He has a great voice don’t get me wrong, but I hated his phrasing, it felt like he was still playing Evan. Its”there’s a place for us...breath...somewhere.....” and not “There’s a place....breath...forus SOMEWHERE”
You just felt his nervous energy for a song that should be and was likely chosen for its optimism in the face of adversity. If they were adamant about having Platt perform he should of done Something’s Coming or Maria.
If they wanted Somewhere to be sung they should of gone with other CBS family broadway stars like Jeremy Jordan, Patina Miller, or Christopher Jackson (another Grammy winner).
If anything they should of chosen New York, New York, as it would if been on the nose, and should of opened the show with a taped piece bringing in the Nominees at the various locations in the song, and then mixing it with Jay-Z’a Empire state and Billy Joel’sNew York state of mind. They were at Billy Joel’s home venue and didn’t even have him perform. thats an argument dor a different day though.
Cfried said: "It seems I'm one of the few that didn't care for his performance. The clipped "...for us" was almost irritating and I felt I was watching Evan Hansen singWest Side. I also did not understand the contemporary arrangement when this was supposed to be a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. Benis a very talented artist, but this was not the right song for him. He's not theleading man-Tony type, so the performance didn't work for me."
Now that you mention that, I CANT NOT NOTICE! Omg. It’s irritating!
bdn, yes yes yes, to everything you said.
Cfried said: "It seems I'm one of the few that didn't care for his performance. The clipped "...for us" was almost irritating and I felt I was watching Evan Hansen singWest Side. I also did not understand the contemporary arrangement when this was supposed to be a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. Benis a very talented artist, but this was not the right song for him. He's not theleading man-Tony type, so the performance didn't work for me."
Agreed. I enjoyed the rest of the song but HATED how he kept singing "for us." That sounded exactly like he was still playing Evan Hansen.
Between this and some other concert performance recently (was it 54 below?) I am genuinely worried that Ben has peaked and will not have much of a career of leading musical theatre roles in the future. I hope I am wrong. His performance in Evan was remarkable. Was.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
Mark my words...he will be Tony if the WSS film gets made. I think he would be a very good casting.
Broadway Star Joined: 10/31/16
Call_me_jorge said: "Cfried said: "It seems I'm one of the few that didn't care for his performance. The clipped "...for us" was almost irritating and I felt I was watching Evan Hansen singWest Side. I also did not understand the contemporary arrangement when this was supposed to be a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. Benis a very talented artist, but this was not the right song for him. He's not theleading man-Tony type, so the performance didn't work for me."
Now that you mention that, I CANT NOT NOTICE! Omg. It’s irritating!
bdn, yes yes yes, to everything you said."
The clipped phrasing literally drove me insane. And I like Ben but that was god-awful. I couldn't help but compare that to what Aaron Tveit just did with Maria on NYE during the Bernstein tribute concert - that was so beautiful and gorgeously phrased, and there was no struggle for the notes.
Tf why didn’t they ask CYNTHIA to do this??? https://youtu.be/HQ32cIGqgdE
edit:
Beyonce: https://youtu.be/QlCiR4I1vnE
Babs and Josh Groban: https://youtu.be/aPgqeVROE_4
Ben: I just rocked the Grammys. Patti: Hold my Beer...
Didnt care for it. Most reviewers said the performance was out of place and I agree. Not his fault, but no idea what they were going for. Hated the arrangement.
Leading Actor Joined: 5/30/05
Nycat63 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Cfried said: "It seems I'm one of the few that didn't care for his performance. The clipped "...for us" was almost irritating and I felt I was watching Evan Hansen singWest Side. I also did not understand the contemporary arrangement when this was supposed to be a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. Benis a very talented artist, but this was not the right song for him. He's not theleading man-Tony type, so the performance didn't work for me."
Now that you mention that, I CANT NOT NOTICE! Omg. It’s irritating!
bdn, yes yes yes, to everything you said."
The clipped phrasing literally drove me insane. And I like Ben but that was god-awful. I couldn't help but compare thatto what Aaron Tveit just did with Maria on NYE during the Bernstein tribute concert - that was so beautiful and gorgeously phrased, and there was no struggle for the notes. "
I thought the very same thing when watching - couldn’t help but compare Platt’s performance to Tveit’s WSS offerings on NYE - I found Ben’s breathy and mannered. Aaron was crystal clear and simply sublime, IMO.
qolbinau said: "Between this and some other concert performance recently (was it 54 below?) I am genuinely worried that Ben has peaked and will not have much of a career of leading musical theatre roles in the future. I hope I am wrong. His performance in Evan was remarkable. Was."
