Ben Platt

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1:05Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Ware and I'm here in Los Angeles with Lenny. And what's even better is that we're in our restaurant. Yeah, we're in Greetman's in Silver Lake. Which means that we aren't cooking, but we know exactly what we're eating. And it's going to be delicious. We are about how many days into our work, our holiday? Been here since Wednesday. And the weather's been pretty... It's just live in Ducks. Disappointing. And it's great today. It's great today. Got a bit warmer yesterday. Has been chilly. I feel like I've done quite a lot. The sun is... You've not stopped.

1:43I'm mixed in with it. I've been out to lots of restaurants. Good for you. Where have you been? I've been to Superba, where I saw Dev Patel. Oh, yeah. Sitting, eating his breakfast. So, yeah, we're in Greekman's. So we're eating Greek food today. Yeah. On the menu. Kindly. They're not open for lunch. that they've opened up especially for us. And for our guest. And for our guest, who is... Pretty fabulous. Ben Platt. I first saw Ben Platt in The Politician on Netflix, and I remember he sings in it, doesn't he? What a voice. And now he's coming on because he's got a new album out. Got a voice like...

2:23Oh, he's here. Got a voice like Syrup. Hello. Hello. I'm Jessie. Come in. Nice to meet you. How are you? So good. So happy to be here. I love that you just wander in and we're talking and then it's like you dip your toe into the LA life and lost feelers and then you're in New York. You're a jet setter. I'm a jet setter. With just two destinations usually. But between them, quite a jet setter. Can I just talk about Theatre Camp? Of course you can. I loved it. Thank you. It wasn't on the... I couldn't find it. It wasn't on. it was on my last flight to Los Angeles. It's so good. Thank you. Thank you for watching it.

3:06No, but you were part of it, weren't you? You were one of the execs. Yes, Noah and I and our friends Nick and Molly, we wrote it all together and produced it together, and then the two of them directed, and we're in it as well. So where can I find it now? Hulu. How do we get Hulu? You can buy it on... Oh, it's Disney Plus. It's on Disney Plus in the UK. Oh, I'd be able to watch it here. It's so good. It was so gorgeous. Dolly, what wine did you want? Oh, my goodness. Well, it's day. What do you fancy? So maybe... White or rosé? Are you going to go, the sun's out, rosé? Sun's out, rosé. Do you like white?

3:42I like white. Okay, what kind of white do you like? Kind of like a crisp, dry... Okay, okay. Jonah likes all that funky shit. No, I don't like funky shit. What do you mean funky shit? Like organic? Yeah, like that fucking funky. Do you like a funky? I'm okay with it. Noah likes it more than me. So Noah's your other half. who is in Theatre Camp, but also is an actor, fabulous actor. Writer, actor, singer. Good doctor. Yes, he just, yes. He's in that all the time, right? Is that like the regular, that's like... But this is their last season, so he's done shooting it. And Noah, I remember, came to one of my shows years ago and was really, I just remember seeing him in the audience and just giving me lots of smiles, and I appreciated it.

4:21He is a really amazing audience member. He's like really... Oh, I thought I was special, no. Well, when he loves something. If he doesn't, he also won't lie. He doesn't bullshit. He commits to being the audience. Especially with something that's really appealing to him. And also he brings the party, as they say. How did you two meet? We met doing a comedy web series type of thing that never even saw the light of day when we were 19 and 20. So a while ago now, I'm 30. So a little over a decade ago. With the same collaborators and friends that made Theatre Camp with us. So that's, we, we met in that little crew.

5:00Um, and we started dating like pretty quickly, like immediately and, or like cooking up or I guess whatever you call it when you're 20. And was this in New York? This was in New York in Manhattan. Um, and pretty quickly into it, I kind of panicked and I wrote him this long indulgent note about how I was, you know, I had the sense we were going to be friends for life and I didn't want to ruin it. And we were too young and you know, I didn't want to jump into something and blah, blah, blah, blah. And he sort of hated me for a moment. And then we found a nice friendship for several years, which was sort of like a willy, won't they?

5:34We would have like a romantic moment every so often, but mostly a friendship. And then got older and then I came to my senses and we've been together now for like four years. You're engaged? We are engaged. Who proposed? I did first. Well done. That was making up for the lost year. Exactly. Is that the ring? This is the ring. Oh, it's gorgeous. Oh, it's gorgeous. He did good. He had sapphire. I'm in September. I gave him one. that has some emeralds because he's May. Oh, so you both got an engagement ring. Yes. Well, I did it first, and I did a really good job. Can we talk about it? Yeah, of course.

6:06Okay, come on. Why was it so good? Well, I really got him in terms of the surprise, which to me was the only goal, because he's very sharp, so it's very hard to get anything by him. And I planted the seed really far out that we were going to go have a night of hanging out with his sister and his sister's girlfriend, and he really thought that was the plan. And it was right around Thanksgiving. I also convinced him that my family was going to be doing Thanksgiving in LA and we were going to be doing it in New York with his. And so I brought him to the restaurant where we were supposedly going to meet his sister and her now fiance also.

