Interview: Ben Platt Opens Up About His Radio City Special, THE POLITICIAN Season 2, and His Return to Broadway

Today, Netflix premiered Ben Platt's Live From Radio City Music Hall special! Captured before a live audience at Radio City Music Hall, this feature-length special documents Tony, Grammy and Emmy-Award winning performer Ben Platt at the final stop on tour for his hit debut album, Sing to Me Instead.

Platt took time to speak with us about his concert special and he also opened up about the second season of The Politician on Netflix and what his return to Broadway will look like!

Read the interview below!

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You must be excited for your Radio City special to come out!

Very, very excited. And it's been a long time coming and really, really excited for it to be out.

How does it feel having the special come out during a time where no one can actually go see live music?

I think it feels simultaneously as a bummer because I can't have any screenings for it. I can't go out and talk to friends about it. And feel like a normal moment when something comes out, but at the same time, I think it's really special that it's right now because like you said, people can't really have this experience of being in a room with people and seeing live music and being close together. And so the goal of the special from the get go before we even COVID, it was to feel like you were in THE ROOM with me. And so now more than ever, I think that's an experience people are really going to enjoy. So spending an hour and a half feeling like you're at a show and I think it unfortunately couldn't be a more opportune time.

Your album Sing To Me Instead is very personal, and I wanted to know what was the most emotional song to perform live?

Oh, that's a good question. I think it would probably be 'Ease My Mind' only because that's always been my favorite song on the record. It's really important song to me in the sense that it speaks about anxiety and about what it feels like when that anxiety is allayed or when someone is able to calm you down. And that song has just always held a really special place in my heart. So to get to sing night in radio city and feel calmed by the song in that moment was a very special meta kind of moment.

What was it like to step on the stage at Radio City Music Hall?

It was very special. It felt like a culmination of a long leg one of this journey in terms of all of that have been able to do in my career in the last 10 or 12 years. I just felt like it was this beautiful arrival point of getting to really share myself on this ultimate stage in the city that I've always wanted to live in and call home. It's just such a sacred space and it's a space where Tony's happened. It felt like a lot of things crossroading and coming together on top of the fact that it was like my Bar Mitzvah in the sense that all of my family was there and all of my friends from all walks of life were there. Most of the people I love were in the room, so it was a really special night.

The first look for season two of The Politician was just released, what was it like filming season two compared to the first season?

Well I love being in New York, because I got to sleep in my own apartment. It's really wonderful. I love working with Bette and Judith, I think Judith is one of the greatest actors I've ever worked with, both in terms of her ability and in terms of just being a beautiful person. She's very inspiring to me and that she's been working her whole life and still finds a love for it and excitement for it. I relished being able to watch her work and working around her. And then on top of that, I think the most exciting thing is going to be people seeing Bette Midler give this amazing comedic performance on screen. I think it's been a minute since we've gotten that from Bette Midler and she has every bit of talent she's always had. I think people are going to really go wild for her in this.

How was it returning to play Payton in this different environment?

It was nice to get to be a bit more of an adult in his skin. As much as I love playing 18 for the rest of my life, it was nice to play my own age and not have to worry about playing the youth and just get to play the person. It's really fun to see him learn how to channel his crazy passion and raw emotion a little bit better as an adult. I mean, obviously still not perfectly, but he's just getting a little closer to being a formed person. I think the nice thing about the show starting in high school was that we're really getting to see that progression from the start. One day when we have this third installment of the triptych, you'll get to feel that whole journey culminate

I know you might not be able to share, but are there any musical moments in the upcoming season?

There is one that I won't say anything about, but certainly if you watch the whole thing you will catch one for sure.

Right now, the future of Broadway is uncertain, and I was curious as to what you hope to see for its return? And are you ready to get back on stage once things do open back up?

100%. I already was feeling in the earlier part of this year how badly I wanted to return. And now having Broadway close and having to miss the experience of live theater altogether for so long, I feel hungrier than ever to do it. I certainly want to find the right thing to come back to. I just hope that it's able to recover financially and that when we get it back on its feet, people will be able to move beyond the fear and come back and keep supporting. Live theater is such a vital experience as a human being, it's my favorite thing in the world, and I'm excited for that first night of applause. I think it'll be really loud all around the city when it's finally opened.

Photo credit: Zoey Grossman for Netflix