Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - BEN PLATT – stairway hookups and the queer Americana of 'Honeymind'

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Singer, Broadway star and film actor Ben Platt joins the show. Over chicken and broccoli, Ben tells me about the queer Americana of his latest album “Honeymind,” we hear the real backstory to his romance with fiancé Noah Galvin, and we get the scoop on the ambitious “Merrily We Roll Along” Richard Linklater film. This episode was recorded at Genghis Cohen in LA's Fairfax District. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Today on the show, you might know him from Dear Evan Hansen and the Book of Mormon on Broadway, or movies such as Pitch Perfect, or his latest album, Honeymind. It's Ben Platt. And then I kind of panicked, and I sent him a, did you ever get a text that's so long that it has an arrow at the bottom to go to the rest of it? Yeah.

Yeah. This is Dinners on Me and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Now years ago I was in rehearsal for a production of Winner's Tale that was being directed by Michael Greif. And he was telling me about a new musical he was working on called Dear Evan Hansen.

That's a weird name, I thought. It was a brand new original story, so obviously I didn't know anything about it. But I did know the guy who he said was playing the lead role of Evan Hansen, Ben Platt. I had seen Ben when he was on stage at a much younger age. He was also in my friend Elizabeth Banks movie, Pitch Perfect, which I was a fan of. But I had no idea what kind of immense, untapped talent this kid had.

Well, I would soon find out. When Dear Evan Hanson moved to Broadway, Ben Platt was the talk of the town, winning every award he was eligible for, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Even though Ben had been around for a while, this definitely felt like the introduction of a major, major talent. He followed up the role in Dear Evan Hansen with an equally impressive turn in the revival of Parade on Broadway, proving his versatility.

He recently wrapped up a residency at the iconic Palace Theatre on Broadway, and just recently finished a tour of his third studio album, Honeymind. It has been quite amazing to have a front row seat to watch the incredible rise of Ben Platt. And I was so excited to grab him for a meal when he was passing through LA on his tour. Good, so good to see you.

Good to see you too. I thought I'd see Noah. He's home cooking for me. I brought Ben Platt to Genghis Cohen in LA's Fairfax District. As the name suggests, Genghis Cohen is an ode to New York City-style Chinese food. Walking in, it's not surprising the founding owner was music producer Alan Rend, because it has a rock and roll edge to it,

but not without the signature red leather booths, Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and the built-in fish tank. It's also become synonymous with underground entertainment with an attached venue called the Music Room, where musical and comedy acts perform. It's truly emblematic of the multicultural neighborhood, being a go-to for Fairfax's Jewish community and its skaters alike. Fun fact, it's rumored that Larry David came up with the idea for the Chinese restaurant episode of Seinfeld while waiting for a table at Genghis Cohen with Jerry Seinfeld back in the day. I'm telling you, it's an LA institution. Okay, let's get to the conversation.

Ben, is your throat okay? Is your voce fine? My voce's fine, it's just, I got fucked up by the altitude in Denver and Utah because I'm in the middle of a tour. It's so funny because I never go to an ENT, but the minute I'm doing a show on stage, whether it's singing or not,

I'm at the ENT like every other week. It's part of it. It's part of it. It's part of it. The last time I had to go was when I was doing Take Me Out and I got food poisoning and I vomited so much one night that I fried my vocal cords. And I remember doing the show the next day

because I had friends who had flown in for it so I felt obligated. And so I did that Sunday, that Sunday matinee, had they known. I know I didn't have to sing, but like, those long monologues, I by the end of the show, I was barely there and the next day the Tony nominations came out and I was lucky enough to get one

and then I had to call out for like three days after that because like my doctor was like, if you don't rest your voice, you're screwed. It's over. It's over. Your career is over. Your career is over. It always happens like that, it's like everything happens at the same voice, you're screwed. It's over. It's over. Your career is over. Your career is over. It always happens like that.

It's like everything happens at the same moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're adrenaline. Like I was, I stayed in Evan Hansen without calling out for the first like seven months. And then like three weeks before that whole Tony season, I like hemorrhaged and got a polyp and had to be out for like 11 days.

