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Platt will be in his sweet spot, beginning Friday, for a 10-day engagement at the Ahmanson Theater. The concert series, directed by Tony winner Michael Arden, is a West Coast extension of Platt\u2019s 2024 residency at Broadway\u2019s Palace Theatre, which featured an impressive array of guest stars, including Cynthia Erivo, Kacey Musgraves, Kristin Chenoweth and Leslie Odom Jr. <\/p>\n
The L.A. shows, which feel like a homecoming to Platt, will also include special duets, but Platt is staying mum on just who will join him onstage. The surprise is part of the fun. Platt cites Judy Garland and her 1960s CBS variety show as his inspiration \u201cin terms of the way that she would share herself in her solo shows, and how she had so many famous collaborations and moments that she created with bringing in other singers she admired.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Palace show was highly tailored to Platt\u2019s third studio album, \u201cHoneymind,\u201d which was released that same year, his Ahmanson gig is more holistic, showcasing the total breadth of his career, including all three of his albums, his hit Broadway musicals like \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d and his Netflix series \u201cThe Politician.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really no project I can think of that won\u2019t be represented,\u201d says Platt. \u201cIt feels like a little jewel box of all the stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Platt has a boyish face and a soft, self-assured speaking voice. In conversation, he is kind and centered, present and interested. At 32, he feels as if he is reaching a new plateau in life. One in which he is no longer precociously young, but not yet old \u2014 and all the wiser for it. He married actor and singer Noah Galvin last year. The couple thinks about having children, but Platt fears he would never sleep again with all the fretting he\u2019d do about his child\u2019s future. <\/p>\n
That anxiety joins others: difficulty flying, a tendency toward hypochondria, and existential worries about happiness and fulfillment for himself and his loved ones. Platt touches wood often.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the center of it is the unknown,\u201d says Platt. \u201cThe opposite of anxiety isn\u2019t calm, it\u2019s certainty. That\u2019s why I love the controlled chaos of performing so much, because there\u2019s adrenaline and there\u2019s spontaneity and there\u2019s feeling alive, but I know what the plan is. I know what\u2019s expected of me. I know that I can deliver it and I know it makes me feel good to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765367417_487_\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to come to my shows. I want people to know the projects I\u2019m doing. As a queer person, I want to share my marriage,\u201d Ben Platt says. \u201cBut in a curated and safe way.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Platt is also pivoting in his use of social media to promote his work and engage with fans. When he was younger, he took a more bare-it-all approach, but he now sees great value in drawing firm boundaries around his private life. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to come to my shows. I want people to know the projects I\u2019m doing. As a queer person, I want to share my marriage,\u201d Platt says. \u201cBut in a curated and safe way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Platt admires the old-school mystery that stars of a former generation enjoyed, and seeks to emulate that as much as possible within a modern landscape filled with oversharing. Talking about himself \u2014 on his terms \u2014 onstage feels just right.<\/p>\n
Acting and singing for a living isn\u2019t exactly the most stable profession, and despite his fame, Platt is still at the whims of a changing and increasingly volatile industry. He tapes auditions regularly, and tries to find good work amid stiff competition. When things feel unsteady in that realm, Platt feels especially grateful for his ability to perform solo residencies like the one at the Ahmanson.<\/p>\n
The shows ride the line between theatrical narrative and pop concert, and match Platt\u2019s uniqueness as a performer. Since he began acting and singing as a child, Platt has never been just one thing.<\/p>\n
As the son of film and theater producer Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, Platt says he had a \u201ccomically liberal upbringing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI consider myself hugely privileged and blessed to have grown up here,\u201d Platt says of L.A., where he attended the elite Harvard-Westlake School before studying at New York\u2019s Columbia University. He felt drawn to New York because of the theater, but also \u201cto have a space to really form myself as a person, and find who I am as an adult and as an artist outside of the intensive community that I grew up in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming back to L.A. for the Ahmanson shows represents a full-circle moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a circle that hopefully will continue for many years and change,\u201d says Platt, knocking on wood one more time. \u201cBut at least for this chapter, it\u2019s such a nice return.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson’<\/p>\n
Where:<\/b> Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave.<\/p>\n
When:<\/b> 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursdays; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturdays; 3 and 8 p.m. Sundays. Dec. 12 to 21.<\/p>\n
Tickets:<\/b> Start at $44.85<\/p>\n
Contact:<\/b> (213) 628-2772 or CenterTheatreGroup.org<\/a><\/p>\nRunning time:<\/b> 1 hours, 40 minutes (with no intermission)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Platt describes himself as a highly anxious person, but there is one place that keeps his nerves…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":437757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[202426,1736,157166,19607,1582,276,4471,202429,149530,202427,202430,2961,224,5337,7605,202428,4370,11391,6620,29689],"class_list":{"0":"post-437756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ahmanson-residency","9":"tag-anxiety","10":"tag-ben-platt","11":"tag-broadway","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-child","15":"tag-debut-studio-album","16":"tag-favorite-thing","17":"tag-guest-star","18":"tag-l-a-show","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-most-people","23":"tag-other-singer","24":"tag-show","25":"tag-term","26":"tag-time","27":"tag-worry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115695126948089265","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}