Ben Platt will lend his vocals to an upcoming concert residency on Broadway this spring. The Tony Award-winning actor most recently seen onstage in “Parade” will offer audiences an 18-performance engagement at the newly refurbished Palace Theatre. Michael Arden, who won a Tony for helming the “Parade” revival, will serve as director of the residency, set to run from May 28 through June 15 . The show, titled “Ben Platt: Live at the Palace,” marks the first booking announced for the Palace since it closed for renovation in 2018. The concert run will celebrate the release of Platt’s upcoming album, “Honeymind.”
“Ben Platt: Live at the Palace” is expected to feature numbers from the new album in addition to selections from his prior albums, “Reverie” and “Sing to Me Instead,” as well as additional songs.
The Palace, which opened in 1913, has been home to concert runs headlined by such performers as Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Elvis Presley, Shirley MacLaine, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli and, perhaps most famously, Judy Garland. The venue’s temporary closing, following the run of the musical “SpongeBob SquarePants,” was followed by a significant renovation and restoration, which included raising the historically landmarked venue 30 feet into the air.
Platt won the 2017 Tony as Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his title turn in “Dear Evan Hansen,” which led to a Grammy Award win as a lead vocalist on the musical’s cast album and a Daytime Emmy Award for a “Today” show performance promoting the show. Platt received a second Tony nod, also as Leading Actor, for playing Leo Frank in the Tony-winning 2023 “Parade” revival, along with a Grammy nod for his work on the production’s cast recording. In addition to his Broadway debut replacing as Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon,” Platt’s body of work includes a Golden Globe-nominated performance in the series “The Politician” and credits as co-writer/star of the motion picture “Theater Camp.”
“It is far beyond my wildest imagination to play a residency of my own music in a house as storied as the Palace,” said Platt in a statement. “I feel blessed to be part of the theater community, and to have the opportunity to perform as myself and from my own perspective on a Broadway stage is one of the greatest honors of my life. I can’t wait to introduce my new record on the beautifully revived stage. My hope is to bridge my musical theater roots that I hold so dear with the world of classic Americana songwriting that I’ve fallen so deeply in love with. I mean, Liza! Judy! ‘Dreams come true’ doesn’t even begin to cover it!”
“Ben Platt: Live at the Palace” is being produced by Interscope Records and Dave Cobb.
A music video of the song “Andrew” from “Honeymind” can be viewed below.
