Hey guys, I am catching the Saturday matinee performance the first week of January. There's currently no outages listed for Ben Platt and I have heard he had great attendance in BoM. The DEH score is significantly more challenging though, so I was wondering how his attendance has been so far + how his understudy is if anyone has seen them yet.
Ben has yet to miss a performance.
He also didn't miss a single performance at Second Stage.
Also, nearly every time he was out as Elder Cunningham, it was due to filming or some other professional thing, not from being sick. You'll probably be fine!
I just saw that he is two months younger than I am...wow...I need to beef up my resume to keep up! Lol...
Back in August/September, Elvis Duran interviewed Ben and he made it clear that he hates missing performances and calling out. The only time he will do it is if he is extremely ill. I think you should be fine!
I understand wanting to see Ben, but in the event Colton Ryan is on, you'll be in more than good hands - I saw him in a number of shows during his college years, and he's phenomenally talented.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/15
He rarely misses a show, and hasn't the two times I've seen it, on and off Broadway. What an incredible talent he is.
Swing Joined: 8/7/13
I am so excited to see Ben give his performance of a lifetime but I also want to catch Colton in the role. I saw him in several college shows as well and he is incredible. He definitely has emotional intelligence way beyond his years, much like Ben.
Having seen the show 8 times (4 on and 4 off-BW), I have to say I'm mostly amazed by Ben's continuous effort of experimenting with the role. The Evan I saw two weeks ago is definitely different from the Evan I saw last week. Not necessarily improvement in the traditional sense, but I guess that's how he keeps his performances fresh in such a long run.
Chorus Member Joined: 7/9/16
every time I have seen it, he's been just a bit stronger too.
Re: the attendance, I know he's really strict about taking care of himself and doing everything he can to not be sick and miss a performance. I also wonder if he's going to be even more diligent now that almost every review points to him owning the role/show.
Platt's attendance was very good in Book of Mormon.
mulligan3 said: "I also wonder if he's going to be even more diligent now that almost every review points to him owning the role/show."
Hard to be more diligent on something at which you already are nailing 100% of the time, no?!
I assume the poster means more diligent about taking care of his body/health.
dramamama611 said: "I assume the poster means more diligent about taking care of his body/health."
Yes, but since his attendance would be a downstream result of those things, there is no reason to think he isn't on top of all of that, since this isn't his first show.
Do you know if he'll be out anytime in April/May? I'm going to NYC then.
Is the next logical question, his vocal health. The score has its demands ("Waving..." alone has those oft-mentioned top notes). I've heard people weigh in on how differently he sang in various venues to market/celebrate the show, and note differences in his voice's strength and perceived benefits from vocal rest. From what I've read, he must take considerable care of his voice to sing this 8 times a week. (Wasn't 2nd Stage 7? One more isn't big, but still.) Just a question. I have no reason to doubt he can pull it off. I go next Monday, matinee.
The Second Stage run did 8 performances a week.
The only real answer to the "will he suffer vocal fatigue?" question is that you have to wait and see. But since Platt is a professional singing actor, I can only imagine that he takes the necessary steps to safeguard his voice and maintain his health.
disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Do you know if he'll be out anytime in April/May? I'm going to NYC then.
"
I would think that's the time he would most likely be in the show since that's when nominators and voters see the show.
I saw Ben in Book of Mormon one day when he was definitely not in tip top form and my god did he just plow on through like nothing was wrong and deliver a fantastic performance. The guy is an absolute trooper and I think he knows when and when not to push (he ended up calling out the evening performance that day I mentioned).
Broadway Star Joined: 7/25/04
This thread is great news to me! We're seeing a Sunday matinee next month and I was initially worried that we might miss him. Not that I mind understudies, but I'm so excited to see Platt in the role!
Featured Actor Joined: 3/1/10
Ben is amazing. Not to be missed !
Understudy Joined: 9/11/08
I am looking at tickets for DEH for either June or September. Is it safe to assume Ben Platt has the standard 1 year contract and we'd still have a chance to see him if we wait until September? Thanks
Very likely.
If he doesn't win Best Actor, something is wrong. Best male performance I can remember. The only performances that come close are Cynthia Erivo and Alex Sharp.
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