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[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Episode 165 of Take A Bow. This is crazy. I am your host, Eli Tokash, and this week we have an unbelievable episode for you folks. This conversation with Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Noah Galvin is just unbelievable. I'm freaking out. I'm geeking out. My theater kid is just coming out of my body right now, and I'm just so excited to be here. We talk about life. We talk about their careers. We talk about Theater Camp, which is their new movie that the two of them are working on that comes out in theaters in just two weeks. So craziness and a crazy time for the two of them after Ben going through another Tony Award season as he was nominated for Parade, and we talk a little bit about that.

It's so good. You guys are going to love this episode. I'm so excited to share it with you. And you're going to get an inside scoop of Theater Camp before anyone else. I mean, literally, there hasn't been... I mean, they haven't started their press junkets yet, really, except for private screenings and stuff like that. So this is kind of like the first out and outlier posted and broadcasted kind of moment that they talk about Theater Camp. So to be one of the first is just a true treat, and to have them on is just even better. I could go on and on, so I'll stop rambling. And before we turn it over to our interviews, as always, we got to talk about some Broadway news. I won't make you wait too long because there's not too much to talk about, honestly.

There's a couple casting notes and closing dates that I want to mention. This week, it was announced that Camelot is going to be closing early. They will be closing on July 23rd, which is so unfortunate because I've come on here and I've raved about Camelot, this production in particular, a million times, and you all know how I feel about it. I talked to Jordan Donica, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in this show and in this role. I'm just a huge fan and it breaks my heart that it's closing and closing early for that matter on Broadway. So before it closes on July 23rd, make sure you go get a chance to see this incredible production. And you know what? I'm also going to mention and remind everyone that Parade is closing on August 3rd.

So you have five and a half weeks to go see Parade. I saw it last night, and I'm going to talk about my thoughts on it after the interview because we kind of talk a little bit about it during the interviews. So I don't want to give anything away now. So stay tuned for afterwards. I am just in love with the show. It was my first time actually seeing it on the Broadway production. I saw it at City Center and it just blew me away. I mean, they are just so talented. They deserved everything, best revival of a play, so well deserved and all the things. So make sure you go see that before August 3rd because you won't want to miss it. It was also announced some exciting casting news and it's fun because we have a Dear Evan Hansen moment with the two guests on the podcast today.

It was announced that a couple other Dear Evan Hansen cast members, I guess, or cast are working on a new project together, and they're going to be at the Kennedy Center in Rent, starring in Rent, Andrew Barth Feldman, Alex Boniello, Miles Frost, Ali Stroker, Lorna Courtney, and Jimmy Harad, with more to be announced in the upcoming weeks. And this is going to be of July 26th, July 28th. It's going to be just that weekend, similar to what Spamalot was doing. It's just a star-studded cast performing at the Kennedy Center. I'm obsessed. I hope to God that I can make it down there and make it for this trip because it would be a riot. I mean, honest to God, this cast, it's just so good, I can't imagine anything else.

And Alex and Andrew being the two leads, it makes everything perfect and it makes so much sense. So I'm thrilled with the casting news and I'm thrilled of all the things. So congratulations to all of you and hope to see you in D.C. at the Kennedy Center. I want to also mention Bryce Pinkham, who is going to be returning to Little Shop of Horrors in July. And it's going to be a short eight-week thing, similar to Jeremy Jordan. I think it actually is going to line up perfectly with his run. And he and Bryce are going to be returning to the show, obviously with Joy Woods, who is, of course, currently playing Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. So I'm very excited to see that cast. I hope to see it because I missed Jeremy's first stint in the show.

And then it was also announced that we have a TV star coming to Broadway, which we're very excited about. Casey Cott will be joining Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. He will be replacing Derek Klena in the show. And I'm so excited. Casey Cott, we all know he can sing. We've all seen what he can do because Riverdale does those cute little musical episode moments things. They try to do it, at least. No shade, no shade, I promise. But yeah, so I'm excited to see him on Broadway. I think he's a perfect fit. Corey Cott, we all know and love. Oh, I think I may have mentioned this last week's episode. But oh, well, you're getting it twice if I did announce it on last week's episode and you didn't already know.

So that's all the news, really, we have for you folks this week. There hasn't been too much going on since I talked to you guys on Tuesday. So I am so excited. I'm literally just going to stop talking. Short intro, I'm going to turn it straight over to our fabulous conversation with Ben Platt and Noah Galvin. Y'all are gonna want to sit down for this one. It's so good. And we have this on YouTube, which is a super fun watch and to see just their reactions and their little bits that they do and how they interact together. It's really cute. So if you want to watch it on YouTube, highly recommend. But you know, feel free to, you know, stay here and listen and then turn over to the YouTube or whatever you want to do. Anyways, without further ado, it's time to turn it over to our wonderful conversation. So Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, curtain up.

[6:24] Eli Tokash: Holy moly, y'all. Today we are joined by not only one, but two of our dream guests that you love these icons from watching them star on Broadway and shows such as Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Book of Mormon, and even currently in Parade. Soon, you will get to see them on the big screen in a theater loving film with their new brilliant comedy, Theater Camp. It is my honor to welcome to Take A Bow, Ben Platt and Noah Galvin. Hi, guys.

[6:49] Ben Platt: Hi.

[6:50] Noah Galvin: Oh my god, you guys don't know how excited I am about this. Okay, I've been wanting to talk to you guys on this for so long. Ever since I started, I like started with a list. I told this to Rachel Bay Jones, who was my mom in Pippin, and I was like, you and Ben were at the top. And she was like, oh, Benny, I love Ben.

[7:15] Noah Galvin: So I'm so excited to talk to you guys today. And then she was at the hospital with Noah, too, on The Good Doctor.

[7:20] Ben Platt: Oh my god, yes.

[7:21] Noah Galvin: Oh my god, I totally forgot she was on that. Oh my god. And now, yeah, both of you guys are just movie stars, Broadway stars, TV stars, all the things, you name it. You guys can do it all, and this is going to be a treat. So the way I usually like to start these things is just starting from the beginning. Why are we here? Why are we in this industry? What inspired you guys to want to tell stories and entertain others?