6:43And we went up and it was empty and I had put flowers everywhere. Like half a glass. White, please. Yeah, so you put flowers. And he came in and was sort of like, thought at first that it was like seasonal decorations that the restaurant did and then I think took a second and realized that it was empty and that we were alone and then started to cry and then proposed to him and then our dear friend Shoshana Bean came out and sang a song for us that's Is that Shosh from hold on Shoshana, how do I know this person? She's like amazing singer, Broadway star She was in Hell's Kitchen now She was in Waitress, she was in Wicked Hairspray, she's been around for me.

7:21What was the song? It's called Bless the Telephone, Lobby Seafray's song. It's a really beautiful, like, acoustic ballad about long distance. Were you not tempted to sing yourself? No, honestly, because we do that every, like, that's our jobs and our lives. And so I feel like the most romantic thing to me is, like, the fact that we don't have to be that with each other. Not that we don't love to sing in the shower and stuff, but I think, you know. You did good, Ben. Thanks. It was good. And then he liked the ring, so he seems lighter. He's gorgeous. I've not seen him. He's very gorgeous. He's very gorgeous.

7:52Hannah said he was gorgeous. He's what they call a short king. What's a short king? He's rather short, but he's regal, really handsome, really cute. And do your family, is he Jewish? He is Jewish, yeah. Oi, you've got the lot. Exactly, my parents were very happy about that. Now, you're Jewish. Yes. How did you get brought up? Was it Friday night dinners every Friday? Yes, Shabbat was very big in the house. I went to Jewish day school. I went to Jewish summer camp. My family's pretty observant, conservative Jews. It was bar mitzvah. It was musical theater themed, of course. A musical theater themed bar mitzvah?

8:30Of course, I sang Jersey Boys with my brothers and my dad. Oh, my God. Had the voice dropped yet or not? Just was learning how to navigate the drop. Oh, God. But I did sing the Frankie Valli part. Wow. Oh, wow. And we had Jordan Firstman on. He had a Wicked themed. Oh, did he have Wicked or Magic? Wicked. Benny Blanco had Magic. Incredible. I had my bat mitzvah like two years ago and I didn't have a theme. You were an adult bat mitzvah? Yeah. Amazing. Where'd you do it? In my mum's living room. It's amazing. Did you read Torah? Yeah. Oh my God. She sang. Did you give a dvar? Like, did you give a speech?

9:09Yes, I did. Amazing. About queer representation, like the queer reading on Joseph rejecting Potiphar's wife. Ah. was Joseph gay? Hello he loves he loves he loves his gorgeous coat like hello and he said no to Potiphar's wife so you know you'd think he was or he was just who knows there's many different interpretations I'd like to think so cheers Noah played Joseph and he played him very again it was amazing cheers Lachime I have to say the music in Joseph the musical is so good I love it it pops off I wanted to I always wanted to be the narrator. Oh, you'd sing the shit out of that. I would have tried.

9:51Jesse, are you going to do musical theatre ever? I would like to. You do musical theatre. I do. Was it Parade? That's what I just did, yes. And that was, was it two of you? No, you did the other one on Broadway recently with the lady. Yeah, that was Parade. Parade. With Michaela Diamond. And it got rave reviews. It went well. It was good. Was that your first time doing Broadway? No. My third. I did Book of Mormon. I replaced in that show when I was quite young. I was 21, I think. And then I did Evan Hansen on Broadway. Of course, of course. But you didn't bring it to England, though. I did not, no.

10:27Well, I was with that role from the readings all the way to the Broadway show. So like three years of developing and different productions and stuff. So by then I was just ready to hang it up. Because I never saw Evan Hansen, but I started watching the film. How did you find the change of transferring it from the stage to the film? Because it was that way around, wasn't it? It was, yeah. It was tough. It was tough because it's such a theatrical conceit. And I think it's hard for people to see musical numbers in a contemporary setting that are played so real to life. Like, there's no fantastical element.

11:05Like, in La La Land, where things are sort of magic realism or, you know, in something that's a period piece where you expect to see people singing, I think seeing people in modern school hallways and in dining rooms and things singing earnestly, it's a hard translation. And we also made it during COVID, which that was tough. It was one of the earliest, earliest productions in COVID. It was like fall 2020. So lots of hazmat suits and we couldn't see anyone or talk to anyone. So it was quite dreary. But, you know, at least it exists. So back to Shabbat dinners. Yes. Who was around the dinner table?

11:41I have quite a large family, so I have four siblings. Where were you born, brought up? In Westwood, here. Oh, here. Where's Westwood? Like adjacent to Beverly Hills, sort of very suburban. Okay. I went to elementary school, like right in the neighborhood. Right. How many brothers? Two brothers and two sisters. So I'm number four out of five. I've got my oldest sister's married with four boys. Yeah. My brother's married with a boy and a girl. My sister is married with a boy and another boy on the way. Yeah. And then there's me and my little brother who are both gay. Okay. Which has been fun. But it was all of us around the table, and usually it's either some cousins or another family from the community or someone's friend from school and their parents.

