Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
ijest22
Stand-by Joined: 4/14/17
#1Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 3:40pm
He sang a really lovely interpretation of Finishing the Hat last night at 54 Below, for the Performing Arts Project benefit. Really fun evening.
#2Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 7:07pm
Such a fun evening. I loved him and Brandon the most. I'm super happy I impuled bought a ticket and I had TPAC people at my table and they were all so lovely.
#3Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 9:14pm
The video of this was just posted on this site: https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-Ben-Platt-Sings-Finishing-the-Hat-More-Fun-at-54-Below-20171016
With a clearly superior performance of this song by Jake G just released, I would have chosen something else if I were Ben.
#4Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 9:47pm
Well he chose it because he never got to put on this show like he wanted to when he was younger. I like both his and Jake's version, they are just different which is nice. But everyone is welcome to their own opinions of course.
#5Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 10:06pm
I loved Ben Platt in DEH and thought his award was well deserved. But I found that painful to watch. Curious to see how his career progresses...he doesn’t seem like someone that has a generic enough voice/style/look to flexibly slip in a variety of roles and pull it off.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
GeorgeandDot
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/16
#6Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 10:46pm
^I agree about that last part and that's why I think he's such an exciting performer. He's not generic. We need more unique voices like Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin, etc. So many young performers are just cookie cutter pretty people without any defining characteristics to separate them from each other.
greenifyme2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/19/17
#7Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:03pm
Interesting that he defaults to the Evan "ticks" toward the end (wiping his nose, scratching his stomach, playing with the bottom of his shirt.) Its so ingrained in him.
#8Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:14pm
It looks like he interpreted the entire song as Evan. It's too predictable. I was hoping to see him deliver a fresh interpretation of the song.
#9Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:36pm
ljay889 said: "It looks like he interpreted the entire song as Evan. It's too predictable. I was hoping to see him deliver a fresh interpretation of the song."
Did he interpret the whole song as Evan, or does his approach to singing DEH tunes reflect his general approach to singing? I'm concerned that it is the latter, reflecting a limited range. Don't get me wrong: I'm a big fan of Ben Platt in DEH and saw him in the show three times. But the performance in this video does give rise to some questions.
#10Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:44pm
Is this supposed to be Ben Platt as Evan Hansen as George Seurat?
Because unless this is some sort of parody, that was pretty awful.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#11Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:44pm
Exactly! Maybe he has a schtick and DEH just lines up with his schtick.
ijest22
Stand-by Joined: 4/14/17
#12Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:54pm
Or maybe he was just having fun, singing a song as Ben Platt. Most of the audience came to see Ben Platt, and that’s what they got. It would have been interesting to see him sing it as if he were Georges Seurat, but as his intro explained, he was 7th grade Ben, finally getting to perform the song. It was perfect in the context of the evening.
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#13Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 12:00am
Ben Platt, as in the same Ben Platt playing Evan Hansen who's been calling out of his show multiple times lately for severe vocal problems, sang freakin' Sondheim's "Finishing the Hat" at 54 Below? Actually?
For the record, I'm a fan of Platt, but... really?
Tag
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
#14Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 12:24am
Yes agreed, I just watched Evan Hansen singing Finishing The Hat.
When classical roles go non-generic, I find the Broadway fans typically don't embrace, or outright hate it. Example: Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine, was actually quite perfect. Her voice completely fit the character. But everyone hated her with a passion.
#15Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 12:35am
He gave a near identical performance in Book of Mormon... Dear Evan Hansen: the funny version. That said... I loved it and it wrecked me.
Jesus saves. I spend.
#16Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 2:36am
ljay889 said: "It looks like he interpreted the entire song as Evan"
This is so true
#17Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 2:36am
Double message
Updated On: 10/17/17 at 02:36 AM
bear88
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/26/16
#18Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 4:17am
You folks are making me feel a little sorry for Platt, even if I did find his rapid-fire introduction a little insufferable.
The guy has been playing Evan Hansen since July 2015. The role has seeped into his very being. He sounds like Platt playing Evan Hansen, singing a song from a very different musical. Is that surprising?
I'm probably one of the few people who didn't find Platt unapproachably great in Dear Evan Hansen, but he was very good and elevated the material. Shoot, we listen to his little lark of a performance and we're hearing Evan ourselves, if he was a nightclub performer singing Broadway songs. That's as much on us as it is on him.
That said, Platt clearly is ready for a vacation. And his next role, whether in film, TV, or theater, ought to be as far away from Evan Hansen as possible.
#19Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 11:52am
BroadwayConcierge said: "Ben Platt, as in the same Ben Platt playing Evan Hansen who's been calling out of his show multipletimes lately for severe vocal problems, sang freakin'Sondheim's "Finishing the Hat" at 54 Below? Actually?
For the record, I'm a fan of Platt, but... really?"
He actually hasn't been calling out of shows, the only recent show he has missed since they cut out his matinees from his schedule is Sunday October 8th. The cutting out of his maitnees is probably something they should have done awhile back and it's probably something they will do going forward with the new Evans so as to protect future performers who play the part.
JVJ93
Featured Actor Joined: 3/27/16
#20Ben Platt Sings Sondheim
Posted: 10/17/17 at 11:58am
The title of this thread alone in itself is the essence of disgrace.