[7:46] Ben Platt: Well, we have had similar backgrounds in that regard, but just on opposite coasts. I grew up on the West Coast, and my whole family loves musical theater. My dad's in the business, and I grew up listening to show tunes and Broadway all the time. I was sort of like an empty case that was filled with show tunes from birth. And my siblings all did youth theater, so naturally I wanted to do what they were doing. So I did a youth musical theater program and just fell in love with it and got bit by the bug arguably even harder and started working professionally as a kid when I was nine years old. So it's been a fun 20 years. Very old.

[8:37] Noah Galvin: Stop it.

[8:38] Ben Platt: It just always was the happiest, most open, connective time for me was when I was working on something or singing or performing or acting or writing. Just anything creative and expressive, I find that helps me. I'm generally a pretty introverted person and can have difficulty projecting and communicating as Noah will attest. And so definitely I knew before I even had the autonomy, I just knew that the only place for me was in this biz.

[9:13] Noah Galvin: I'd say it was fairly similar. I think what you said about your siblings is right, that we both had older siblings who were doing this. And I really just wanted to hang out with them. I really just wanted to be around them. My sister's seven years older than me. My brother's four years older than me. And so I was very much like the little brother who would tag along and just sort of show up. But I think my parents very much instilled a love for pretty much everything artistic in our family. I was recently hit up by a friend who now has a clothing line who was like, we did pottery together when we were four. I didn't know I did pottery.

[9:57] Ben Platt: I love it.

[9:58] Noah Galvin: There was a big onus put on just stretching ourselves creatively and expanding ourselves. And my parents really wanted us to find our passions at a young age and really facilitated that process. And theater for me just very quickly became the thing. I remember my sister being in middle school musicals, and I would beg my dad to take me to the rehearsals so I could sit in the back of the theater and just watch. Because I was addicted to it. I loved it. I just wanted to do it all the time and be around it all the time. It's still there.

[10:40] Ben Platt: I know. It's so great to hear that. We all started at a young age, and none of that could be possible without the support from parents. And not every person that loves theater gets that. So we've kind of been very fortunate enough to do that. With Theater Camp especially, driving an hour or sending your kid away, that's a very hard thing for parents to do. You can't be like a child and start young in this industry unless you have that kind of support system. Even when you're an adult, it really does take a village in this industry. I've got to talk to you about Dear Evan Hansen, because you guys both were in it, and it was such a big part of both your lives and careers. Ben, you obviously were in Dear Evan Hansen for many years. And then Noah, you came and succeeded Ben in the role of Evan Hansen. So I'm curious to ask you just what that transition was for you two. Were you guys able to work together and kind of collaborate because no one else played Evan before Ben?

[11:58] Noah Galvin: Well, what's interesting is at that time, in that transition was the time that Ben, Nick, Molly and I sort of found this little sweet spot where I was in rehearsals, he was winding down and wasn't as busy as he once was. And Nick and Molly were both in New York. And it was at that moment where we all sort of decided that we wanted to make something. And so we wrote a short called Theater Camp. And then I hit up our school. I hit up Chuck Vassallo.

[12:38] Noah Galvin: PPAS and I was like, give us some kids.

[12:44] Ben Platt: Everyone the podcast must know that you like them before, right?

[12:53] Noah Galvin: But yeah, we went to PPAS and it was like during that time, that sort of like transitional moment where like neither of us, I think Ben, I was like inundated in my rehearsal process and Ben was sort of like just trying to remove himself from this behemoth thing that had been much of his life for many years. And it was just like a nice little respite, like us just investing in something else.

[13:19] Ben Platt: I forgot that that's the period where he made the short, right? In that transition. And also just for any listeners that have drunk the Kool-Aid of false information, we knew each other for many, many years before Evan Hansen. We did not meet because we were both in Evan Hansen. We were already friends.

[13:38] Noah Galvin: Yeah, we were already friends.

[13:41] Ben Platt: But I just tried to give Noah a space to do his own thing. I mean, I just was supportive in the sense that he was my friend and I knew in a way that no one else did at that point other than our friend Colton, who was covering me at the time, just like what an undertaking it was. So I just wanted to support him and give him as much room to come in and not be hovering or, you know, 'cause I knew it was gonna be a hard transition regardless after all that had gone down the year leading up to that. So I just tried to really vacate and give him his own space and he painted the dressing room a different color and did his own thing.

[14:14] Noah Galvin: Oh, I love that. I love the music box dressing rooms. By the way, they're like gorgeous, really nice, great.

[14:22] Ben Platt: So, uh, yeah, I mean, you know, Jim and Henson, you guys both, I saw I was able to see both of you guys perform in the show and it was just absolutely breathtaking, both of you guys' performances, so different yet so beautiful. Like both of them obviously made me cry because I, yeah, you know, that's just what that show does.

[14:40] Noah Galvin: I literally would do that.

[14:42] Ben Platt: Yeah, literally, like I would see the show just once a week and I would be drained for the week. I can't imagine doing it eight shows a week, you know, like so kudos to both of you. I can't imagine.

[14:52] Noah Galvin: Very lucky that I had to do it for three months.

[14:57] Ben Platt: Oh, yeah. Yes, very, very lucky, but I mean, killed it and very lucky to have seen you, so that's kind of crazy that, you know, Theater Camp was kind of born in Dear Evan Hansen during Dear Evan Hansen, right?

[15:10] Noah Galvin: In that time period.

[15:14] Ben Platt: In that time period, it was our, it was our, you know, I think we had both just been like actors for hire from the age of nine to however we were doing that, 23, 24, yeah. But I think what we had just had these like, you know, we had just gotten to exercise a single muscle for that period of time and I think we were both looking for an opportunity to, you know, stretch ourselves and flex some more muscles and try something new, you know, and take a little bit more control over something than you can really have as just a performer.

[15:50] Noah Galvin: Totally.

[15:50] Ben Platt: So Theater Camp, right? Talk to me, take me through this process because y'all, you're about to release a film in the movie theaters in two weeks, you know? Like that's so exciting, like, and it was born like from an idea and then it turned into this YouTube short film. Like just talk to me through this process and kind of this journey because you then had to take it to the film festivals and like talk to me about what it was just like to get this thing up in theaters and globally, I guess.