12:25Always some sort of communal gathering. Is shabat dinner as traditional, like chicken soup, chopped liver, roast chicken? Not all the way. Or not the same in L.A.? Close. I mean, there's almost always a chicken of some kind. My mom also makes amazing London broils, so there was some of that. What is that? London broil. Like a really yummy, chunky, I don't know how to describe it. It's meat, beef, and it's sort of like, it's like a giant steak. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like a really beautiful kind of sliced steak situation. Not like brisket. No. Also brisket we would make, but cooked differently.

12:58I think brisket is like a slow roast. London broil, is it more like tagliata? Maybe, I don't know. Would you have it rare? Would you have it rare? Noah is going to be listening to this and just like rolling and being like, I can't believe you don't know how to describe what a London broil is. He's going to be really embarrassed by my lack of knowledge. London Royal. And is London the cut of the meat? Something that I wish I knew. Because I think when I've been to Whole Foods, it says... Ben has no idea, Mum. I've been to London. Yeah, it looks a bit like kind of... See? See? Chunky steak. Yeah.

13:24What is it? Okay, it looks like onglet or something, maybe. Flank. Flank. Flank. Lean and flavorful. That's like... It is a bit like onglet. Very tasty, chewy. So that rice pilaf we always would have. Oh, wow. My mum makes this thing called caramel. mold that's sort of like a savory carrot cake type of situation that her mother passed down. Are you Sephardic? No, Ashkenazi. See, I would never think to have rice or like a carrot or a steak. I don't know, but I love that. It's a nice little collection of weird traditional stuff. Lots of like dig in, everyone have a go. It's a big family. Always buffet style.

14:03And also there's so many of us, so it's like you gotta Noah makes fun of me because I eat very fast, but it was because if you didn't, someone takes it. Well, Jesse eats fast, and there's no reason for that. I also, I went to a Shabbat in Australia, and they had paper plates, and I thought that was genius. No cleanup? No cleanup. Screw the environment. Recycle. Sure, recycle, recycle. But it was so good, because they were just like, look, we've made all this delicious stuff, and we don't want to wash up. And I thought, yeah, respect. Noah's an amazing chef, and I'm a really good... Eater. Sue chef.

14:38I was going to say Sue, mostly eater. But when I say Sue, I really mean I clean up as he goes, so that by the time we're eating, we don't have a ton left to do. That's perfect. Because I can't really sit and enjoy a relaxing meal if I can see just a sink. Are you OCD? Oh, my God. I'm an amazing folder. I'm really good at organizational things. But exactly, if I'm going to relax and enjoy some wine and some food, I can't have a looming, giant sink of dishes. So what's your favorite sort of meal? My favorite type of meal. I mean, cuisine-wise, I'm a big Japanese cuisine person. I love sushi. I love raw fish.

15:10Where's your spot that you go to? Oh, my goodness. If someone else is paying. In New York, the Blue Ribbon on Sullivan Street is really delicious. They've got a Blue Ribbon in the Grove. Is it not as good? Yeah. Well, it's sort of become chain-y. I went to one in New York, and I loved it. It was amazing. It's really delicious. I mean, don't quote me, but I think it started downtown on Sullivan. And all the locations are great, but I think there's something a little special about that. And then here, I used to go to Nozawa, which was like the little sort of sushi countery, omakase place on Ventura that has now, I think, like sugarfish and all of that is from that same chef.

15:51So you really like Japanese? I do. I love it. But what would Noah cook at home? He hates it. He's an anti-fish person, so he likes to cook everything else, which obviously I'm happy to eat truly anything. And he makes really good Italian food. He's half Italian, half Jewish. Oh, wow. That's a good combo. He makes really good chicken parm. He makes really good pasta. He makes a really delicious meatloaf for me because I love meatloaf. I do too, and I don't feel like it gets enough attention. I think I'll make you one. He's literally making me one tonight. I'll send you photos. He should have come.

16:24I know. But he wouldn't have got the meatloaf. I know, it's true. So does he put an egg in it? Yes, I think so. And then obviously Heinz is important on top. The ketchup is important as the main sauce component for a traditional milo. I didn't know this. It keeps it moist and it's really good. Will you ask him to send us his recipe? Yeah, of course. We'll have a go at that. Absolutely. So I presume from hearing the menu, your mum's a good cook. She is a really good cook. She, she, she, it's a lot about tradition for her and like carrying things on and things that her parents made, things that my dad's parents made.

17:05And mostly it's about like giving us all a reason to sit and eat something. So she's like very, she has a lot of other ambitions and things that she does. So she doesn't necessarily, that's not like her source of joy in the way that maybe for some people it's like purely a pastime and an art. But she's excellent. But it's important. Yes, yes. What's their heritage? Are they Polish, Russian? I think on both sides separately they're Latvian. I think we're Eastern European. My dad's separately and also my mom. Both lead back there. Are we that, Jessie? No. We're Ukrainian. We're Lithuanian, I think.