So it's like, I just feel like it always comes at, just the moment you don't want it to come, your body's like, ha ha ha. Totally, totally. Actually, I remember, I love that we're talking so much about our vocal problems, but I was shooting Modern Family and I was trying to save a take, I don't know why. I had to sneeze and I was off camera, like for eyeline,

and I stifled the sneeze and I hemorrhaged my vocal cord. Like it popped and it was full of blood. Yeah, you can't. You can't cycle sneeze folks. And so I went to the ENT and they were like, oh, you need to be on vocal rest for like 10 days. And we were in the middle of shooting an episode. We had flown in guest stars for it.

And like vocal rest is a very serious thing. When you're talking about vocal rest, like you gotta do it. It starts over every time you make noise. Absolutely. I remember like, actually like mustering up When you're talking about vocal rest, you gotta do it. It starts over every time you make a voice. Yeah, absolutely. I remember actually mustering up whatever voice I had, and I was like, you don't understand. If I do this, it is costing me my career.

I'm so mad. I had tears rolling up my eyes. They can wait for 10 days. And the producer was like, okay, okay, okay. And we ended up shooting it, and I had to go back and do it all over an ADR, which is- Oh, you like, mouled your lines? I mouled my lines on a microphone later.

It was terrible. I see that every once in a while that episode pops up and I can fully, I look like a ventriloquist. It's operating my voice. I do not look like I'm speaking. I need to know which episode this is. You don't have to say it on the mic. All I know is it was one when we were on,

I go to visit Cam's family on the farm because I remember specifically being on that farm and thinking the farm and like all the hay and the allergens didn't to me. Yeah, that's not where you need to be for a moment like that. No. Welcome back to LA.

Hi buddy. Last time I saw you was in the restroom at the Tony Awards. Oh yeah, both of us. Yeah, you and Noah together. Which was very busy. I remember Billy Porter was like sauntering in. And you know, it was very- Yeah, I and Noah together, which was very busy. I remember Billy Porter was like sauntering in and you know, it was very-

Yeah, I forget, and Groff was in there. Jonathan Groff was in there. It was like a revolving war, pre-Tony win. And we asked you about, I have more questions about Prime and Son, but we need to know, we've never been. You have to go. Where we want to, I just need to know

if I'm like picking a spot, like the right area, the right time of the summer. Like I need- Yeah, I'll help you out with all that. It's definitely a, you can't stay. Let's definitely say the address on the podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The place I stayed, no, we did rent a house. It was beautiful.

I love giving people their first Provincetown experience. I wish I could be there. What time of year did you go? We went early June, which was, That's what we were thinking. Which is why I missed your show at the Palace, because I was in Provincetown. Okay, so good, that'll be the time that we'll go then.

Okay, good. Yeah, okay, it was quieter. Welcome back to LA. I always forget, actually, you're an Angelenos because I just consider you to be such a New Yorker. Thank you, I take that. Don't you feel like a New Yorker? A real compliment, yes I do.

I've been there for like 12, almost 13 years, so yes. Yeah, but I mean, I know you're playing, you're on tour right now for your album, Honeymind, which is so good. I want to talk more about that. It's giving me like major John Denver vibes. Yes. Who I love.

Me too. He's like literally one of my idols. So I was like, I wanted to know if he was one of your favorites because it definitely gave me like those vibes. But to be playing the Greek is a massive deal. Thanks, it's fun. Have you performed there before?

I have never performed there. I've seen a lot of shows there. And then I played the bowl last time. No, it's off the crypto. Wait, you played the bowl last night? Last time, last time. Oh, last time. I was like, Jesus.

I played the bowl this morning. No, I played the Hollywood Bowl in my last year in 2022. I did know that you were at the bowl, yeah. Which was where I did my first job when I was like nine years old. So it's a nice, it's Winthrop and the Music Man. With Kristin Chen. With Kristin Chen and Eric McCorm.

Yes, oh God, I remember that. What year was that, do you remember? 2000, either 2000 or 2001. Can't remember which. I was like eight. I've done a few musicals at the bowl and that is- So fun, but this is my first Greek and I'm very excited. It's really exciting.

I want to circle back to being at the Greek, but just to catch people up who are listening, Ben just did a 13 show, 18 show residency at the Palace Theater in New York City, which is massive as well. Theater queens obviously know that this is where Judy Garland did her residency. I saw Liza Minnelli do her show there.