[16:17] Noah Galvin: We, you know, we, as Noah said, we kind of have this collective, Noah and I and Molly and Nick with all kinds of inroads and histories and Molly and I did theater since we were children and we know Noah and the three of them had made sketches before we even started making this. And Noah and I did workshops of Alice by Heart with Molly and Nick and I did improv and sketch comedy in high school together in musical theater, so it's, we, it was this kind of crossroads of like a love of like improv and sketch and comedy collectives like Christopher Guest and SNL and things like that and then just a deep, deep like musical theater nerdom. So it made a lot of sense that we would focus in this world in terms of like bringing the tone that we love to the world we know the best and that we want to make fun of because we feel like we are part of it so we can make fun of it and also just press our love for it ultimately at the end of the day.

[17:08] Ben Platt: And I think when we made the short, it was clear to us that there was more to the story. Like I just think we could feel how well it had worked and how the tone really landed and it was unlike anything necessarily specifically that we had seen before, so we felt like we really hit something and took us a little while to come back to it and really properly start to flesh it out. But I think when the pandemic hit, it made everybody, you know, just kind of a little more heart forward than they had been, I think, before that. And I think for us it was very much like, by definition, a passion project. So we all naturally really returned to it and thought like we could really give this a real go and there's more of a world and a story to develop here.

[17:50] Noah Galvin: So we wrote it into a feature over the course of like about a year, the four of us together. We wrote it into like a script mint, which is sort of like a script treatment crossover because it's largely improvised, the film, so it has like lots of alts and jokes and concepts and every scene is beaded out and every narrative beat is decided and there's some dialogue to begin with and then like each character we wrote like Bibles for, so somebody would be cast with a role and we would write them like an entire, you know, backstory.

[18:20] Ben Platt: Protect ourselves.

[18:25] Noah Galvin: Everybody had like a big backstory, had like, you know, a reason to be and tone and an arsenal of jokes and they knew where their arc was headed and they knew it was a very, very heavily, heavily out everything short of scripted but left a lot of room for improvisation, which brings us to the trying to get it made when you come to financiers and you're like, we want to make a semi-improvised movie that has an original musical at the end with children at a summer camp like for not that much money. Nobody is sort of like, oh, absolutely. I see the commercial viability of this immediately. It was definitely, you know, tricky to find the right people.

[19:00] Ben Platt: Noah and Molly did a film called Booksmart. That's fantastic.

[19:05] Noah Galvin: Yeah, it's company Gloria Sanchez, which is Will Ferrell's company and obviously Will Ferrell's our collective idol, godfather, and just a woman that runs that company was a great mentor to Molly and to Noah and was kind of the first one to say when you do do something, you know, bring it to me. So we brought it to her and Gloria Sanchez was our first kind of champion and along with them we went to many different financiers and studios, some of whom said yes and then dropped out, some of whom said no to begin with, and finally found Picture Start, which is a company studio to help us make the film. And it was a will they won't they all the way up to the very last minute and we were finishing writing the movie and getting ready to go upstate.

We got our green light, there's gonna be some barking happening in a moment because we have our window washers returning just as a warning. We got our green light, you know, weeks before the first day of shooting and we had 19 days to do it and half the money fell away and we had to find it somewhere else.

[20:01] Noah Galvin: A company named Topic Studios came in and saved the day.

[20:05] Ben Platt: Yeah, it was a real, it was a crash course. I mean, we're all first-time filmmakers and it was a real crash course on like if you believe deeply in something and you're passionate about it, you have to be the champions for it and you have to pivot eight times a day and just keep changing and adapting and then in the actual filming of it, that's even more true. You know, every filmmaking is like basically just creative problem-solving.

[20:27] Noah Galvin: Exactly.

[20:33] Ben Platt: And then we couldn't believe we've had it and then Nick and Molly went into a hole, our co-directors, and edited it for months to try to make up the Sundance deadline and then we submitted the film to Sundance and they miraculously let us in and we were like, this is it and this is the end of the road, like incredible. We made this little thing and it went to Sundance.

[20:57] Noah Galvin: Like theater nerds as cool like film kids, we're like we can't believe we're here with like actual cool people.

[21:04] Ben Platt: And then it exceeded our expectations and played really well there and they gave us an ensemble award and Searchlight saw it the very weekend it opened at Sundance and snatched it up immediately and bought it and put it in theaters, which was our ultimate, ultimate dream. Not just the live experience of theaters, which was our, you know, it's about that live experience and it's about having a communal comedy experience. That's our favorite films are that way. So our greatest dream was that it would be in person like that, but even on top of that, I think Searchlight was our ultimate, ultimate dream. They've made all the great small weird funny heartfelt indies and taking such care of them that we've always loved.

[21:46] Noah Galvin: It's all so well-deserved. I mean, the movie is just like, I can't stress, I came on here as soon as I saw the movie, it was like...

[21:53] Ben Platt: I was doing all the things.

[21:59] Noah Galvin: No, it was just like, it's literally like it's every theater kid's life in a movie and, but like in a funny, not traumatic way, you know?

[22:11] Ben Platt: Experience.

[22:13] Noah Galvin: So it's just so relatable. And in the movie, you know, obviously you guys are at theater camp, but you guys are putting on an original musical called Joan. Still, I have to ask because I feel like I've heard y'all talk about Joan or Grandma Joan before. Where does Joan sit? Like where does that come from? What inspired that title and making of that musical?

[22:39] Ben Platt: I don't remember. I know that, well, the name Joan is what was my grandma who passed, so the name was just a little bit of honoring, but I think that the character more is like an amalgam of all of our theater teachers and heroes and, you know, the mother hens of like, you know, Molly and I went to this place called the Adderley School, Janet Adderley, and Kevin, I went to a theater program called Kevin Kearns. Kearns was, you know, just like this guy who was around being like just the fostering young creatives and Rosie's Theater Kids, Donald, you know, ran our musical theater program that we did musical theater at in high school.

[23:23] Noah Galvin: Yeah, and then the title is just like all of our favorite like self-serious kind of awkwardly phrased, like too holier-than-thou.

[23:30] Ben Platt: Yeah, that's right, but there's a loftiness there that we hope will make people laugh.

[23:37] Noah Galvin: Oh my god, no, it's hilarious. Every time it's referenced in the movie, it's like everyone just starts laughing when I see what I saw because we were just a bunch of theater kids seeing the movie. It was great.