17:39And Ukrainian. Ukrainian-Russian, yeah. Same vibe. Yeah, same vibe. So what are some of the recipes that your dad's side have been, what's been passed down from your dad's side? Well, my grandma Sue who passed, she was a really amazing cook, one of the best in the family, and she used to make these things called peanut butter balls, which are, it's basically like melted butter, peanut butter. It's like a cross between a candy and a truffle and like a little pastry and it's really delicious. So is there a pastry around it? No, it's just like a... Sounds like an energy ball at the moment. Sort of.

18:15It's like holds its shape but is really soft and it sort of almost feels like a frozen ball of peanut butter but there's like some chocolate and it's, I'm not, I'm doing a bad job. You're terrible at this thing. So you could have it at Passover? Yes. Because it had no flour. So is it a sweet thing? Kosher Passover, yes. It's a dessert. Okay, yeah. It's like a treat, a snack, a treat, a dessert. It's like, you can make a big batch. Love that. All the grandkids eat them. And I grew up never loving peanut butter and it's one of the only things that helped to sway me to the side. Are you going to do Passover?

18:47Are you observant at all? Not in terms of, I used to be with my family when I was a kid, but not in terms of like keeping the Noah Chomets thing. I don't necessarily do that but I always do a Seder somewhere. Yeah. And you eat matzo. Yeah, of course. Matzo pizza. Yeah. Matzo with cream cheese. Yeah. Matzo with melted Munster cheese is really, really good. Melted? Munster cheese. What's Munster? It's like a, it's a white kind of square very thick cheese. Is it like a cheddar? Close, yes. And it's got like a nice like smoked edge. It's really good. Ooh. I like it in, I like matzo braai. Delicious.

19:21and I feel like you only do it it's basically a scramble, like a matzo scramble and you only do it once a year really we should bring it back around you should give it the other seasons do you like it with cinnamon and sugar or just savoury as a scramble replacement essentially but matzo balls manage to be year round so maybe let's bring matzo bra year round I agree, absolutely do you live here most of the time in LA? mostly or you work mostly in New York? our home base is Brooklyn in New York We have our kind of like real sort of forever home there, like life home. But we have a place here as well because my whole family's here.

19:56And of course, we're both actors. And so we have to work here all the time. So we flip flop. But New York is the home base. How's it feeling putting a record out? Good. Yeah? Does it feel different to Showtime? And like being on, I mean, does it feel different? Always. I mean, when I started making, when I made my first album, I think it was like, it was so, it's because I've been playing characters for so long. Yeah. And I had just finished doing Evan Hansen on Broadway and I had become very synonymous with that character. Yeah. And so I was so anxious to express my own perspective and be myself and like get back in touch with my own like emotions and ideas.

20:35And so I think the, the kind of like ripping the bandaid off of doing it for the first time, it felt so good because I was just so eager to do that. And now, as I've made my second and now third albums, it's like the kind of anxiety of revealing yourself that way creeps back in. And you realize that it's like quite vulnerable. And, you know, I ultimately love it. And it's a means to get to perform it, which is always to me the end game. I love to make an album and song write and try to share experiences. But at the end of the day, like my most favorite thing is to sing it live with people in the room and like share it directly.

21:12have got the most gorgeous voice. It's an unbelievable voice. I remember when I heard... Just gorgeous, honestly. Because I think I first heard you on The Politician singing. And then I got slightly obsessed with you, and I remember you put something on Instagram, you did like a Sam Smith cover. Yes, I did, yeah. And I sent it to Sam, and I was like, this is insane. And then, of course, seen you in lots of other things, but then, because I'd never seen Evan Hansen, and I can only imagine that was quite a heavy weight on your shoulders to have that character definitely and then you do this and your voice is so unique yeah and it's beautiful and you have like i just um i'm really jealous it's an amazing voice that's very kind when did you realize like you were going to probably theater camp i presume because you made our film about it and like you'd be doing that but what was the moment where you sung one song and you're like hang on a minute or other people were like hang on this is it it's a good question it's tough because I I don't know what is my actual memory and what is like my version of it now you know what I mean I think I I did Oliver when I was a kid who were you Oliver duh and I remember singing Where Is Love and just I think something about it was like I had I had done a couple of like youth shows before that and like Annie and Cinderella things where you're, you know, it's a little more cute.

