Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S16 Ep 30: Ben Platt

Episode Date: May 8, 2024

We’ve got Broadway & Hollywood superstar Ben Platt joining us this week for lunch. We met Ben at one of our very favourite restaurants, Greekman’s, for the very best Greek food in LA! The wonderful Jonah and his team cooked up a delicious lunch while Ben told us some about his musical themed bar mitzvah (of course), the story of his engagement, the delicious meals his fiancé Noah Galvin cooks him, how he is preparing for his broadway residency, his love of an escape room, and how his next project is filming over 20 years! We had the best time with you Ben, good luck with the residency and the new album! Ben’s album Honeymind is out on May 31st and available to pre-order now, tickets for his 18 night residency at The Palace Theatre in NYC are on sale now, and he is also on tour across the US this summer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello 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 Greekman'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? We've been here since Wednesday. And the weather's been pretty disappointing.

It's just live in Dublin. And it's great today. It's great today. It got a bit warmer yesterday. It has been chilly. I feel like I've done quite a lot. You've not stopped. 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. So we're eating Greek food today. Yeah. On the menu, kindly, they're not open for lunch, but 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... Oh, he's here. Got a voice like syrup. Hello. Hello. I'm Jessie. Come in. a voice like Cyril. Hello. Hello. I'm Jessie.

Come in. Nice to meet you. 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 Los Feliz and then you're in New York.

You're a jet setter. I'm a jet setter. With just two destinations usually, but betweenork you're a jet setter i'm a jet setter with just two destinations usually but between them quite a jet setter um can i just talk about um theater camp of course you can i loved it thank you it wasn't on the i watched it find it it wasn't on it was on my last flight to um to los angeles it's so good thank you thank you for watching it no but you were part of it weren't you like, 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. And it's like a passion project. So where can I find it now? Hulu. How do we get Hulu? You can buy it on... Oh, it's Disney+.

It's on Disney+. Oh, great. In the UK. Oh, I'd be able to watch it here. It's so good. It was so gorgeous. Darling, 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? I 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 the funky shit. He'll do normal. white do you like? Kind of like a crisp, dry... Okay, okay. Jonah likes all that funky shit. No, I don't like the funky shit. He'll do normal as well. What do you mean funky shit? Like organic?

Yeah, like that fucking funky. Do you like it 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, a fabulous actor.

Writer, actor, singer. Good doctor, is he? Yes, he just... 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 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 he is a really amazing audience member he's like really oh I thought I was special

no well when he loves something no he doesn't yeah thank you he also won't lie like he he doesn't bullshit he he gets he he commits he really does especially with something that's really appealing to him and also he really he brings the party as they say how did you two meet we met doing um like a comedy web series type of thing that never even saw the light of day when we were like 19 and 20 so a while ago now i'm 30 so like a little over a decade ago with the same collaborators and friends that made theater camp with us so that's we we met in that little crew

um 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 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. We 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 last year exactly is that the ring this is the ring oh it's gorgeous oh it's cool he did good

it's sapphire i'm a september i gave him one that's uh 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 and then can we talk about it yeah of course okay 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. And we went up and it was empty and I had put flowers everywhere. Like half a glass of it. White, please. empty and I had put flowers everywhere. Like half a glass. White, please.

Yes, 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 he 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. 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 a while. What was the song? It's called Bless the Telephone, Labi Sifre 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, man.

Thanks. It was good. And then he liked the ring, so he seems I think, you know. You did good, man. Thanks. It was good. And then he liked the ring, so he seems better. Is he gorgeous? I've not seen him. He's very gorgeous. He's very gorgeous. Hannah 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. You've got the lot. Exactly. My parents were very happy about that. 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 like pretty observant, conservative Jews. It was bar mitzvah, it was musical theatre themed, of course. A musical theatre themed bar mitzvah. It was musical theater themed, of course.

A musical theater themed bar mitzvah. Of course. I sang Jersey Boys with my brothers and my dad. Oh, my God. As the entrance. 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. Wicked.

Benny Blanco had magic. Incredible. I had my bat mitzvah like two years ago, and I didn't have a theme. You were adult bat mitzvah? Yeah. Amazing. Where'd you do it? In my mom's living room.

That's amazing. It was fabulous. Did you read Torah? Yeah. Oh, my God. She sang. Did you give a dvar? Did you give a speech?

Yes, I did. Amazing. About queer reading on Joseph rejecting Potiphar's wife. Ah. Was Joseph gay? Hello. He loves his gorgeous coat. Like, hello.

And he said no to Potiphar's wife. So you 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 good.

It was amazing. Cheers. Look, I'm... I have to say, the music in Joseph, the musical, is so good. I love it. It pops off. I always wanted to be the narrator. Oh, you'd sing the shit out of that.