Qolbinau, I have the same wonder. Everyone expected Idina to be the next big thing after the Wicked zeitgeist. It never materialized and a pop career eluded her. The RENT kids never got much traction either and today are pretty much relegated to be worshipped by the groupies. Ben may be dealt the same fate. We'll see. Leslie Odom seems to be the most successful by creating a high profile in the standards market.
Bettyboy72 said: "Didnt care for it. Most reviewers said the performance was out of place and I agree. Not his fault, but no idea what they were going for. Hated the arrangement."
Really? Can you point us to those reviews? I've searched, and can find nothing stating that his performance was "out of place".
I think Ben will have a fine post Evan Hansen career. I think he’s really going to try and follow the Leslie Odom Jt gameplan in trying his hand at a bunch of different things—music, movies, tv, back to theater eventually. I mean there are plenty of people who did enjoy the performance I guess that’s why art is so cool it all really is subjective I suppose.
Cfried said: "It seems I'm one of the few that didn't care for his performance. The clipped "...for us" was almost irritating and I felt I was watching Evan Hansen singWest Side. I also did not understand the contemporary arrangement when this was supposed to be a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. Benis a very talented artist, but this was not the right song for him. He's not theleading man-Tony type, so the performance didn't work for me."
The clipped phrasing bugged me, but the last half of the performance was great! He did a good job, but the segment truly belonged to Patti.
Chorus Member Joined: 6/5/17
I think Ben will have a great career. Although I don’t think he is that versatile an actor, he is a really incredible singer and I hope his album does well.
ohhiccup 2 said: "I think Ben will have a great career. Although I don’t think he is that versatile an actor, he is a really incredible singer and I hope his album does well
I think he’s got a reasonable voice (I don’t love it), but I suspect he’s going mainstream with albums that can liberally auto-tune vocals.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/06
Bettyboy72 said: "qolbinau said: "Between this and some other concert performance recently (was it 54 below?) I am genuinely worried that Ben has peaked and will not have much of a career of leading musical theatre roles in the future. I hope I am wrong. His performance in Evan was remarkable. Was."
Qolbinau, I have the same wonder. Everyone expected Idina to be the next big thing after the Wicked zeitgeist. It never materialized and a pop career eluded her. The RENT kids never got much traction either and today are pretty much relegated to be worshipped by the groupies. Ben may be dealt the same fate. We'll see. Leslie Odom seems to be the most successful by creating a high profile in the standards market.
??????Still, Idina hasn't done too shabby. A lot of performers would love to have 3 iconic roles like she has had.
Jarethan said: "Mark my words...he will be Tony if the WSS film gets made. I think he would be avery good casting."
I mean he was decent singing the song, but he’s totally wrong for Tony... lmao.
wouldnt be shocked if he ends up being cast as Boq in the Wicked Film.
I think the "secret" we all are
ignoring is that Platt does
NOT have a great voice.
Hell, his vibrato is wider than
that of the 70-year-old diva
who sang after him!
BUT. He used what voice he
does have brilliantly in DEH,
at least judging by the re-
cording. So good for him!
The clipped words may have
been his way of avoiding the
heavy vibrato. But as for
insisting he "sing the song
the way it was originally
intended," he could hardly
do that; it was intended to
be sung by a light, ethereal
soprano.
Ben Platt is a one hit wonder. I’d loved to be proved wrong, but I don’t think that will happen.
He was phenomenal in one hit show...and the first “Pitch Perfect” movie.
His performance on last night’s Grammy Awards was American Idol-ish. Vocal gymnastics with nothing underneath. No soul or subtext.
Patti, on the otherhand, blew it out of the park.
I love Ben, but riffing like that is saying F*CK YOU to the melody. It's saying, "I can write music better than the composer."
Ugh.
Chorus Member Joined: 6/5/17
I would like to see him prove me wrong acting wise, but everything I’ve seen him in he plays the same awkward/outsider kind of guy. I want to see him play someone totally different and unexpected just not sure if he has it in him
Not impressed with the first half, but I can imagine Tony singing it with some effort. The second half is just atrocious, destroying everything that this song is about.
MichelleCraig said: "Ben Platt is a one hit wonder. I’d loved to be proved wrong, but I don’t think that will happen.
He wasphenomenal in one hit show...and the first “Pitch Perfect” movie.
His performance on last night’s Grammy Awards was American Idol-ish. Vocal gymnastics with nothing underneath. No soul or subtext.
Patti, on the otherhand, blew it out of the park."
Two if you count his performance in Book of Mormon, which I thought he was great in.
Cat Guy said: "Really? Can you point us to those reviews? I've searched, and can find nothing stating that his performance was "out of place".
Not sure if this counts as a "review" but Vulture listed it as a low point in the broadcast:
"LOW: Ben Platt performing “Somewhere” from West Side Story.
Sorry, was Babs unavailable?"
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