[23:55] Ben Platt: But since we're on the topic of titles, you know, this is like, this may be a silly question, but like for me, it's a serious question because there are nights where I literally like have arguments with myself about the spelling of theater. How did you guys, how and why did you guys go with the spelling of ER for Theater Camp?

[24:14] Noah Galvin: There is an actual reason. I feel like that we could probably know, but I think in general and in terms of like my just sort of base understanding of theater versus theater, like I was told I think when I was younger that like truh is more European spelling, but also there is like a grammatical reason that I'm forgetting right now.

[24:29] Ben Platt: Me too. For me, it's more like it's the less hoity-toity spelling, I guess, like the layman would recognize the term theater. Maybe we had been like named by Amos and Rebecca Diane, it would be called like a portrait of a home. It'd be like a portrait of a gorgeous artistic and Colin Theater Camp or in Theater.

[25:03] Noah Galvin: Yes, yeah, track him.

[25:10] Ben Platt: Because it's awesome because we wanted to, you know, we want it to be as universal as possible.

[25:13] Noah Galvin: But absolutely come for us if you don't agree.

[25:17] Ben Platt: Off in the comments. We want to hear why you don't like the title.

[25:16] Noah Galvin: We want to hear your issues about our inspirations being like the Christopher Guest sort of group of actors that he always leaned on and like 2009 SNL cast that we like so, so, so love and look up to and admire. And I think in coming into a process like this, having the like limited time funds, limited everything. And you know, asking people to like come to the woods and deal with a lot of goose poop and a lot of mosquitoes and a bunch of kids. It's just easier to ask your friends to sort of do that than it is to like, you know, they'll probably be the most willing. And also we have this like beautiful collective of friends that I think we all yearn for spaces to just like play and explore and have fun.

And I think it's rare that you get hired to do a job and it feels as like free as you want it to, you know. And so we really, really tried to just curate a space for people to like show up and enjoy and just like have fun and play and feel free and improvise and feel safe to do that and fail in front of people that you know you can trust and will still love you even if your joke is not funny. Yeah, I think it's not something that one should always do. Like I don't think it's like, at least for me personally, I think it's important to have spaces professionally that are your own and then to when the time is right, get to collaborate with those closest to you. But with this particular project, you know, we really felt like we were the ones to depict this world together and that it was about our shared love of theater and so much about like our language and why we're friends in the first place.

And to have that shorthand I think is the only reason the film got made. And I think that the whole kind of some of the sort of like mission statement of why we wanted to make it in the first place, particularly with Molly and Nick, is like to have a space for all of our talented, funny, strange theater adjacent friends to do something together. We're also really lucky that we do have like a, our friend group is awesome and that everybody's really talented and everybody is like sort of known in their own little respective like circles or fields or whatever that may look like. And so, you know, tweening on our friends like Owen Thiel and Patty Harrison and Io Adebre and Jimmy Tetro who all just showed up like completely game, completely down.

And I think excited to like do something that felt loose and free and something that they had like real creative control over. So I think you're, we are often actors for hire and are saying other people's words directed by people, you know, it's somebody else's vision and this was very much ours and we gave a lot of people freedom to feel that.

[29:20] Ben Platt: Now with you guys kind of like, I guess calling the shots and kind of seeing this in your vision, like was it really important to like, I mean, we did the YouTube short in a Pearl Studio because that's what a theater camp is in New York because there are no woods. Like how important for you guys for like this, was it to really like create that space?

[29:42] Noah Galvin: Huge. I mean, I think that with the financial reality of trying to make this movie, in terms of like the texture that we would be able to afford to build or create, like we had to find a location that did a lot of that for us because it just so much of like, one of our huge inspirations is Stage Door, the documentary about Stage Door, of course. And so like that, you know, pseudo sort of Jewish, like upper, like New York upstate East coast lake, like feeling and there's ticks and goose poop and cabins and beautiful sunsets. Like that's hard to, to fabricate. Like there was even a time where we were considering filming at what's more of like a production site, a campsite in LA. And I think that we just, we really felt like if we can nail the authenticity of the location and then make small tweaks and changes, like we had to build out the theater space where the, cause it wasn't a performing arts camp and we had to build those, you know, risers and the lighting grid and stuff like that.

So we had to add our flair, certainly, but having the kids up at a real camp and everybody there working together and living there was like, that I think you can feel in every frame and like that wouldn't have been reproducible. So we were so, it was like one of the biggest wins to find that camp that wasn't running, that was just sitting in there in beautiful Warwick, New York that we were able to afford to work at.

[31:11] Ben Platt: Yeah. It's sort of like the, I think sort of like the lead of our film is this thing that we found. It's like Sex and the City, the fifth girl is the city. Yes. Literally. It's so brilliant though. Like the place is great. It had to have probably like felt like a summer camp, like while you guys were filming.

[31:29] Noah Galvin: It did. Very much so. Yeah. Like the stakes are so high. Like when, with any music, youth theater or like school theater, the stakes are so high. Like people like, cause it happens so quickly when you do the show, like in high school, you rehearse it for like a month and then you get like two nights and then it's over. So it's like the adrenaline is so unmatched. Even like for a month, you rehearse for like six months. You're right. And then you get two nights. So like the adrenaline is unmatched by any professional experience I've ever had. Yeah. So to be, we had that, those stakes and that adrenaline so that it really made the camp. The way we sort of like structured the shoot was that we saved, because we like needed the time to like polish and prepare.

We saved the final musical for the last three days of filming. And so it did feel like this final show. This like final culminating event, emotionally and physically, like for everybody, for the entire crew who, you know, had just been like in and out of these rooms dealing with like, you know, classes and teachers and whatever. But then for everybody on set to get to see these musical numbers completely come to fruition was just so satisfying and exciting for everybody.

[32:37] Ben Platt: Yeah. And like Noah was saying, the sort of like emotional stakes of being a child in youth theater and having that like final curtain go down on like your final performance and the like shrieks of like utter catharsis that just like come out of you.

[32:56] Noah Galvin: Followed by deep sobs.

[32:56] Ben Platt: Yeah. Just like screaming, crying, hugging, you know, too much mascara, too much blush, everything running. We got to like really have that and provide that for the kids who were all at that point dressed in their 70s costumes watching, you know, a nine-year-old Liza and a, you know, and yeah, and like a 13-year-old David Geffen just like sob into each other's arms was the ultimate satisfaction for us as curators of this event.

