BEN PLATT - Honey State of Mind
When we think of Americana, we think of the Lone Ranger, fields of corn stretching to the horizon, and rusty pickup trucks parked by highway diners. All of this seems a far cry from the glitz and glam of Broadway. Yet common themes abound: a cowboy is courting no less thrill and drama than a theater kid, and musicals like Dear Evan Hansen may have tugged at as many heartstrings as “Jolene.” And who’s better equipped to inhabit the intersection of both than Ben Platt, the beloved triple threat on The Honeymind Tour for his eponymous junior album?
Attending his show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on July 9, a Tuesday night, on behalf of 360° of Opera, I was swept into a sea of fans across multiple age groups, with many of them donning the obligatory sequin and rainbow colors. Pride Month had just come and passed, yet the urge to dance and mingle lingered. The queue for merch extended beyond the doors even after the performance had officially started, but it would have been a shame to miss the opener, Brandy Clark, a country music singer-songwriter with 11 GRAMMY nominations to her name.
Though Clark would later join Platt onstage for a duet from Honeymind, “Treehouse,” an extended metaphor propped up by soft vocals reminiscent of clouds that left the listener feeling a “little bit closer to heaven,” she owned the first hour with her earthy, soothing voice that made everything sound like an intimate confession. Accompanying herself on an acoustic guitar, Clark told bittersweet stories of broken dreams, a claustrophobic small-town marriage, and the resolution to be “at least almost close to worth [their] love” once we find that special someone.
In Clark’s soundscape, there is no melodramatic agitation to growth pains. Catastrophe befalls the townspeople in Shucked, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy she co-wrote, yet there’s always a grounded yet heroic optimism that someone will come and save the day, and it might as well be you or me. She covered “Follow Your Arrow,” a hit she wrote for Kacey Musgraves, and permission for people pleasers to “do whatever [they] want.” We followed her journey of growth, as she pleaded with insecurity, an old acquaintance, to spare her a fair chance at love.
Speaking of insecurities, Platt picked up right where Clark had left off, with “Right Kind Of Reckless,” the opening song of his album. It shined a spotlight on the tradeoffs that’re normalized as we mature, challenging all that forces fear into our hearts. We’re prone to overpowering dread in a world where bigotry and hostility abound, but sometimes we just have to go against the grain to fully love and be authentic. We can’t take it for granted that “there’s tomorrow,” but we can hold onto that shimmer, lest prophecies fulfill themselves.
If “Right Kind Of Reckless” was a hand held out gingerly to a flame, “All American Queen” gave us the full-throttle sparkle. Platt embodied both Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince in this bop, proving that some birds can turn any cage in the “Pink Pony Club” with their bright feathers and sweet, wild song. Though proms and teenage love were by no means part of my East Asian upbringing, we all shared a surprised smile over the “cowboy-kissing valentine” telling his father to “be tough” while he rode into the sunset, subverting masculinity norms.
“Andrew” was another song rooted in the queer experience, and one of the only numbers from the evening that featured any strong language. Platt sang about a presumably heterosexual boy who was casually friendly to the teenage speaker, yet brought them endless yearning, self-doubt, and heartbreak. It led to the impressively open communication exemplified by “I wanna love you but I don’t,” where the speaker respected both himself and his lover by “treating them with humanity when the chemistry isn’t there anymore,” as Platt explained.
By now, the audience was ready for some cheerfulness. As a natural entertainer, Platt made sure everyone was enjoying themselves, turning the theater into a dance floor on his walk down memory lane from his début studio album, Sing To Me Instead. “RAIN” conjured up imagery similar to Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly,” with powerhouse vocals emulating Lady Gaga or Adele. “Share Your Address” exuded the same youthful exuberance and naïveté, while “Ease My Mind” and “Grow as We Go” painted a picture of laying down anxiety in a safe haven.
Despite the previous pop sensibilities, “Shoe To Drop” reminded us of Platt’s ability to tap into the essence of a genre for a story that’s uniquely his. Anxiety lurks behind the carefree tune, resembling the give and take of a seesaw, heartbeats keeping time for the two-step, or a trip down bumpy roads. “Cherry On Top” takes a similarly playful approach to commitment issues in the reality of queer relationships that never started off platonic, embracing the cliché in the title, repetition of sugary motifs, and past inhibitions with the same open arms.
Platt spoke to the audience throughout the evening, and celebrated each backup vocalist and accompanist with a solo passage, where their individual virtuosity shone through. But even as he indulged the fans by performing their favorites, Platt also had fun with “Your Smiling Face,” adding his theater-trained range to an otherwise straightforward song. Few singers vibrate on emotional frequencies comparable to Joni Mitchell, but Platt did her proud with his cover of “River,” before basking in campy glory with “Maybe This Time” in an extravagant coat.
Those who’ve been following Platt’s engagement to Noah Galvin, his Broadway successor as Evan Hansen, likely anticipated a reference to Galvin in the concert, given their upcoming wedding. “Before I Knew You” had audience members in awe with its adoration close to worship, romanticism without being sappy, and graceful legato. The concert drew to a befitting close of high spirits with the upbeat “imagine,” evocative of love, as well as fans’ mutually uplifting relationship with their idol. Platt sent us home waltzing out the door.
No longer manipulated by “chemicals” and whims, Platt inspired us with his inner peace, overflowing gratitude, and continuous becoming of himself. Unlike the honeymoon phase, Honeymind is not ephemeral, for the sweetness comes from a labor of love. This perseverance in search of one’s self is aligned with traditional values and customs, while offering a blueprint for an increasingly complicated and unpredictable future. With four stops remaining till July 27, you can still experience the magic with a loved one, or a room of passionate strangers.
-written by Chloe Yutong Yang / photos by Vince Aung