I would have tried. But... Jessie, 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. 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. You didn't bring it to England, though. I did not. No. Well, I had already, 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. 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 it was tough it was tough because it's it's such a um 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 like in lala 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 like people in modern school hallways and and in like dining rooms and things like singing earnestly is a it's a hard translation and we also made it during COVID um which um that was tough it was one of the earliest, earliest productions in COVID. It was like fall 2020. So lots of like 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? I 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, 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 um i went to elementary school like right in the neighborhood right um so how many brothers two brothers and two sisters so i'm number four out of five i've gotten my oldest sister's married with four boys yeah my brother's married with a boy and a girl my sister'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 like someone's friend from school and their parents or, you always some sort of communal gathering is shabbat dinner as traditional like chicken soup chopped liver roast chicken not all the way same in la close i mean there's always almost always a chicken of some kind my mom also makes amazing london broil so there was some of that what is london broil like a really yummy chunky i don't know how to describe it it's it's meat it's 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. I think brisket is like a slow roast. London broil is more like caliata, 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 broil. 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.

What is it? It looks like onglet or something maybe. Flank. Flank. Lean and flavorful is it? It looks like onglet or something, maybe. Flank. Flank, okay. Lean and flavorful. It is a bit like onglet. Very tasty, chewy. So that rice pilaf we always would have.

My mom makes this thing called carrot mold. That's sort of like a savory carrot cake type of situation that her mother passed down. Oh, wow. Are you Sephardic? No, Ashkenazi. Oh. See, I would never think to have rice. Or like a carrot, a steak. Not with 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. It's always buffet style. Right. Yes, and 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 it someone takes it well jesse eats

fast there's no reason 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 sure recycle but like um 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.

I 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. You're perfect. 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. I love... Where's your spot that you go to? Oh, my goodness. Well, there's...

If someone else is paying. In New York, the Blue Ribbon on Sullivan Street is really delicious. And in LA... They've got a Blue Ribbon in the Grove. Is it not as good? Yeah. Well, it's sort of become chain-y. I really...

I went to one in New York and I loved it. It was amazing. It's really, 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 counter-y

omakase place on Ventura that has now, I think, like sugar fish and all of that is from that same chef. Okay. So you really like Japanese.

I do. I love it. But what would Noah cook at home? He hates it. So 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. Really good chicken par. And he makes really good Italian food. He's half Italian, half Jewish. Oh, wow. That's a good combo. 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. I know. 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. Oh. As part of the main sauce component. For, like, a traditional Milo. I didn't know this. Yeah. It's the, like, keeps it moist and it's really good.

Yeah. Will you ask him to send us his recipe? Yeah, of course. So that we can do we'll have a go at that absolutely so so i presume from hearing the menu your mom'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 um and mostly it's about like giving us all a reason to sit and eat something so she's like very she's a lot of other ambitions and things that she does

so she doesn't necessarily that's not like her source of joy and the way that maybe for some people it's like purely a pastime and an art but she's excellent it's important yes what's their heritage are they polish russian i think on both sides separately they're Latvian. I think we're Eastern European. Like my dad separately and also my mom both lead back there. Are we Lat, Jessie? No. We're Ukrainian. We're like Lithuanian

I think. And 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 my grandma sue who passed she is uh 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 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. It'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 doing a bad job.

You're terrible at this Ben. So you could have it at Passover? Yes. Because you 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? Do you, are you observant at all? Not in in terms of i used to be with my family when i was a kid but not in terms of like keeping the no hametz thing yeah i don't necessarily do that but i always do a seder somewhere yeah and you eat matzah yeah of course yeah matzah pizza

yeah matzah with cream cheese yeah matzah with melted munster cheese is really really good oh wow munster cheese what's munster it's Melted? Munster cheese. What's Munster? It's like a white kind of square. White cheese. Like a cheddar? Close, yes. And it's got like a nice smoked edge. It's really good.

Oh. I like it in, I like Matzo Brie. Delicious. And I feel like, you know, 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? No. Or just savoury? I like savoury. Me too. As a scramble replacement, essentially. Yeah. But matzo balls manage to be year-round,

so maybe let's bring matzo braai year-round. I agree, absolutely. Do you live here most of the time in LA? Mostly. Or do 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 is here and 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!

Does it feel different a record out? Yeah. 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 and so I think the the kind of like ripping the band-aid 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 um vulnerable and um you know I I ultimately love it and it's a means to get to perform it which is always to me the end game is like I love to make an album and song write and try to share experiences, but at the end of the day, my most favorite thing is to sing it live with people in the room and share it directly.

