When one hears the name Ben Platt, the varied reactions to him can almost act as a kind of Rorschach test covering a gamut of emotions. On stage he won breakout fame and a Tony award as the socially anxious teenage star of the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen."
Last year he starred in the musical revival of "Parade" as the Jewish-American Leo Frank falsely accused of raping and murdering a thirteen-year old girl, then lynched by an antisemitic mob, garnering another Tony nomination as Best Musical Actor.
In movies and television, his star is appreciably dimmer with the film version of "Dear Evan Hansen," a dismal failure because he was too old for the role. With his rich producer father bankrolling the movie, he was accused of nepotism.
His performances as the driven teen determined to become President of the U.S. in the Ryan Murphy Netflix mockumentary series "The Politician," and as the gay brother of his sister getting married in Amazon's "The People We Hate at the Wedding," were deemed misfires.
However, as a co-writer of last year's film "Theater Camp," portraying a staff member of an upstate New York theater-focused summer camp, he scored a minor hit.
Your opinion of Platt, now 30 and out for more than five years, may be determined in where you've encountered him. Undeniably, Platt's an excellent singer, both in Broadway musicals and in his first two self-written studio albums, "Sing With Me Instead," and "Reverie," with their successful cross-country tours ("performing live is his great joy"), including Radio City Music Hall.
Wholesome honey
Now here's his third album "Honeymind." Unlike his previous efforts, which were electro-pop, this effort has a tender, folky Americana sound, reminiscent of early 1970s singer/songwriter material such as Cat Stevens or James Taylor.
However, the artist that pops to mind with a similar style is Barry Manilow, that is, an openly gay Manilow, because of Platt's intimate, warm, emotional, wholesome, storytelling with comforting melodies and occasionally sappy lyrics, for example the title song, a variant of honey mine ("You melt me away, stretch out my days, Turn all my colors into hues.").
In interviews, Platt said he wanted to create an album he could've bought as a queer teen growing up in LA. What's striking is Platt's more confidence as a queer artist than he was in his last two CDs, particularly the first which focused primarily on his loneliness and anxiety. It's not an exaggeration to say Platt has learned how to be more comfortable being who he is, unafraid to express even ambivalent feelings.
The other big difference is that Platt is in love, ready to marry his fiancée, actor Noah Galvin (his successor in "Dear Evan Hansen" and co-writer of "Theater Camp") after a four-year romance. He dedicates "Honeymind" to "my muse and my love," in this 13-song collection.
It apparently was love at first sight as detailed in "Before I Knew You": "You're the hope I couldn't place, Til the day I saw your face...But even when you hadn't found me You were right there all around me And I've been on my way to you, I loved you long before I knew you."
It's the type of song one could envision hearing ad nauseum at gay weddings.
Room to grow
According to his song "Cherry on Top" (as opposed to popping the cherry, which obliquely fits here as well) it's a love feeling he can't live without and he just enjoys being with him, due to "the way that you know me and the way that you hold me; you give me all the room to grow but never letting go of me."
Again in the title song, Platt recognizes that Noah can't take his (ever-present) anxieties away, but he's not as overwhelmed as he once was, because "honey mine you slow the time—my days and dreams all bleed together, not evergreen but ever-sweet."
Platt deliberately wants to express a more romantic, dare one say, lovey-dovey side to queer music. In interviews he says he finds queer musicians pushing a more aggressive sexuality because of the need to assert who they are due to societal opposition. He's aiming for a kinder, gentler queer assimilationist flavor.
It's the kind of CD you could send to your grandmother with a note (or Hallmark card) saying, "See, Grammy we're just like everyone else!" No one will mistake Platt for lusty Troye Sivan or Pansy Division. If you're tired of coarse language in your music, Platt is tailor-made for you.
Several other songs are worth noting. "Andrew" centers on growing up gay but the melancholic hazards of falling in love with a straight guy: "I know there's no one to blame but honestly Damn you, It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play. You don't wanna kiss me cause I'm not at all Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall."
"Home of the Terrified," concerns having children in the future and how to raise them in a world scarred by gun violence: "I couldn't stop him getting sad or bundle him in bubble wrap."
"All American Queen," could easily be a Pride month anthem: "Takes his boy to the prom When they crown him the king, make him the belle of the ball. He plants a kiss on his date as confetti falls."
"Monster," the big dramatic-sounding final track, echoing back to Platt's Broadway roots, is a message about living in the present moment, trying not to worry about future problems, "be right where you are, cause you got all this time to breathe."
Platt's voice is a crystalline vibrato cascading comfortably through several octaves. His songs are happy ballads embedded in catchy melodies. Platt's grateful and thrilled he can be his authentic self, letting himself fall in love and relish being with Noah, as he writes in "Monster": "Count your blessings and your lucky stars/And be right where you are." Cynics aside, you might feel the same once you've finished listening to "Honeymind."
www.benplattmusic.com
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!