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Posted on May 4, 2019

9 Stories Ben Platt Told Us That Will Make Any Theater Kid Feel SEEN

"I basically copied the way he sang and that's how I learned to sing..."

by Jen Abidor, Nora Dominick, Hal Rhorer

To celebrate the release of his album, Sing to Me Instead, Ben Platt stopped by the BuzzFeed office to tell us about some of his First Times.

But since this is BEN FREAKIN' PLATT we're talking about, obviously the interview was full of so much musical goodness from Dear Evan Hansen and Pitch Perfect to stories that'll make any theater kid say, "HARD SAME!"

Here are some of those finest moments:

1. He knew absolutely nothing about Dear Evan Hansen when he went in for his first reading, and was "deeply terrified" about it.

2. When he got to the Pitch Perfect set, Ben was super-excited to learn he'd be working with Skylar Astin — he had known him through the theater world and always wanted to get closer to him.

3. Ben bonded with his now BFF, Beanie Feldstein, when they talked about theater for hours at a bat mitzvah together.

4. Ben knew he needed to be in the theater world after seeing his first Broadway show, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and getting completely starstruck by Gavin Creel.

BuzzFeed

"I went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie. That was my first Broadway show when I was 9 or 10. I was with my mom. We went backstage, and Gavin Creel took us around, gave us a tour and kind of showed us around. And I was a) starstruck by him because he’s beautiful and so talented and I basically copied the way he sang and that’s how I learned how to sing and b) because I was like, I have to be in this world. I gotta be in the theater. He’s the coolest. He knows all these backstage secrets. And I was like, 'my life is kind of set.' And it kind of stuck."

Ben Platt @BenSPLATT

My alarm has been Gavin Creel singing the opening of “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” for a year straight and I don’t remember life without it
01:14 AM - 15 Aug 2018
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5. One time, Ben was in an Uber and a Dear Evan Hansen commercial came on, and the driver didn't believe it was Ben singing "Waving Through a Window."

6. He was upset when he didn't land the role of Tevye in his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof — but ultimately found his role of Motel to be a better fit anyway.

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9 Stories Ben Platt Told Us That Will Make Any Theater Kid Feel SEEN

To celebrate the release of his album, Sing to Me Instead, Ben Platt stopped by the BuzzFeed office to tell us about some of his First Times.

View this video on YouTube

But since this is BEN FREAKIN' PLATT we're talking about, obviously the interview was full of so much musical goodness from Dear Evan Hansen and Pitch Perfect to stories that'll make any theater kid say, "HARD SAME!"

Here are some of those finest moments:

1. He knew absolutely nothing about Dear Evan Hansen when he went in for his first reading, and was "deeply terrified" about it.

2. When he got to the Pitch Perfect set, Ben was super-excited to learn he'd be working with Skylar Astin — he had known him through the theater world and always wanted to get closer to him.

3. Ben bonded with his now BFF, Beanie Feldstein, when they talked about theater for hours at a bat mitzvah together.

4. Ben knew he needed to be in the theater world after seeing his first Broadway show, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and getting completely starstruck by Gavin Creel.

5. One time, Ben was in an Uber and a Dear Evan Hansen commercial came on, and the driver didn't believe it was Ben singing "Waving Through a Window."

6. He was upset when he didn't land the role of Tevye in his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof — but ultimately found his role of Motel to be a better fit anyway.

7. For his sister's bat mitzvah, he helped write a song about her to the tune of "The Book Report" from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.

8. His reaction to his Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical was so incredibly pure.

9. After winning his Tony, Ben celebrated by doing karaoke with his best friends.

Ben's new album, Sing to Me Instead, is out now! Your ears and emotions are NOT READY.

9 Stories Ben Platt Told Us That Will Make Any Theater Kid Feel SEEN

To celebrate the release of his album, Sing to Me Instead, Ben Platt stopped by the BuzzFeed office to tell us about some of his First Times.

View this video on YouTube

But since this is BEN FREAKIN' PLATT we're talking about, obviously the interview was full of so much musical goodness from Dear Evan Hansen and Pitch Perfect to stories that'll make any theater kid say, "HARD SAME!"

Here are some of those finest moments:

1. He knew absolutely nothing about Dear Evan Hansen when he went in for his first reading, and was "deeply terrified" about it.

2. When he got to the Pitch Perfect set, Ben was super-excited to learn he'd be working with Skylar Astin — he had known him through the theater world and always wanted to get closer to him.

3. Ben bonded with his now BFF, Beanie Feldstein, when they talked about theater for hours at a bat mitzvah together.

4. Ben knew he needed to be in the theater world after seeing his first Broadway show, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and getting completely starstruck by Gavin Creel.

5. One time, Ben was in an Uber and a Dear Evan Hansen commercial came on, and the driver didn't believe it was Ben singing "Waving Through a Window."

6. He was upset when he didn't land the role of Tevye in his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof — but ultimately found his role of Motel to be a better fit anyway.

7. For his sister's bat mitzvah, he helped write a song about her to the tune of "The Book Report" from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.

8. His reaction to his Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical was so incredibly pure.

9. After winning his Tony, Ben celebrated by doing karaoke with his best friends.

Ben's new album, Sing to Me Instead, is out now! Your ears and emotions are NOT READY.

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