So incredible. And the palace shut down for a few years because they renovated it and actually raised the entire theater up, which is crazy. So insane. They lifted an entire theater up. Gotta have that commercial space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right?

It's crazy, Broadway's changed so much. But to reopen the Palace is iconic. It was crazy. I mean, you obviously knew, you know the history of the Palace. Yeah. I know you paid homage to that in your show. But I mean, what was that, what was that experience like?

I didn't know that this is when they were reopening and didn't know that it was gonna align in this way. And I think that seemed like a good amount of scary without just the palace element of it, just to be playing myself and doing a Broadway concert. But then just the added level of the palace, it seemed like the kind of thing where the universe was saying, you gotta,

I mean, you have to grab the opportunity and do it, but also it just made me so much more afraid. And I don't do well when there's not clear ways for me to be taking action. I feel like as an artist, this happens a lot where there's not tasks that I can be checking off of the list, and I knew that this was gonna be happening for months before it, but we can only obviously afford

to do rehearsal process for like two weeks. And so up until that, I was like, I would wake up every morning in like a cold sweat being like, have I worked on the set list enough? When like, should I be typing out my banter? And like, do I know who my cellist is gonna be? And like, I would bother my manager every day about it. And he'd just be like, we're literally three months away.

Like you gotta take a breath. But once we actually got to do it, it was like the most amazing, like wonderful, magical game. I mean, Ben, I heard the most amazing things about it. I mean, one of Joanna's friends came from it and said it was one of the greatest nights that she's ever spent in the theater. She loved it so much.

It's so nice. And you probably already know this, but your fan base is very emotionally connected to you. Like people were very moved by not only, I think, your ability to emote in your music, but just like also your vulnerability and the stories you tell on stage. And you're still, what?

30? You just turned 30? That's pretty young. Thanks. I think it's pretty remarkable. Thank you for saying that. I mean, I think because I already get to do what we do as actors and like play characters and stuff,

to me, like one of the only real reasons or differences in getting to do my own artist project, aside from just ego, is getting to actually share myself. So I feel like the whole point is to do that. I know it's not everybody's style, in terms of seeing a concert and throwing yourself out there. But I feel like getting to talk about my own stuff then makes it so much more fun to go

and like hide behind somebody else and play something else. Totally, yeah. I talk about myself in this podcast. That's why I started this podcast to talk about myself and my deep dark stories. Good, that's why I came. Yeah, exactly.

Hi, how are you? Nice meeting you. This is Ben. I'm Jesse. You can take anything home too. To Noah? Yeah, to Noah. I'd be like, I'm just gonna eat this instead since he's cooking Nice meeting you. This is Ben. I'm Jesse. You can take anything home too. To Noah? Yeah, to Noah. I'd be like, I'm just gonna eat this instead,

since he's cooking meal for you. Um. Did you start with drinks though? Um, I'm good with water actually. Boringly enough, so am I. We're singers. Yeah, we have to protect the gift. Yeah.

Ben, are you interested in the dumplings or no? Yes, I love dumplings. Okay, we'll do the dumplings, please. It's classic, you know? Yeah, mm-hmm. I'm gonna skip the box that says I'm a lighter side, and I'm going to, I think I'm gonna do beef lamein. Beef lamein, great choice.

Do you have any kind of chicken and broccoli situation? Oh, we have a stir-fried chicken with broccoli. Let's do that. Yeah. Yes. And everything is family style, so sure. Yes, yes, well. It's all shareable, if you guys wanna share, make some mess. Of course. Yeah, definitely, I'll send that to you. Show us in family style, so sure. It's all shareable. If you guys want to share, make some mess.

Of course. It's definitely us and that's it. Chosen family style. Okay. Oh, thank you. Justin and my 11th wedding anniversary. Congratulations. You're taking a New York trip for it?

Yeah. Are you leaving the babies behind? Yeah, yeah. We're going to see, we've already seen it, but the minute we saw it, we're like, we have to come back and see it again. Which is? Cats, the Jellicle Ball.

Oh, I went. It was unbelievable. Unbelievable, right? Unbelievable. And moving, incredibly moving. Oh, it's so moving. And it's very gay. It's raging on the wall outside.