You have got the most gorgeous voice. It's an unbelievable voice. Thank you, that's very nice. Just gorgeous, honestly. Because I think I first heard you on The Politician singing. Yeah. And then I got slightly obsessed with you, and I remember you put something on Instagram.

You did 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, seeing you in lots of other things but then, because I'd never seen Evan Hans 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. And it's beautiful. But it's so unique, and you have like, I just, 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 a whole film about it, and like you'd be doing that, but what was the moment

where you sung one song and you were 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 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 did Oliver when I was a kid. Who were you? Oliver, duh. Of course. And I remember singing Where Is Love and just, I think, something about, it was like, I had done a couple of youth shows before that and like Annie and Cinderella, things where you're, you know, it's a little more cute and, you know,

it was sort of the first song I really got to 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. Was he called Andrew? No.

Or did it sing better? It sang 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 and 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 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 you know 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 realizing how delicious that was, it was like, oh, well, what else have I been missing? Do you have yo-sushi here? No. That we have in Britain. No, but I've spent a lot of time working it. Where the sushi goes round. 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 so good. Yes. It's really good. 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.

But I love spending time there. I love the theatre community there. I love food there. 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, like straight plays and the Shakespeare and the classics,

that's I think the most special to you there. I mean, you have great musical theatre too, but that's the stuff that's the most intimidating to me, 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, yeah. 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 Mueller here as well. It 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 yeah gorgeous oh yes oh yeah how many different styles well jonah I guess there's a like a choux dough like a pastry dough

and then classic phyllo on both sides but one is sort of stacked and the other is just like this. Oh we've been 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. I didn't know you could have spanakopita 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? Mm-hmm. 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.

You get to spend time with Paul. Yes, love Paul. God, you poor thing. I know, it sucks, right? Yes. 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, as the group in your gang? Yes. You mean like siblings? Yes. We all grew up doing youth theatre and theatre at school. Okay. My sisters didn't never 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. He was Fiero 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. Oh, I have. No, babe, I'm going. I'm investing. 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. Yes.

Well, I'm incredibly biased, as my dad produced the film and created the musical as well. Oh, my God. Shining in my Nepo baby life. Oh, my God. I love that Nepo baby, but like musical theater,

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 business. 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? Sort of jack of pursuing it, but everyone has a love for it. So what does your older brother do? He's sort of jack-of-all-trades.

He 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 in 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 and in the beginning I was like, 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 and 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 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 my god about um crying and singing because evan hansen has a lot of like catharsis while singing and she wanted to know she wanted to get in there about the like 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 talk shop about the singing and I was like, this is my dream come true. And you were like, well, yeah. 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. Oh, that is good. That is good. She's sobbing.

Help yourself if you... Oh my God. Oh, here we go. Now you've got to see this. This is... Oh, no, I think it's already flamed, hasn't it? No. Oh, you haven't?

Okay, great. Something is about to be on flame. Yes. Right. Right, yeah. Sure. It's great, isn't it? Fabulous.

Opa, and you yell opa. Opa. Opa. Thank you. If you did a littlepa, and you yell Opa. Opa. Opa. Thank you. These are little moments, you know, theatrical moments. I love it. Gorgeous. What is it with ouzo?

Ouzo, exactly, yep. And you have it with like... House made 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. Whoa.

Wow. Thanks, Jonah. So when I think it's caracara orange. Oh, yum. Wow. Thanks, Jonah. So when did you get married? In 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 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 like a sort of like a cast party themed party because we all met going to cast parties when we were in high school together. So we had like, you know, 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 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. Which? 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 jam with yours? Of course. Okay, fine. That's a huge part of it. Yes, it's good. The Tang. You performed for Joe Biden the other day. Yeah. So the lineup was amazing, wasn't it? Mm-hmm.

It was you, Lizzo. Yeah, Leah, Michelle, Cynthia, Reva, who's like one of the greatest instruments ever. You sung the 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 at 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. And Anthony from Queer Eye 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, Grey Goose. Delish.

My starter is a spicy tuna and crispy rice which is like uh you know i love that from nobu yeah the nobu is a great one katsuya is 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 yeah yeah spicy tuna mix a little garnish uh 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 bag 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? Do you put milk in it? Do you use beef or veal? 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 a restaurant. 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 this bag bowl? Maybe like a sauteed broccoli I really love.

Some garlic bread. We're going Italian. Yeah, yeah. I think for the main, like nothing says like main course, like Italian. A bowl of pasta. Yeah, I agree.

That's the whole meal. Yeah, I agree. And dessert would be vanilla ice cream and cheesecake. What kind of cheesecake? Where from cheesecake just a classic new york cheesecake even like juniors like any dense dense big chunky bit of lemon in it bit of lemon but not not a whole layer of citrus on top i like just straight to the cheesecake nice cinnamon you know crust and where do you get your cinnamon anywhere that has it.

