“Ben Platt poses for a photographer on the rooftop of the swank Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills hotel. The actor’s jacket — an alien-gray metallic fabric — shimmers a prism of colors in the light of the setting sun. His bracelet spells out “Dear Evan Hansen” in beaded letters. It’s time for a new outfit. There’s some chatter about moving back down the stairs to a suite for privacy, but Platt opts for a quicker route. “How often do you get to change on a helipad?” he asks with a smile. He strips down to blue underwear and then quickly slips on white jeans in front of the small crew. A team member blasts Ariana Grande from an iPhone. The track? “Thank U, Next.”
The helipad may have been a novel changing milieu for the young star. But this vista of cityscape-meets-sea is not an unfamiliar one. Platt, 27, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Likewise, he is a native son of the entertainment world. His first major role, at age 9, was opposite Kristin Chenoweth at the Hollywood Bowl in The Music Man. It marked the beginning of a prolific stage career that includes lead roles in The Book of Mormon in Chicago and, most notably, the titular role in Dear Evan Hansen, which he originated in workshops in 2014 and brought to Broadway in 2016…”