It's so gay. Okay, back to you. What is your relationship with LA? Because I know you lived here for quite some time, grew up here. You're obviously playing an incredible venue here. Do you like LA? Is it somewhere you feel like?

I do. I mean, I think for me, I do better with it as somewhere I get to come and visit and have a respite, as opposed to a hardcore home base. I can come back with more of just like an affection for anything. And I'm also like super introverted. So in LA sometimes I just will never leave the house.

Like New York, I'm sort of confronted with people all the time, no matter what, in a way that I think is necessary for me to like be pushed off of that cliff. Whereas here, like you have to really go out of your way to be social in a way that like, I don't know that I think is necessary for me to be pushed off of that cliff. Whereas here, you have to really go out of your way to be social in a way that I don't know that I ever would. Right. So I think-

Noah's, your fiance's extremely extroverted, right? He is very much extroverted. How does that work? Kind of, well, most of the time. Like, he really helps me to be a little- Thank you. Oh oh thank you, more outside myself and like push a little more and connect a little more and be like a little more curious.

And I can also help him to soften a little bit sometimes. Settle down, Noah. I like that different, because we have a lot of similarities. Like we have a lot of the same like blisses and the same tastes and the same, like we share a lot of similarities. We have a lot of the same like, blisses and the same tastes and the same, we share a lot of things, so it is nice in some ways to be super polar opposite.

I think it's nice to feel both things. Now, are you guys both, how would you categorize us? I always consider myself an extrovert, but as I'm now, I guess, in a relationship, and I have kids, and I have responsibility, and partly maybe even because of just the way my career's gone, I find myself to be a lot more introverted,

and kind of, you know, it takes a lot for me to get out of the house, and it takes a lot for me to make plans with friends. Justin's really good about keeping me socially active with friends, like he'll invite people over and he's like, oh, we're having these people over, you're gonna cook dinner, like I mean, I. You cook?

I do, yeah, yeah. Does he? Oh God, no. There's always one. Yeah, you don't cook at all? Oh my God, I'm terrible. Really? I can clean as he goes.

At least you do that. Justin even doesn't do that. He does nothing. He just won't. He won't do anything. He won't do anything. Justin even doesn't do that. He does nothing. He just won't even be involved. I'm also very controlling in the kitchen, so. Noah is too, but I find my way in. I can be a good, I've learned a lot in the almost five years that we've been together.

So I can now like chop and I can help him with his, what do you call it, mise en place? Mise en place. Yeah. But in terms of, what do you call it, mise en place. Mise en place. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But in terms of the actual art of it, I have no, that's not my skill. Yeah. Now for a quick break, but don't go away.

When we come back, Ben dispels the myth about how he met his fiance, Noah Galvin. It was not on Dear Evan Hansen. And how a psychedelic-infused LA hike led him to his latest album title Okay, be right back Justin just wrapped his seventh bike ride with AIDS lifecycle and I am so proud of him While he was biking from San Francisco to Los Angeles, by the way, that's

545 miles people, I was traveling for work promoting an indie film and I thought to myself, we have this beautiful home, I wish someone could enjoy it during this wonderful weather in LA. And then I had this thought, we could be hosting our place on Airbnb. We all have times when we're away from home,

whether we're visiting family or traveling for work or maybe taking that well-earned vacation. While you're away, you could be earning some extra cash. You can host your entire home or, if let's say your kid is away at college, which seems so far away since my boys are still just so young, but for you empty nesters, you could just host a spare bedroom. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbmb.com host. Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record podcast. Join me along with co-host Leah Rose as we sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. You'll hear revealing interviews with some of the most legendary figures in music like Paul Simon,

Usher, Pete Townsend, Damon Albarn of the Gorillaz, and Missy Elliott. And you'll hear from up and comers like jazz artist, Leve, who told me about her fast rise to fame during the pandemic. Listen to Broken Record on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. You and Noah, did you meet during, during, during your event Hanson? No. Okay.

Our life's goal is to dispel with Smith. Okay, dispel it right now. Because the internet kind of refuses to, to believe that. To acknowledge that we, but no, we met in like 2015, when our mutual friends were making a web series, Nick and Molly who made Theater Camp with us. Yes.