Oh, you'll always order it. Oh, yes. If it's on the menu. For my first, like, 16 birthdays or something, my cake was always a cheesecake. Do you want wine with it? I'd switch over to wine

from the martini. Yeah, no, that's nice. Would you? I like a red. I like, like, a really light, kind of drinkable, juicy red. Okay, so this has been my find from Trader Joe's

and their wine. It'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. 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 that 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 to 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 in four or five years I could do it. But it's a fictionalized story about George Seurat, the painter, the pointless painter.

And it's all about 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.

I'm sure it's on Prime. No, Bernadette Peters was in Gypsy, right? Yeah, but Mandy Patinkin was... We've seen her in Gypsy on Broadway, like, 20 years ago. I always wanted to marry Mandy Patinkin. Who's Mandy Patinkin? He was in Homeland. He was Saul.

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? I'm sure it's either Prime or Netflix. Someone's got it. I want to know, you're about to go and do a residency on Broadway, which is just so fabulous, the sentence.

And then you're going on your tour. I mean, you're having a good time then. Cuckoo bananas, yeah. What does that mean? He's just having a fabulous time. Cuckoo bananas. Life is mad. I could never have dreamed it wild. How different is it when you're preparing for a residency on broadway to when you're touring with um preparation i mean

and i'm talking more food because i just need some tips meaning like what do you keep the same because it's singing and yes i i once we get like four or five weeks out i'll start doing no dairy no gluten uh like high protein lots of water probably cut back on the drinking unfortunately just to optimize like lack like as little mucus as possible so you're not having to clear it so much and energetically you have everything you need to sing and do you have tomatoes jesse avoids tomatoes no No, I avoid high acid too, like that, yes. High acid. Sorry, high, like anything that's high acid.

Yes. The residency, because touring, you move around. 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 like my it's like a dream combination what's your what's your um food of choice are you quite a creature of habit so when you're when you're in that zone because i always just do chicken pho yeah i love to eat at a you know a dig is or like uh it's like one of those places where you get like a protein uh a starch and a couple of veggies you make like a little plate uh so i like like a bowl where i just get like a protein, a starch, and a couple of veggies. 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's too, makes you feel too like weighed down. But 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 like either like a vegan dessert or like some sorbet or like uh some kind of like dessert cocktail or a dessert cocktail yeah like a like a little hot really hot hot yeah because it's kind of

medicinal good for the throat not too not too drying if you're going to have something. Just something cozy. But you're going on tour. Is there anywhere that you're looking forward to going for the food? Or is it just 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 hot chicken and barbecue and stuff. 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. Do you ever sing karaoke? Or is it because you're a singer you never do it? I like to go with my closest friends. Like for my bachelor party, one of the things we did was go do karaoke. And what was your song? Well, in that case, they each sort of sang something.

We each did like a song that was important to us growing up. Okay. Or that we used to sing together. So which one was yours? If I'm really going to show off like in karaoke, I like to do like, you know, Celine Dion or Whitney Houston. Of course, yeah. Or something. Like 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 me yeah or all by myself oh of course okay and and your Whitney if I'm trying to keep the energy up like how will I know but if you're going for your moment I have nothing yeah 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. 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 uh like discourse but i'm a little i can chew with my mouth open sometimes also i put my elbows on the table sometimes so like that was it important in your in your family not really like 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 like being actually respectful and nice to each other, then it doesn't really matter if you're like sitting like this or, you know, 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. And 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, you know, all over. We do the Postiano, you know, Amalfi Coast because you're on your honeymoon.

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 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. That's good. What, 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 arrive. Take your vitamins. I'm old. Oh God, 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 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 it. But everyone's going to make it there. It's a reason to... 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. Ben Platt, lovely, sweet, interesting, has a Barbra Streisand story, is multi-talented, does a bit of everything. I mean... Directs, produces, songwriters. He has a beautiful album coming out. I really enjoyed meeting him. Me too. I don't knows, produces, songwriting. He has a beautiful album coming out. I really enjoyed meeting him. Me too.

I don't know how... He was really nice. I really appreciated Jonah cooking for us. Which was your favourite thing? Do you like the flaming... I like this... Saganaki.

I like this jam. Hold on. The flaming Saganaki. Mmm. It's like marmalade. Mmm. Yeah. Flaming Saganaki.

Flaming Sag was good. Spannakopita. I think we should put that on the menu, Jonah, the phyllo. I think it will go down very well. Sam wants me to bring back the dips. Thank you to Greetmans for giving us delicious food. Thank you to Ben for coming over, telling us all his food stories. And 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 go and listen and fall in love.