Ben platt is gay
The facial hair comes up because it has to. After all, the unofficial rulebook for any Americana artist stipulates somewhere that wherever an acoustic guitar shall go, a complete beard must too. And so Ben Platt is all about his furry face, but not just because he’s in full-on folk-roots mode for his third solo album, “Honeymind.”
Considering this particular genre isn’t necessarily a welcoming platform for openly queer musicians (or even close to one), there is a quiet rebelliousness to Platt simply existing in that space — just inquire Beyoncé, who shook up the country community just for being a Dark artist releasing her rural-toned “Cowboy Carter,” a nod to her Southern roots. As for Platt, his subtle defiance is front and center on the album’s cover, as he queers a classic vintage car-makeout scene while straddling the lap of his fiancé, Noah Galvin, but it is also embedded in its songs of longing, love and more love, too.
During a recent April afternoon from his place in New York, I spoke with Platt about the reasons he’s especially proud to be an openly queer creator on “Honeymind,” how buying his first home with Galvin inspired one very special song on the album and how he real
You may know Ben Platt from his originating role in the musical Dear Evan Hansen. Or as the awkward magician with the voice of an angel in Pitch Perfect. Or as Beanie Feldstein’s BFF. However you comprehend Ben Platt, you probably love him. We do, too, and with his debut album coming out, we figured it was period for 18 things to know about Platt:
1. Ben Platt was born in Los Angeles; he has four siblings. His dad, Marc Platt, is a production, TV, and theater producer. (He has produced a loooong list of things, from Legally Blonde and Rent Live!). His parents raised their kids with a traditional Jewish upbringing to “protect them from Marc’s world, to teach them to be committed to a community larger than themselves and to live a grounded life.”
2. He attended the Jewish Camp Ramah in California. For Platt, Ramah was “the first place that I was allowed to decide for myself what kind of Jew I would be.”
3. “I played Sky Masterson four times in ‘Guys and Dolls’ in my childhood, and one of those was at my Jewish summer camp, Camp Ramah in California, and we perform all of our productions there in Hebrew, so I can give you a little bit of ‘Luck Be A Lady,’ in Hebrew,” Platt told
It comes up casually, as Ben Platt prefers. Tucked into "Older," a theatrical juggernaut that doesn't even try to hide the truth that the actor-singer introduced Evan Hansen to the society (because why would it?), the line is a personal aside expressed on an otherwise universal ballad about wishing to speed up time in your youth, only to hope for more of it as you age: "And will I obtain to know myself in the place I am / Get to plummet in love with another man, and understand."
If you didn't already realize Ben Platt is gay, this is how he wishes you'd find out. Casually.
The theater star turned pop crooner came out in his personal life when he was 12, then landed his Broadway debut in "The Book of Mormon" as Elder Cunningham in 2012. He went on to bag a Grammy and a Tony (he has an Emmy too, putting him on EGOT watch) for his moving portrayal of the titular teen in "Dear Evan Hansen," also on Broadway. And, of course, he brought literal magic to the "Pitch Perfect" franchise, as super nerd Benji Applebaum.
But Platt's serious and emotional Atlantic debut "Sing to Me Instead" is his first general expression of self, at 25. "The main reason I wanted to generate this music was to have the o
Much like with b-mitzvah parties, a wedding can really set itself apart with a good theme. Beanie Feldstein and Bonnie-Chance Roberts’ summer camp themed nuptials in 2023 stood out as one of the most charming and coziest celebrity weddings in recent history. Meanwhile, Bel Powley and Douglas Booth’s red and pink wedding at a London plant nursery dripped with chicness.
Now, Jewish actors Ben Platt and Noah Galvin are joining their ranks. The couple were married this past weekend in festivities that were ostensibly “dress to dance” themed, per Vogue. But, in reality, it seems that the wedding weekend’s overarching vibe is more clearly summed up as very gay and very Jewish.
The weekend kicked off with a Shabbat welcome and rehearsal dinner at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side — a former synagogue which has been restored and converted into an art gallery and performance space. (Fun fact: Sarah Jessica Parker also held her wedding there!) At the event, they both wore navy Thom Browne outfits. Noah was in a suit jacket and pants, while Ben wore a blazer and skirt. “For our Shabbat rehearsal dinner, I wanted to be a bride so I wore a skirt,” Ben told Vogue. They al