And they invited me to come do like a guest on it. And so the first time I ever met him was in his mom's apartment where they were shooting it and doing like improv with him. Okay. And I think we immediately had like talent crushes on each other, jealousy and like. Where was your career at this point?

Were you already doing? It was post. Book of Mormon. Post Book of Mormon, I think I was about to do Arena Stage of Dear Evan Hansen, the out of town tryout. So it hadn't become what it has become. So no one knew about it really, it was sort of this. It was still quite. Workshop that was sort of

being talked about. Exactly, and so we met doing that and then we shortly thereafter did a workshop together of a musical called Alice by Heart, which is a Duncan Cheek and Stephen S it right. Exactly. And so we met doing that and then we shortly thereafter did a workshop together of a musical called Alice by Heart, which is a Duncan Cheek and Stephen Sater show. And that's where we started hooking up. We would go to the stairwell during break and make out in the stairwell.

I love that. And we were together for a couple months and then I kind of panicked and I sent him a, did you ever get a text that's so long that it has an arrow at the bottom to go to the rest of it? I feel like the iPhone now has updated so it doesn't do that, but yes, I know what you're talking about.

I sent him a dissertation and it was like, oh, I feel like we're gonna be friends for our whole lives and I'm worried if we jump into something that's gonna ruin our chance to be friends and I don't think we're gonna stay. Basically, now I can tell in hindsight, met someone who actually we saw each other and it freaked me out.

And so I was like, let's be friends. And he was like, I hate you. And then we, but then we did become friends for a while. And we would kind of like, you know, every so often at somebody's birthday or something, like, like, yeah, kissy kissy. And then finally the beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic, we.

Yeah, I remember what happened right before the pandemic. Okay, well I can understand how people would think that Dear Evan Hansen brought you together, because Noah, was he the first replacement after you? Yes. Okay, so, well this actually makes it more interesting for me. Maybe like, oh, I do not want to get into this.

But if you had already had this history of. Yes. Knowing each other and kissy kissy and you broke up with him on a seven page text, what was that like when he was coming in to then replace you in Dear Evan Hansen? He wasn't just coming in to replace someone,

he was coming in to replace the lead character in a show you had just won the Tony Award, you had won, I mean, the Alkaliats were through the, you won a Grammy for it as well, right? Yeah, I mean, it wasn't just coming in and replacing someone, it was coming in and replacing Bette Midler in Hello Dolly or something. It was really nice.

I mean, we were in a good place friendship-wise at that point, and he was very specifically coming in just for three months. Taylor Trench played the role after him and was still in Hello Dolly and wasn't being let out. And so it was this really sweet gig where they needed someone to come in and just have a great moment of just doing it

for three months, which is, if I could do that role for three months, that would have been amazing. Hi. Do you want soy sauce or any other sauce? I'll take some soy sauce. Okay, bring some soy sauce and chili oil. Chili oil.

I don't care about chili oil, but you go for it. Yeah, the beef on me and the churros. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm okay on chili oil, but you go for it. Thank you so much. And I know that you've written so much of your new album, Honeymind, about your relationship. It's based on your relationship with Noah. And tell me about the title, Honeymind, because it surprised me when I found out. I was on a hike with Noah. He's a much calmer person in general.

And so I'm always trying to do things that will allow me to be as calm as he is. And so one of those things is eat mushroom chocolate. So we both were eating mushroom chocolate and going on a really lovely hike upstate, you know Mohawk Mountain? Like upstate New York. And just going on a really lovely hike upstate, you know Mohawk Mountain? Like upstate New York? Yeah.

And just having like a really lovely, beautiful like centered happy day, and getting very mushy and talking about like our love, and I was talking about like, you know why I was feeling so grounded, and when I usually am kind of I'm all over the place, and I started to think about just like, what is the inside of my mind look like and I was like if we're talking about stress and anxiety And stuff it's all like really sharp and everything's like, you know getting in each other's way

and it's all like jagged and it's like kind of crowded and and I was like well, you know being with You know being in love doesn't necessarily make those things disappear or go away. It just makes them a little less angry and a little softer and coats everything. And then I started to think about just this melty sort of warmth that he brings to everything. And then the mushrooms brought me to honey, and we were talking about honey. And I was like, it's like you sort of coat everything with honey in my mind and honey mind,

and Noah sort of stopped me and was like, that's a great phrase, you should write a song about that. And so we did, and then it became the album title. I love it, it is so great. I also love what you've talked about with this album. It's queer Americana, it's love stories, queer love stories specifically. We're in this time when these words

mean something different, and specifically to the LGBTQ community. And there's a mood that precedes it when you say American. I love being an American. I love being someone who's a patriotic person, but you know, it's sometimes hard for me to talk about that in this political atmosphere without feeling sort of disingenuous.