[33:30] Noah Galvin: That's so cute. Those kids looked like they were having the time of their lives. I mean, literally like it shows on screen.

[33:36] Ben Platt: Yeah. We definitely wanted to give them a beautiful experience. And I think that in the mess of the stress and the problem solving and the money and the COVID and the just all the things that come along with making an indie film, what kept us not just on our best behavior, but also just like remembering why we were doing it. Like there was such a purity to having those kids around and wanting to give them an experience that was joyful and challenging in the right ways. I think that they were like the guiding light. So to see them, you know, cry as Noah was saying at the end, it was so, we felt so proud that we had to give them an experience that they won't just look at as like, you know, this was a tough shoot or this was a job. It was like they gave them a summer at camp so that we felt like regardless of how the film turned out, obviously we had hopes that it would be great. But even if it hadn't been, we'd at least given these kids a really nice experience.

[34:26] Noah Galvin: Yeah. They also are just amazing. They showed up so good. And it was something that we had always thought about, like going back to the short and like casting all the PPAS kids and you, we were worried about like kids' abilities to improv. And I think that was like a really, really big hurdle for the financiers.

[34:44] Ben Platt: Yeah, hurdle for our producers to sort of swallow and trust us that like we could get children to like, you know, carry story and not have jokes written for them and just like be authentically themselves. And we were really lucky to have the help of Bernie Telsey and Christian Charbonniere at Telsey and Co. And they just, you know, they found an incredible, incredible crop of kids for us. And we have this like really fun audition process where we, they sent us like, you know, singing tapes and things. But for callbacks, we sat with them over Zoom and just improvised with them. And it became incredibly apparent, incredibly quickly that—

[35:28] Noah Galvin: All of them could do it.

[35:29] Ben Platt: All of them were going to like improv circles around us.

[35:34] Noah Galvin: There's like, we have like layers of like shame and years of, you know, our own like adult BS that has built up and like walls—

[35:43] Ben Platt: Kids don't have that.

[35:44] Noah Galvin: But children just don't accept those things. They just come in like completely authentic, ready to rage. They crushed it. And I mean, like some of those kids are like already stars. I mean, Luke Islam is a star. Alec is a huge star. Watch this space. Luke Islam is a huge star.

[36:01] Ben Platt: Yes, watch this space.

[36:02] Noah Galvin: More to come from Luke Islam. Alexander Bellow, absolutely crushing it just like that.

[36:07] Ben Platt: And Carolina Change.

[36:09] Noah Galvin: I mean, he's in like three Broadway shows already. On the new book, Kendra Sanchez, Reader's Club.

[36:15] Ben Platt: Like, yeah, they don't even, they don't need us.

[36:18] Noah Galvin: We'd be like, oh my God, so cute. Like, oh my God, look at their little headshot. And then we like looked them up on Instagram and they have like seven times the followers.

[36:30] Ben Platt: Hilarious. It's crazy just like, you know, what social media has kind of changed in that kind of perspective because it's just like a younger audience, you know.

[36:39] Noah Galvin: But it's so fun to see. Yeah, Luke is a God, like literally so talented. I've got to say, I want to mention because we talk about this all the time, the little, the kids that we had in the YouTube short. You guys were like our little like camp relationship. And you guys were like the only ones that came out of it. I don't even know if y'all were together when that was happening, like when we did the YouTube short, but now.

[37:05] Ben Platt: There's this thing where we were friends for five years and sort of behaved like we were together and I was just like stupid about it.

[37:14] Noah Galvin: Engaged, like what? So we love a camp relationship. There's a lot of light to be lived before we were like ready to like, I think we both recognized that there was like an exciting, you know, potentially very meaningful lifelong maybe relationship like at Stink or like on the table. And I think we were both a little fearful of that and also wanted to like take the time to be young and live and make mistakes and date people we shouldn't and come together when we were ready.

[37:55] Eli Tokash: Yeah, yeah, the stars aligned. Y'all are meant to be. It's so cute. I've got to talk to you guys now about just like, you know, what you're up to now. Because like, honestly, God, like, I don't know how you guys sleep. Noah, we love seeing you in The Good Doctor. Ben, you're on Broadway. Tony Awards season just wrapped. Filming Merrily We Roll Along for like the next 19 years or whatever. Like, it's crazy. Like, how do you guys just like see each other? Like, how do you sleep? Like, what is like, how do you manage all of the craziness? Honestly, there's a moment right now, the writers are striking. Yeah. And because of that, The Good Doctor is on a sort of like indefinite hiatus. So I'm really just trying to like soak up this time as much as possible because The Good Doctor shoots in Vancouver.

And so we have spent like upwards of like five months apart at the very beginning of my being on that TV show because there was a, you know, a pandemic, and there was a two week quarantine that was, you know, necessary in order to enter Canada. So it just like kept us apart for a really long time. And now it's just a moment where like, I have a little bit of free time. And I just get to be for a while there. I just got to be like, Tony wife, and that was tough to do. And now we're just sort of like launching into the release of the film. So while Ben is doing the show once, sometimes twice a day, we're all going off and just doing Q&As and made a big press conference the other day. Yeah, I mean, my favourite lifestyle is doing a piece of theatre and getting in a routine.

And I think our dream was always eventually to just like live in New York and not be living like chapter to chapter. So this is the first, while it is still sort of a chapter, it's just the first period of time that we just feels like we're kind of hitting our status quo, like our home base.

[40:21] Noah Galvin: Sure. It's been really, really nice. We just redid the living room.

[40:24] Ben Platt: Yeah, we just redid the living room. And yeah, it's been nice to do Parade at night, which is very difficult and, you know, fulfilling, but upsetting, and then get to do something so full of joy and light, talking about theatre camp and watching people laugh. And it's a really lucky combination.

[40:39] Noah Galvin: Healthy juxtaposition.

[40:40] Eli Tokash: Yeah. Ben, I have to say, I was at the show yesterday, matinee, when we had to stop.

[40:46] Ben Platt: Oh, my God.