22:36And, you know, it was sort of the first song I really got to like bite my teeth into. And I just remember, I don't know, the feeling of it, the reaction, I'm not sure what it was, but I was like, oh, this is something I am active at doing. Is there going to be a lead single? Yes, I put out a song called Andrew that's out now. That's about, specifically for me, it's about like being when you're queer and you're a young person and you fall for your straight friends who are lovely to you. And there's nothing you can do about it because it's just the chemistry is not right and the chemicals aren't right but you know it's like where do you put that melancholy I remember just being a kid and thinking it's nobody's fault that this doesn't work but it's just not working and obviously it can be about any unrequited love that anyone wants to put onto it but was was he called Andrew no did it sing better it was saying better and also maybe you don't want the person to know well there's been it was an amalgam there's been so many like different I think of like four or five different guys in middle school and high school and I have had crushes on people named Andrew, but it was honestly the one I liked the best.

23:33And also, doesn't he just sound like a sweet, straight man, Andrew? He does, he does. It could be Kevin, but Andrew's nice. So back to food. Shabbat was a big thing. Were you a fussy eater or did you eat everything? Fussy at the beginning. Yeah. In the kind of cliche kid way of like, I want grilled cheese and pasta and chicken tenders and I don't want to be adventurous. but then I think when I was like 11 and 12 and my eyes opened to how much more delicious things are if you don't limit yourself I got better and honestly Japanese food was a big help with that because sometimes when you're a kid it's like the idea of a raw fish, it can be scary and it's cold but I think realising how delicious that was, it was like oh well what else have I been missing?

24:17Do you have your sushi here? No. That we have in Britain No but I've spent a lot of time working in love Love. And also you have a really good chain that's like, it's like refrigerated. It's sort of to-go sushi. It's good. Yes. Really solid, always. It is good. Have you spent a lot of time in the UK? Yeah, I've done a couple of concerts and then I filmed this movie called The People We Hate at the Wedding there for a few months, which was like a cute Amazon Prime thing with Kristen Bell and Allison Janney. I'm going to watch it tonight. It's a very happy, rompy movie. Perfect. But I love spending time there.

24:49I love the theatre community there. I love food there. I like that it's like a do you think we're as big on musical theatre in Britain? not I think the straight theatre and the I don't mean like you know what I mean straight plays and the Shakespeare and the classics that's I think the most special specialty there I mean you have great musical theatre too but that's the stuff that's the most intimidating to me is because I feel like that's what really originated with you guys and you do best you're going to get the eyes of Tammy Faye coming to you yes I can't wait with Andrew speaking of Andrews Speaking of Andrews, I was, yeah.

25:24But you've got the original Tammy, I think. Yes, Katie Graben. Who's incredible, I think. I've seen her do Carole King, didn't I? Oh, was she Carole King? I think so. I've seen that. Did you see that in... The UK. I saw it in the UK. I saw Jess Bueller here as well, who was amazing, but I also saw it in the UK. She was really good. She was amazing. Oh, my goodness, this looks delish. Thank you, darling. Absolutely. Thank you. It's really the perks. Usually we would cook for you, however. Jonah's better than Jonah's just it makes life easier today thank you thank you so much start helping yourself gorgeous oh yes spanakopita a few different styles of spanakopita oh yeah how many different styles well Jonah I guess there's a like a shoo dough like a pastry dough and then classic phyllo on both sides but one is sort of stacked and the other is just are we being your guinea pig that we need to try all of them and tell you which one you need to put on the on the menu okay fine Great, thanks.

26:22I didn't know you could have Spanacopita three ways, but I appreciate it. Did you see anything in New York recently? Merrily We Roll Along. So great. Aren't you? Yeah. In the film, yes. In the film? Which is going to be filmed over, like, three decades? I think we have maybe 15 years to go. Have you started it? Mm-hmm. We have shot the first two sequences. We have another one coming up next year. and we just you get to spend time with Paul yes love Paul god you poor thing I know it sucks right yeah Meskel oh he's gorgeous yeah that he is inside and out is he brooding no not really I mean is he sensitive oh yes is he like his character in normal people at all much more joyful okay but yes he's very deep and introspective but couldn't be lovelier was anybody else into singing acting the group in your gang?

27:20Yes. You mean like siblings? Yes. We all grew up doing youth theatre and theatre at school. Okay. My sisters didn't ever pursue it. They are smart. They were like, we're not going to do this. This seems terrible. My older brother still performs and sings and he was Fierro and Wicked for a while. I'm going to see that. I've never seen it. You've never seen Wicked? I know. No, I haven't. I might have. Oh, I have. No, babe. I'm going. Come on. I'm investing. I'm taking my daughter and my niece and my son. I'm doing it so they can be prepared for the film, which I believe is going to be phenomenal.

27:56Yes. Well, I'm incredibly biased as my dad produced the film and created the musical as well. Oh, my God. I'm shining in my Nepo Baby life. Oh, my God. I love that Nepo Baby, but like musical theatre, it feels different. It's a special type. It feels very different. But, I mean, Cynthia couldn't be more gifted and she's been a friend for a long time and Ari is also obviously incredibly gifted, so it's going to be wonderful, I'm sure. So your whole family's in the show booth? Yeah, well, only my older brother and I are still sort of pursuing it, but everyone has a love for it. So what does your older brother do?