I mean, how have you, do you have thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, I think when I was writing the album I didn't necessarily set out with like a goal in mind. It's not usually what I do in terms of writing a record. And I feel like when I got super excited was when I started to write songs that had like very kind of by rote American imagery and these images that haven't necessarily been queer peoples to own or to use

and to just sort of, not take any kind of sardonic or satirical twist on them, just infuse them with my own experience, which is inherently a queer one. And I just thought about Sweet Child of Mine and Born to Run and all these great American songs about hot girls and guys with pickup trucks and just the idea of the fact that you're queer

making you no less American or no less, I don't know, worthy of those sweet, if cliched, images. Yeah, and I'm just a very earnest, lame, romantic, I just don't present with a lot of edge or overt sexuality in a way that other queer artists do, which I admire and is very important and helped me feel comfortable for sure, but there weren't a ton of examples of like introspectively romantic like music that

was like super inherently queer like when Sam Smith put out like leave your lover and like I just remember like being so shook to the core of like this can be so sweet and beautiful and vulnerable and just like happens to be a queer relationship that it's about and like like, I was like, I really want to do that. Yeah. When you said that you're earnest, I mean, that is an adjective that I feel like fits. How does that like manifest itself

in your relationship with Noah? I know it doesn't strike me as a terribly earnest person. Am I wrong or? He's like secretly earnest. I mean, I think he's like, he definitely has more edge and stubbornness and you know, he's cooler than I am for sure and like more discerning, I would say.

Like deep down, I think we both just really love to be enthusiastic and participate and like earnestly love something. And in this modern time, particularly as it pertains to like the internet and Gen Z like that's not necessarily the way to be in terms of like defining yourself more by like what you're not into and what's like I don't know I I I'm a bad faker like I can't pretend to not be into something if I to seem like cool if I'm into it but Noah's kind of not a good faker in the other way that also I really admire, which is like, he can't pretend that he does like something.

If he doesn't, he's very honest and transparent in a way that has given me courage to try to be a little more like that, because I tend to want to just please everybody and I don't want to ruffle any feathers and try to benefit of the at most of the time, but he's got a really good bullshit meter. Okay, that's not a bad thing to have.

No, it's really a very helpful thing. But yes, I'm definitely the more earnest of the two of us. I mean, his is a little more hidden than me, but. Yeah. We're both theater, I mean, we all are. So it's like, there has to be a certain level of like. No, I think so, I think you're right. Face to the crowd, like hands by your side.

Totally, totally, totally. I feel like just in moving to LA and having done television for so long, I feel like a lot of that earnestness that I loved about myself has sort of like been bruised a bit, you know. You think? Do you feel like being a dad has like brought

your like earnestness, wonder, et cetera, back around in a way? Definitely. I think that stuff, it's softened me in a lot of ways. Yeah, totally. And I, but it's different than it was before. It doesn't feel like I'm returning to a version of myself that I missed.

It feels like a different version of being earnest. And, you know, I mean, certainly when you are in charge of another person's life and you're listening to them dissect things and talk about like, what did Beckett say the other day? He goes, I'm feeling so hopeful today. And I was like, that is so beautiful. And I was like, what?

And I was like, you know what hopeful means? Like, what does that mean to you? And he goes, I'm hopeful that I can listen to you. He was getting in trouble a lot for just being a dick, honestly. And he was getting upset that he was disappointing me so much and he didn't like that I was getting annoyed with him, so he was really hopeful that he could listen.

But it was like out of control too for him. He's like, I can't help it if I can't listen to you. And I'm hoping that I can. So self-aware. That's so sweet. Yeah. You would recommend doing it? Having kids?

Mm-hmm. Yes, I mean listen. With caveat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean you're one of what, five? I am one of five. You have nieces and nephews, right? I have, yes.