[40:48] Eli Tokash: Craziness. Someone, I guess, like passed out in the audience and they needed oxygen, and paramedics came. And then it started back up during the funeral song. And I was just like, oh, my God, this is so like, this is like crazy.

[41:01] Ben Platt: It was very poetic.

[41:03] Eli Tokash: Yeah. I was just like, oh, my God. She's fine. I think she had some sort of panic related, just like pass out. Like, I think she just got a little, her heart was racing, and I think she passed out for a moment. But I think she's fine. She was already responsive when she was leaving.

[41:18] Noah Galvin: Yeah.

[41:19] Ben Platt: So we stopped for about like 15, 20 minutes, and they waited for EMS to come and take her out. And then we tried to start as gracefully as we could. But it was definitely weird, and everybody was a little shaken. But it was nice that the audience stayed very in it with us.

[41:35] Noah Galvin: It was great.

[41:36] Eli Tokash: Yeah. No, yeah. I didn't even mean to mention that. But more of that story was, what is happening at Parade is so beautiful. And you guys obviously won Best Revival, which is super exciting for a show. It's so, I'm obsessed. And what you and Michaela are doing is just so good. Everyone goes to Parade, six weeks left.

[41:56] Ben Platt: Yeah, five weeks left now.

[41:58] Eli Tokash: Yeah. So you don't want to miss it. It's just so good. And I love everything going on. I have to tell you guys, I was actually at one of the, this is like kind of off topic, but ADHD. I was at the Reverie concert, where you came out, at MSG, and you came out with Ben to join him with I Want to Dance With You. And I was just like, one of my all time favorite moments of a live performance. I want to see you both perform on stage together all the time. I'm just obsessed.

[42:27] Noah Galvin: There might be an upcoming opportunity in the fall. We'll be announced soon. In New York, there might be a little one night situation that Noah pops his head into, but we'll see.

[42:36] Eli Tokash: Oh, my goodness. I can't wait. I'll probably be there. Honestly, I adore both of you and your talents are just so incredible.

[42:45] Ben Platt: Yeah.

[42:46] Eli Tokash: Oh my God. Can we do like a fun little rapid fire round of just like theater questions?

[42:52] Noah Galvin: Okay, cute. We'll start out.

[42:54] Eli Tokash: Okay. Who wants to go first?

[42:56] Ben Platt: I'll go first. Do you want to?

[42:58] Noah Galvin: Whoa.

[42:59] Eli Tokash: It's going to be the same questions for both. You just have to decide who's going to answer.

[43:02] Ben Platt: Oh, well, that's harder for me because I can't pick the same thing. So you do go first. That'll be fine.

[43:07] Noah Galvin: More than him. Amazing. So what is your favorite warm up?

[43:13] Noah Galvin: I like the ping sniffs, sinus busters. Yes. Always good for allergies. Ben?

[43:19] Ben Platt: I like a Hongmongyong. I similarly kind of try to crack that. Yeah. This is like mask. Bust the sinus, baby. Get the mucus draining.

[43:30] Noah Galvin: Yeah. Get it flowing. Make it juicy.

[43:33] Ben Platt: I'm obsessed. Make it juicy. Okay. What's your dressing room essential? Like something you need to have in your dressing room?

[43:40] Noah Galvin: Something I need to have in my dressing room. Cozy footwear.

[43:44] Ben Platt: A humidifier. Going full blast. Period. Got to keep it moist.

[43:50] Eli Tokash: Good question here. Whose proposal was most surprising?

[43:54] Noah Galvin: Mine. Ben's to me. Absolutely. My proposal was sort of like a week's long craft project where he wasn't allowed to enter the office because he was like working on clues. He sent me on like a scavenger hunt. So he's working on clues and materials for the week. But I think he was confused as to what was going on. I sort of like exit the space covered in glitter glue and I'd be like, don't go in there.

[44:26] Ben Platt: Yeah. So I didn't know what it was. I just knew that it was coming, period. But I think I threw Noah off a scent well enough for our first one that he really didn't think it was happening that day or even in that week.

[44:34] Noah Galvin: I did not.

[44:35] Eli Tokash: Oh my God. I love it. What is your favorite way to rejuvenate your mind and body after a long week?

[44:41] Noah Galvin: We love to hike. We love to go have outdoor moments together, whether that's like beach moment or hike moment.

[44:49] Ben Platt: Yeah. I think especially when you're like doing a musical or you're in New York or you're like working in a theater, it can feel like you're sort of in a cave all the time. And so a nice, just little reconnection with nature is always a good thing, even if it's just like going into Riverside Park, my favorite park in New York, and just laying around, go to the dog park, you know?

[45:06] Noah Galvin: Totally. With George. In the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument on 72nd Street.

[45:18] Eli Tokash: Okay. This may be a tough question for Ben, but I got to ask Noah, what's your favorite Ben Platt song?

[45:22] Noah Galvin: That's so hard. The first one that came to mind was Rain.

[45:34] Noah Galvin: I remember him sending me. We had like a night where all of our friends were hanging out and it ended up like just the two of us and he had just written it and he had just gotten like a master of it or something from the music producer who produced it. And I was like, just, I want to hear it. And he was like, well, I don't want to like play for you now. I was like, I have like a long walk uptown. Why don't you just send it to me and I'll just like, I'll let you know my thoughts. And he gave it to me and I, I think walked from like 60th to like, you know, 96 where I was living with my mom at the time. And I just, I think I listened to it like six or seven times in a row and was just like stomping the streets at like 1am alone on the Upper West Side. Literally. I'll always like have a soft spot for that song in my heart. But also the ones about me I like too.

[46:36] Ben Platt: Of course.

[46:37] Noah Galvin: Gotta clarify, we gotta make sure, I didn't mean to start any fights here. No couple's fights.

[46:40] Ben Platt: Okay. Of my own songs?

[46:42] Noah Galvin: Yeah.

[46:43] Ben Platt: There's a song on my upcoming album that we don't know what it is yet or when it is yet, but that I'm working on that is my favorite song I've ever written. I'm not going to say.

[46:54] Noah Galvin: Why not?

[46:55] Ben Platt: Because I don't want to share that yet, but it's about Noah Shocker.

[46:59] Noah Galvin: Surprise.

[47:00] Ben Platt: It's called Noah. We're calling it Noah. Actually, the album is actually going to be called Noah.