28:29He's sort of jack-of-all-trades, kind of does lots of different things. And my younger brother also has a beautiful voice and works in music, like in publishing. But we all definitely bond over a love of singing and theatre and musicals and Barbra Streisand. Oh shit, Barbra Streisand. Have you met her? I have. Have you sung with her? No, it's my greatest dream. Tell me about a Barbra Streisand encounter. Was there any food involved or drinks? She came to see me and Evan Hansen on Broadway. Did you know that, was it like, Barbra's coming in tonight? Yes, well, it was a very particular era when that show first came out where word was getting around and we were having lots of exciting visitors.

29:10And in the beginning I was like, I don't want to know. And then it became a sort of thing where I would happen upon people in the audience without knowing that they were there. And it would kind of interrupt me. So I decided I would just rather have all the information. So by that point, I was getting a list always of who was coming. And so I knew she was going to be there. What a list. And she came back afterwards and couldn't have been lovelier. And then she sat on my couch in my dressing room with me and asked me a lot of questions about crying and singing. Because Evan Hansen has a lot of, like, catharsis while singing.

29:42and she wanted to know, she wanted to get in there about the mechanics. She was like, where does the mucus go and when do you have time to swallow and where do you rest? Like, really wanted to get, like, talk shop about the singing and I was like, this is my dream come true. And you were like, well, you're crying. I was like, hello. Do you ever watch My Man? Like, if anyone knows how to sing and sing and cry. I've never seen it. Hold on, which one's not? That's the last song in the film version of Funny Girl that she sings where she's, where he's about to come home back from prison or maybe he just has come back from prison and she's singing on stage alone in the black.

30:13Oh, that is good. That is good. She's sobbing.

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31:30Help yourself if you... Oh, here we go. Now you've got to see this. Oh, now I think it's already flamed, hasn't it? No. Oh, you haven't? Okay, great. Something is about to be in flame? Yes. Right. Right. Yeah. Sure. It's great, isn't it? Fabulous. Oppa. And you yell, oppa. Oppa. Oppa. Thank you. These are little moments, you know, theatrical moments. I love it. Gorgeous. What is it with ouzo? Uzo, exactly. Yep. And you have it with, like... Houseme jam. Like a jam. What is the jam made from? Is it quince or what is it? No, today it's, I think it's caracara orange. Oh, yum. Wow. Thanks, Jonah. So when are you getting married?

32:16In the fall. Oh, wow. You've already had the bachelor party. Yes. Well, scheduling is tough because I'm about to go, I'm playing the palace on Broadway for three weeks. I'm doing a residency of my music. And then I'm doing a tour for the summer and then I get married after that. So I had to do the bachelor before all that began. Fair enough. Because, you know, when you're singing, you can't go hard. I know. So I wanted to go hard. Where did you go? We just did it in the city in New York, and we all stayed together in an apartment. And they did sort of like a cast party-themed party, because we all met going to cast parties when we were in high school together.

32:50So we had cocktails in water bottles, and they danced to music from high school. And my friend Nick made me a really intense, very involved scavenger hunt with lots of puzzles and things, which is what we really bond over. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to like riddles and puzzles and games and like I love Legos. Do you like an escape room? Love an escape room. Love. And then we went dancing at this place called Joy Face in New York which is really really fun. Oh that sounds good. And they play a lot of great music. Great like ABBA 70s gay stuff. It's great. I have to say I think it was the second song felt a bit ABBA at the beginning.

33:26Which? On your album. Oh All American Queen. Yeah there was like it was like the melody it just felt it had like a moment of Bjorn. Wow. Do you know what I mean though? I mean, I'll take it to the grave. No, listen, it was yeah, I loved it. It was great. Jessie, will you pass me the jam and a bit of toast? Yes. Please, just to try. I'm putting that there just in case you need some more. Did you get any jam with yours? Of course. That's a huge part of it. Yes, it's good. The Tang. You performed for Joe Biden the other day. Yeah. So the line-up was amazing, wasn't it? It was you, Lizzo? Yeah, Leah, Michelle, Cynthia, Riva, who was like one of the greatest instruments ever.

34:05You've sung a cover. Did you sing an original as well? No, just the... They wanted, like, you know, inspirational, upbeat kind of vibe. We need to ask you about your last supper. Does that mean the one of the last dinner I just had? No, the one that you're going to have before you go on a desert island. You're going away to sing on an island. You're not going to be allowed to have any of your delicious food that you want. starter main dessert drink of choice can it be like from different yes everywhere you can and who's that gorgeous man that did a whole day in new york did lots of different places you can do whatever you like okay so i'm having a vodka martini with a twist gray goose um my starter is a spicy tuna on crispy rice which is like uh you know i love that from nobu Yeah, the Novoi's a great one.