I have, my oldest sister has four boys My brother has a boy and a girl my sister others address two boys. No, his sister just had a boy There's a lot of mostly nephews. There's an eight. Oh, wait, so you're not the only one that doesn't have kids But me and the other gay don't have kids yet. Gotcha. Gotcha. You know what great live your life No, I've had a ball being a dad. You seem like the type of guy who would be a really great dad. That's nice.

Noah also seems like he'd be a great dad. I certainly don't know as well as you, but is that something you see for yourself? Yeah, I mean, I pretend to sort of go back and forth about it because I just have so much worry about will I ever sleep again? But like, I just, I think the hardest thing for me to imagine is not wanting to try doing it.

So we probably will at some point. I know, I faked it, I pretended for a while, I was like, I don't know. And with the second one, we're like, we don't know. And now people are like, are you gonna have a third one? And we're like, absolutely not. Like, we definitely know we're done. I think that we'd like to have, do too as well eventually.

Yeah. But we'll see. Yeah, I mean, get married first. To make it through this election cycle first. That and yes. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Ben tells me about managing his anxiety during Derivan Hansen, and we get the low down

on Richard Linklater's ambitious 18-year, merrily-we-ly We Roll Along adaptation. Okay, be right back. spending limit. Redefine possible with Business Platinum. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amex.ca slash business platinum. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. When you drive a Mazda, you'll find out why RSUV's won more 2024 IIHS top safety picks than any other brand as of June 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. And we're back with more Dinners on Me.

You talked a lot about anxiety and that was such an integral part of Dear Evan Hansen. The characters suffered from such anxiety. Did you, and you really threw yourself into that role. Obviously you had a base level of understanding of that. When you're developing a character, you have to find different things that aren't connected to you to make it so you're not just, you know,

torturing yourself every night. How was that experience for you, playing someone who had such a high level of anxiety, and also how did you learn to manage your anxiety during that and how have you learned to manage it since then? I think I was young enough that I wasn't super conscious of how I was taking care of myself. I mean, I think I love performing so much

and I had grown up loving musical theatre so much that like the the utter joy of realizing that dream and playing a role that was so meaty was like enough most of the time to counterbalance the kind of bleed that you're talking about. But I do think after the whole time after like developing it for a long time and working on it for several years and doing the run on Broadway for a year, I think at Torazana I started to feel this sense that I had worked myself into more of a panic than was actually authentic to me because I had focused so much on the fact

that we did have that connection of that was my way in, of I know what this feels like to be this in your own mind and to be this scared and anxious. And I think you forget when you spend enough time doing one thing that some things actually aren't yours to bear and that you can leave them behind. And so I think- And that the work, does that work for you?

Yeah, exactly. And just that he was more of an anxious person than I really am. And so it was nice when it was time to move on to... That's when I started writing my first album, and it was a great opportunity to get back in touch with my own perspective and be very frank with myself about what was really actually mine and what I could not... that I didn't have to continue to carry.

Do you get anxious? I mean, I guess I always feel anxiety in a good way, I think, before I go on stage. But do you ever feel, what does it look like in your head right before you go on stage? I usually feel anxiety in the preparation because I just want it to go well and I want to have my hands on everything and I will sort of play out all the things that could go wrong in my mind. So my anxiety as a pertains to performing is usually only like in the lead up.

And then the actual doing or like the right before the doing is like the time where I feel like the most settled. Like I feel like I crave performing live constantly because it's like this like suspension that only exists when you're performing live or like there's no room energetically or mentally to think about anything else. It's like you just have to do what you're doing and be present. And I feel like the biggest thing that anxiety takes away from me personally is the ability

to be where I am. I'm either thinking about what's to come or worrying about what's going to happen or replaying something that already happened. Right. And I think that performance is one of the spaces where I can rely on really feeling in my body. So I think once I've done everything I can do and it's time for the actual doing of it,

I feel really only excited and happy. How is that? So good, do you want some? I do want to try it, actually. I'm a sucker for chicken and broccoli. I do too, I love it, it's so simple. Yeah, it's straightforward. I'm not going to give you too much longer,

but we do have to talk briefly about Merrily We Roll Along. Oh, of course. Are we allowed to? Yeah. Can we, in general terms? Yeah. Okay, this is so cool. For many people, listening to this will already know,

but Merrily We Were Along is a Stephen Sondheim musical that takes place in reverse. It takes place in present day, but present day in the musical is the 70s, and then works backwards 20 years to when these people met. It's about this group of friends who you watch in reverse time, their friendship disintegrates,

and the show ends with the moment they meet. And it's, so this bittersweet story about friendship and change and success. And it was just on Broadway with Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzie Mendez and won all these Tony Awards. And you're doing the movie version with your good friend Beanie and Paul Mescal.

