His sophomore effort, 2021’s “Reverie,” discovered him embracing an electro-pop vibe.

In accordance with Platt, “Honeymind” was partly impressed by iconic Seventies musicians like Carole King and James Taylor; it’s additionally his preliminary launch beneath a brand new deal with Interscope Information. The album’s first single and music video, “Andrew,” finds him recalling the unrequited crushes he had on quite a lot of his straight male mates as a closeted homosexual teen.

Watch the music video for “Andrew” beneath:

“No one’s to blame and it’s no one’s fault,” he mentioned. “It’s just a shitty situation. The irreverent melancholy of that immediately felt like a song to me.”

The rest of “Honeymind,” nonetheless, will mirror what Platt describes as his “gay Americana era.” The album’s cowl artwork finds him and his fiancé, fellow stage and display actor Noah Galvin, sharing a steamy embrace in a classic convertible.

“I was inspired by very traditional American imagery,” he mentioned. “Things like Coca-Cola and drive-in theaters that feel almost cliché in how American they are. … I wanted to twist them through a queer lens and reclaim them. I had this image of two guys in the 1950s at a drive-in, getting it on in the back seat, and the joy and excitement of what it would’ve felt like if they didn’t have to worry about being seen.”

Galvin’s presence on the “Honeymind” cowl is becoming, as Platt feels their relationship has afforded him “such comfort, freedom and confidence” that he had but to expertise earlier than the 2 had been collectively.

“It’s clear on the album that I’m at a turning point, and having the support of my partner allows me to feel a lot freer creatively and less afraid,” he mentioned.