34:59Katsuya's a great one. Everyone's sort of doing it now, but a really good where it's like crisp on the outside and soft in the middle for the rice cake. Really nicely seasoned. Gorgeous. Spicy tuna mix, a little garnish. For the main, I mean, if it's like a last meal for a while, just maybe like a spaghetti bolognese. Just like a really nice meat sauce, thick pasta. Who's your favorite spag bowl from? Is it homemade or is it at a particular restaurant? Well, Noah. And it's one of the first things he taught me how to make. We made it on Zoom together during the pandemic. Do you have any tips, extra things?

35:33Do you put milk in it? Do you use beef or veal? I think he does. He tends to put butter and cream in most things. He's even more allergic to dairy than I am, and yet he simply can't veer away from it. But other than Noah's, I'm trying to think of like restaurants. Well, I mean, we've been to Italy, and it's hard to beat eating it from the source. You know what I mean? Are you having any sides with the spag ball? Maybe like a sautéed broccoli I really love. some garlic bread we're going Italian I think for the main nothing says main course a bowl of pasta that's the whole meal and dessert would be vanilla ice cream and cheesecake what kind of cheesecake?

36:14just a classic New York cheesecake even like juniors dense, big chunky bit of lemon in it but not a whole layer of citrus on top. I like just straight to the cheesecake. Nice cinnamon crust. And where do you get yours from? Oh, cinnamon crust. Anywhere that has it. Oh, you'll always order it? Yes, if it's on the menu. For my first 16 birthdays or something my cake was always a cheesecake. Do you want wine with it? I switch over to wine from the martini. Yeah, that's nice. Would you? I like a red. I like a really light drinkable, juicy red. Okay, so this has been my find from Trader Joe's. and their wine.

36:55It's great. So good and cheap. I bought the rosé from there. The guy was like, I was like, can you give me kind of an expensive Primitivo or something like that? And he went, yeah,$4.99. I said, oh God. And he went, trust me. What's it called? It's going to be delicious. We've got Trader Joe's. But I was like, I sound like a snob and I love a deal, but$4.99? Really? He went, trust me. If you want a Juicy Red. Noted. A Juicy Red. You don't need to spend all that money on the other shit. I love it there. We've got your Desert Island meal. What would be your Desert Island musical? Oh, good question.

37:30That you have to take with you. Like, I only can take one soundtrack, you're saying? Yeah. Sunday in the Park with George, which is a Sondheim musical. It's my favourite musical of all time. So that's where we need to enter. If we're going to go and study Sondheim, that's where you say to go start. It's my dream of all dream roles one day. I will do it before I pass. How old do you need to be to be that part? I'd say like in four or five years I could do it but it's about it's a fictionalized story about George Surratt the painter, like the pointillist painter and it's all about like the things you sacrifice to be an artist and how living in your head and loving your work takes away from your ability to connect with people and relationships and it's just so beautiful and there's a great PBS capture of the original cast with Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin that you can watch.

38:23I'm sure it's on Prime. No, and Bernadette Peters was in Gypsy. Yeah, but Mandy Patinkin was... We see her in Gypsy on Broadway like 20 years ago. I always wanted to marry Mandy Patinkin. Who is Mandy Patinkin? He was in Homeland. He was sore. Yes, that's right. Oh my God, you love him. And I loved him so much. And then I discovered he sang so beautifully. Amazing. He was the original Evita. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he's amazing. So you should watch that original. It's really well captured. It's a great... How do you get it on YouTube? I'm sure it's either Prime or Netflix. Someone's got it. I want to know, look, you're about to go and do a residency on Broadway, which is just so fabulous, the sentence.

38:59And then you're going on your tour. Like, I mean, you're having a good time, Ben. Cuckoo bananas, yeah. What does that mean? It's just having a fabulous time. Cuckoo bananas. Life is mad. Like, I could never have dreamed it, like, wild. How different is it when you're preparing for a residency on Broadway to when you're touring with preparation? I mean, and I'm talking more food because I just need some tips. Meaning like what? Do you keep the saying because it's singing and? Yes. Once we get like four or five weeks out, I'll start doing no dairy, no gluten, like high protein, lots of water. Probably cut back on the drinking, unfortunately.

39:37Just to optimize like as little mucus as possible. So, you know, it's having to clear so much and energetically you have everything you need to sing. and do you have tomatoes jesse avoids tomatoes no i i avoid high acid too like that yes i i sorry i'm high like anything that's high acid yes the residency because touring you move around yes i mean i just it exhausts it's exhausting quickly yeah no i can't wait to be in one because i love doing like a regular broadway show where you have a routine and you get comfortable so to get to do that mixed with doing your own perspective it's like my it's like a dream combination what's your what's your food of choice?

40:17Are you quite a creature of habit? So when you're in that zone, because I always just do chicken pho. Yeah, I love to eat at a, do you know what a dig is? Or like, it's like one of those places where you've got like a protein, a starch and a couple of veggies and you make like a little plate. So I like like a bowl where I just get right to the business of like a little bit of starch and carb for energy, a little bit of protein, chicken, a little bit of veggie. It's just for fuel, really. Exactly. It can't be really for indulgence, can it? No, just because, Anything that makes you feel too weighed down.