[47:05] Noah Galvin: Of course.

[47:06] Eli Tokash: Okay, we have to end the game on what is your favorite theater camp memory?

[47:12] Noah Galvin: Of our own or working on the film?

[47:14] Eli Tokash: No, like of your own, like personal, like growing up doing theater camp.

[47:19] Noah Galvin: That's a great question. I'd say one that I talk about most often. It's not even really like a memory. Well, my sister was at Frenchwoods at the time. My sister was cast as Mungo Jerry, I think like three times in various theater camps. I don't know why. She just has that sort of energy. She's like a little sneaky cat. But I was seeing her play Mungo Jerry in a production of Cats at Frenchwoods. And there's a space at Frenchwoods where the stage is circular and the orchestra pit is in the middle of the stage. And the kids were doing these sort of, sorry, the cats were doing this sort of like turn leap section around the pit. And one of the girls who was ensemble cat fully fell into the pit and didn't just like leapt into the pit, but leapt like directly onto the drum set.

And so it was humiliating, obviously. But then there was like a 15, 20 second like musical payoff that happened as well, where like she fell and it was like cymbal crash, like the cymbal fell and like all of the like of the orchestra, you know what I mean? And then there's no exit from the pit unless you like crawl out of it. And so then these men had to come on stage and like lift her out of the pit. And I remember it being very funny and very dramatic. And I hope she's okay.

[49:02] Ben Platt: I love that that's your favorite. It's hilarious.

[49:05] Noah Galvin: That's hilarious.

[49:06] Ben Platt: I know.

[49:08] Noah Galvin: It's kind of theater. It's like adjacent. I went to Jewish summer camp, and then like theater youth programs, but I'm choosing like the more camp vibe. We have this thing.

[49:15] Ben Platt: All theater camps are Jewish, but not all Jewish camps are in theater.

[49:19] Noah Galvin: That's right. That's right. It isn't to say only Jews should do theater camp, because there should be all kinds of kids should do theater camp. But we have this thing called Color War or in Hebrew it's Maccabiah that we do at my Jewish summer camp, which is like the whole camp gets divided into four teams, four colors. And there's captains that are from the staff. So I spent 10 years as a camper, like dreaming of when I was going to be a captain. And then I was a captain of the red team, which was a big responsibility. And it's like, it's a Jewish camp. So like it's sports competitions, but like the most points are not from the sports. It's from the cheers that you do in the entrances for each set of events, which means you have to organize your team of about a hundred kids to do some sort of like performance, get number, what have you.

[50:04] Ben Platt: The opening of the Olympics.

[50:05] Noah Galvin: Yeah. The Olympic opening ceremony is like you do little versions of that with your team. So that's why I'm captaining. I'm not going to like run a race.

[50:10] Ben Platt: We're going to put on a show.

[50:11] Noah Galvin: That's right. And so we do win mostly because of our point jumps with those entrances. And the best one was there's this thing called in the Jewish tradition in Passover called the four sons, which is like a thing you talk about at the Seder for Passover, which is like how to explain something to four different kinds.

[50:33] Eli Tokash: Ask you, I guess, a final question because I got to let you guys go soon. Go eat the salads. But I have to ask you, I mean, you mentioned how like you've gotten on this journey for so long, and you are theater kids. And I'm curious now, like in your career, you know, you as you've gotten older, and you start to tell stories of, you know, marriage and children and like this more mature kind of content. How has that kind of like impacted the way you look at characters or you take on a role and stuff like that?

[51:40] Noah Galvin: You know, I had a moment where I showed up for like my first day of filming The Good Doctor. And I honestly, like, I played a child for so long. And I played a teenager on television when I was in my 20s. And when I booked this job, I was like, just coming out of the pandemic, I had like, I looked very overgrown. I had like a beard for the first time I had long hair. And I showed up and I was like, I think I want a beard for this character. I think I want to like start the process of like, convincing America that I am an adult and that I'm like done playing children. And it felt like this very, very like concrete, like crossroads in my life. And it felt like an active decision on my part. Because I think the producers of the show were like, no. And I had to really fight for it.

And I had to really fight to like, prove to them that I could do something else. And then I could evolve, you know. And I think a lot of people, especially in this business, like to keep being a little box. And although it wasn't like a major box to break out of, I had to like actively really set my mind to it.

[53:13] Ben Platt: Yeah, I mean, I think, similarly, because I was a child actor, I've been working for so long and playing young people and less so with like roles and more so just like, always being as known as like an actor for hire, like just like being part of someone else's vision. You wonder when you're getting older, like, when am I going to feel like the grown up to the point where like, I can be the one who's the boss, or I can be the one that writes the story and be the creative controller and like, have vision and like, you wait for this like switch. And then I think for me, it's been all about realizing that like, we never are adults. Like, we're just like children who've been here longer. Like, I think it's like, you just like, if we were fully adults, like we would never have made theater camp.

Like, why would you? We're a lot of times when filming this movie that like, we would look around and we'd be like... We're the ones who have to have the answers. Yeah. So I think it's about just like, embracing when you feel internally ready for that shift and not looking for someone else to tell you that it's time to make that shift. Nor is there any right time for that shift. No, it's just when you feel ready.

[54:31] Noah Galvin: Yeah, totally. And I think we'll just continue to sort of evolve and take on more challenges and, you know, become the sort of, uh, we get to like, take the reins a little bit. And then stay tuned for like, 10 years from now when we open our own joint actual theater camp and everybody listening.

[54:52] Ben Platt: Yeah, exactly. Well, if it's anything like the movie theater camp, it's going to be iconic and probably the best theater camp around. So it's going to be called Adirondacks, guys. Just making sure everyone knows. Adirondacks. Yes, Adirondacks. It's so good. It's just so brilliant. All of you guys, you guys are just so funny and so thrilled to chat with you guys today. Congrats on theater camp. Everyone needs to go see it. It's going to be in theaters July 14th. So you don't want to miss it and go see Parade while you can for five and a half weeks.