And it's directed by Richard Linklater, who famously directed Boyhood, which he took nine years to create. And he's wanting to shoot this version of Merrily We Were Along over the course of 13 years? I think it's 18. 18 years. Wow.

First of all, okay. So I imagine you're shooting it in reverse because you're going to get older as you shoot. Which means we're shooting it in chronological order, which is a really crazy way to experience the story. Yes, which I always wondered, what would that show be like in chronological order? But that's how you're experiencing it.

First of all, where are you at in the filming? Like have you filmed a chunk so far? We've done a couple chunks. We have another chunk coming soon. Like what's the shooting schedule? It's usually like a couple weeks because that's all we can really, I mean it's such a crazy thing to be trying to do.

I feel so lucky that I'm part of it. And to have a Sondheim check in every so often is the greatest gift of all time, let alone with one of my best friends, Beanie, like you said. So I think it's like, we are the ones who are having to prioritize making sure we can all come together at the right moment and do it. So we never really have very long.

But we've done a couple couple and we just try to, Rick is very big on not thinking too far ahead and just taking them as one at a time. They're sort of short films that we're making and just come as we are and allow our growth to be what our growth is, because we have no idea what we'll become or who's going to have children

or stay God-willing well. So just treat each one as a great... I mean, you put a lot on the line when you say we're going to have an 18-year shooting schedule. So many things can happen. It's true. That's why it's just kind of a leap of faith each time. And each time we make it to another one,

it feels like so... So you've done two sections so far. Yes. What was it like having a break from the first section and coming in and picking up again for the second part? Like, it reminded me of camp. Like when you go back to your life and then you come back to summer camp

and you like see your camp friends and you remember this like little world that you built and it's like no time passed. Yeah. It's like theater camp passed. Yeah. It's like theater camp even. Yeah. Amazing. I mean, also just makes you,

it just makes you feel very, like anytime we talk about it or do it or anything, it just makes me feel so like nostalgic and lofty and like just thinking about like my life and growing up and what my future looks like. It's just all very large. So I try to like not get too overwhelmed. I mean, it's really remarkable.

And you're going to have this, you know, hoping all goes well, like at the end of this process, like this time capsule of yourself and in real time, like, I mean, you know, in these actual ages, I don't know, it's just, it's just remarkable. And the fact that it is this also wildly complex musical about complex relationships and with complex music, it's remarkable.

It's the best. I mean, it's a piece I've always loved that I think almost everyone in the theater always has loved. And it was amazing to see it get such an amazing production this year and all three of them were so good. But I think like, yeah, I just think as soon as I heard

the concept and the idea that I was like as crazy and out of this world as this sounds like that is a great way of really like fully realizing the material so one can only hope, touch wood. So excited and it's like in 10 years you're gonna sing Franklin Shepard Inc. Which is one of the hardest songs. Thank you so much for doing this.

I know you're super busy. Oh my God, of course. Thanks for the change. Yeah, letting me feed you. I know that Noah's cooking right now. He's cooking for you tonight. I have a few hours to get hungry again. Okay, all right, all right, all right, good.

Well, don't worry about this. Dinner's on me. Oh, thanks. about this. Dinner's on me. Oh, thanks. This episode of Dinner's on Me was recorded at Genghis Cohen in LA's Fairfax district. Next week on Dinner's on Me, you know her from films like Joyride and the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris. It's Ashley Park. We'll get into her transition from stage to screen, finding love on the set of Emily in Paris, it's Ashley Park. We'll get into her transition from stage to screen,

finding love on the set of Emily in Paris, and how she inspired her character. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners on Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad free. Just click try free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple podcasts to search your free trial today. Dinners On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions.

It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans-Dyl She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanz-Kolassny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.