40:48But if you've done well, don't you want to eat a chocolate eclair or something? Well, you didn't ask me about after. Okay, let's talk about after. Well, I do still have to avoid dairy technically, but I love either a vegan dessert or some sorbet or some kind of dessert cocktail. A dessert cocktail? Yeah, like a little hot toddy. That's a really hot toddy. Yeah, because it's kind of medicinal. Good for the throat. Not too drying if you're going to have something. just something cozy but you I mean you're going on tour is there anywhere that you're looking forward to going for the food or is it just like off limits he's eating dig is there anywhere you'll be like you know what I've got a day off tomorrow we're fucking eating here well Nashville has amazing like hot chicken and barbecue and stuff so I'll and that's not so outside the realm of what I can have so I'll probably go in there and Chicago has such great food always so good so I'll have to find something when are you in Chicago I forget when the whole thing is like mid-June to the end of July.

41:44Do you ever sing karaoke? Or is it because you're a singer you never do it? I like to go with my closest friends. For my bachelor party, one of the things we did was go do karaoke. And what was your song? In that case, they each sort of sang. We each did a song that was important to us growing up or that we used to sing together. So which one was yours? If I'm really going to show off in karaoke, I like to do Celine Dion or Whitney Houston or something. If we're going to do it, let's do it. You know what I mean? What's your Celine Dion song? All coming back to me? Yeah, or All By Myself. Oh, of course.

42:18And your Whitney? If I'm trying to keep the energy up, how will I know? But if you're going for your moment, I have nothing. Would you, we've talked about sorbet, we've talked about dairy, would you have a little bit of olive oil ice cream with us? Just like a little spoonful? Yeah, of course. He's avoiding dairy. Well, no, I'm not. I mean, mum, we gave him the wrong bloody thing. My residency's not for a little bit, so. Okay. I'm already off the cheese train, so. Do you think you've got good table manners, Ben? Yes, in terms of, like, discourse. But I'm a little, I can chew with my mouth open sometimes.

42:59Also, I put my elbows on the table sometimes. Oh, my God, you need to. So, like that. Was it important in your family? Not really. When there's that many kids, like, those things are, those fall by the wayside. There was a lot of children. Yeah. As long as you're being actually respectful and nice to each other, then it doesn't really matter if you're sitting like this or a little messy or whatever. Where will your honeymoon be? Are we allowed to know? Italy. Where? One of the lakes or the seaside? We're going all over. We've only been once, and it was a very quick trip just to celebrate the end of parade.

43:29And so when we were there, we just had the dreamiest time. We were like, we have to come and do it right next time. So it'll be all over. We do the Postiano, Amalfi Coast, because you're on your honeymoon. and of course you should. You said it, not me. You should. That's grapefruit ice cream. Grapefruit? Yeah, try it. Would you like to try some grapefruit? No, you should try the olive oil first. I do love olive oil cake, so I think I'm going to really like the olive oil ice cream. It's really interesting. Oh, I like that. I think that's delicious. Mmm. It's gorgeous. I like that. Yeah. That's good.

44:04What, the grapefruit ice cream, yeah. Oh, Ben, it's been so lovely to meet you. Likewise. Good luck with your residency, with your tour, with the album. Thank you. Merrily we roll on. I can't believe we have to wait. How many years? I think we're down to like 15. Fucking hell. I won't be here then. Toy, toy, toy. Touch wood. Touch wood. Please God, I'll abide. But I don't. I'm old. Oh God, Mum, that's a very depressing way to finish this chat. Sorry. I'm very excited about that. But wow. Sorry, do you think we could have a prequel? Do you have to do a prequel? My parents say the same thing. They love to talk about it because it's such an exciting thing, but they're like, don't talk about how long it's going to be.

44:48But everyone's going to make it there. It's a reason to live. Okay, that's what I'm going to... Do you hear God? Listen. Thank you so much for coming on. Yeah, of course. Really lovely to meet you. Likewise, guys. What a delicious meal. Good luck with the album as well. Thank you.

45:18Ben Platt. Lovely, sweet, interesting. Has a Barbra Streisand story. Is multi-talented, does a bit of everything. I mean... Directs, produces, songwriters. Has a beautiful album coming out. I really enjoy seeing him. Me too. I don't know how it feels. He's really nice. I really appreciated Jonah. cooking for us. Which was your favourite thing? Do you like the flaming saganaki? I like this jam, hold on. The flaming saganaki. It's like marmalade. Flaming saganaki. Flaming sag was good. Spanakopita. I think we should put that on the menu, Jonah, the philo, I think it will go down very well. Sam wants me to bring back the dips.

46:00Thank you to Greetmans for giving us delicious food. Thank you to Ben for coming over, telling us all his food stories and um thank you mum because i feel like you seem very relaxed and i'll see you down on the beach tomorrow i will honey mind is coming out on the 31st of may you can pre-order it now and his single andrew is out nice story behind that yeah just just go and listen and fall in love

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