[55:26] Eli Tokash: Thank you guys. You have so much to take about for. Take about Ben Platt and Noah Galvin. Oh my God. I can't believe I get to say that. It's literally, I've been wanting to have those two on for forever. You all know I'm a huge fan of both of them. Um, specifically Ben, I've looked up to him for the longest time and every teenage kid wants to have his voice. Um, so to, to kind of talk to them today about just their careers and their journey. And then of course theater camp, which is going to be out on July 14th. Like it was just such a treat. I was like one of the first people to talk to them about it too. You know, like they aren't doing much press right now about it because we're still two weeks out.

So this is kind of like the first one to come out and their first conversation to really come out, you know, anywhere that they can, anyone can access it type of thing. Um, and so to be one of their first was so cool and to talk to them about it and kind of release some of that stuff and get people excited about the movie was just so fun for me because I truly believe in this movie and love this movie so much. When I saw it, um, it was, it was brilliant. I couldn't stop laughing. I was laughing, I was crying, I was doing all the things. It just makes you feel all the emotions. You don't want it to end literally. And it has a thing, like you don't have to have gone to theater camp to relate to this movie.

You know, I have gone to theater camp, but, um, I was still able to relate to different things, you know, and there's this beautiful thing in the movie where it's obviously we talk about it being improvised and everything. So it's not like they could write the characters and their journeys and they didn't even know who they were going to cast. They didn't even know what they were looking for. Just hopefully some good improv, improv skills and fun conversations that they can kind of bounce off with their campers, I guess, and, uh, just talk about it. So then what it kind of came into in, in each character, really being something fleshed out and relatable to literally anybody is just, um, it's really special what they're doing.

And I just love this movie so much. And I know that you all will too. So definitely go see the movie. If you need a good laugh, um, you won't stop. And, uh, it's, it's just brilliant. It takes you back to just being a kid, you know, and that's one of the things I liked about Finding Neverland. Like literally you kind of just are thrown back to a time where it's just, you don't have to worry about anything and you can kind of just play and have fun. And that's totally what theater camp is. And that's kind of what they were alluding to in the sense of like, we're not adults, you know, what adult would make this movie? Um, but it's, it's just such a good reminder and it's so true. Um, so yeah, everyone goes see that July 14th.

Sorry, I'm rambling cause I could talk about it forever. Uh, everyone goes see that July 14th and everyone goes see Parade. You have just five weeks left. Basically you have till August 6th to go see Parade. I absolutely loved the show. When I saw it, we did have to stop the show mid act one, not even mid, it was like more towards the beginning of act one. And, uh, unfortunately there was an audience member who kind of passed out, uh, and needed oxygen and needed medical attention. So the paramedics came and like Ben said, we had to stop the show, but you know, it kind of was a special thing cause it was a unique show because, you know, obviously that doesn't happen all the time. And then the actors and performers kind of have to go in and out of the character so many times where they can't do, you know, act one all the way through and they can't tell the story all the way through.

It's kind of broken up and it was just really very interesting and to see how the cast kind of reacted to it. And, um, you know, they literally stopped the show. Like they noticed there was commotion going on in the audience and, you know, Jay Armstrong Johnson kind of led the way and was like, we need to stop the show. Is anyone a doctor literally on stage? And it was like, good for you. Um, because you know, stage management or anything, I don't think can hear it and, or see it or anything like that. So it's not like they can just call and stop the show. Um, that's really kind of on the actors and on the audience to, uh, all help out. So, uh, if you were at that performance, you know, it really took a village to, to kind of help out and call the paramedics and all the things.

So, um, shout out to all of you. Um, but then of course the show itself is just so brilliant. This story just needs to be told. It's crazy to think about this trial, um, with the Leo Frank case, it's still ongoing hundreds years later. Like it's just wild almost a hundred years later, it's still going on. It's crazy to think about. Um, but just how it's got a little bit of everything. I mean, the Jewish representation, how strong, like female empowerment with Michaela Diamond brilliantly portraying, um, Lucille Frank, it's just, it's so brilliant. And Ben's performance is so, so great. Obviously both of them were nominated for a Tony well deserved. Um, but even like the ensemble, like Jake Peterson and Alex Joseph Gray, Paul Alexander Nolan, Jay Armstrong Johnson, um, and, and the kids, Aaron Rose Doyle and Sophia Manicone, like they're all carrying their own weight.

And there are some Howard McGillin is like, there's some true like stars and legends of our industry in the show and these newcomers that are in the show. And there's a lot of them are really holding their own weight and, and just being true pros. And they're also equally talented. It's so fun and cool to see. So, uh, congratulations everyone over at parade. And, um, I can't wait to, I hope to see it again before it closes. Uh, but if you haven't seen it yet, don't miss it because you won't want to do that. You will regret it. Uh, go see her right now and, uh, enjoy. So, uh, that's all I have for you folks this week on the podcast. Again, thank you, Ben. Thank you, Noah, for coming on. Oh, that was such a dream come true.

And I hope that you all enjoyed this interview and you will come back next week. We are going back to one a week in July and we are starting, we are kicking July off with none other than the incredible multi hyphenate does it all Jerry Mitchell. I can't wait to bring you that episode. I already talked to him. The conversation is one of my favorites that I've ever done. Um, so stay tuned and I hope to see you all next Thursday. Bye everyone. Have a great week.

[1:01:53] Eli Tokash: For this episode's curtain call, I would like to recognize a few people who also deserve to take a bow. This podcast would not be possible without the help of Dory Berenstein, Alan Seals, Kimberly Garris, and the team at the Broadway Podcast Network. Next in line to take a bow are our fabulous editors Jessica Warren, who edits the audio of the podcast that you just listened to, and Tessie Tokash, who edits the videos and visuals for this podcast. And how about a bow for our executive producer, Chris Greiner. And our final bow, our extra special to the patrons, Brian Thompson, Pat McNamara, the listeners of PCC, as well as all of the other patrons for their continued support. If you're interested in becoming a patron, go to patreon.com slash TAB.

If you enjoyed this week's episode, make sure to subscribe on the platform that you are currently listening to this on, or go check out our YouTube where you can watch the episode. You can also subscribe, like, and comment on there as well. If you're more into the regular social media and want to follow us, you can do that at Take A Bow Podcast across all social media platforms. The music of this podcast was made by Nikki Torsha and Cormac Collinan, and the logo was created by Giselle Bustos. And that wraps up this episode's curtain call. Thank you all again for listening to this week's episode and I can't wait to see you next week. Bye everyone. Have a great week.