On Tuesday’s opening night of his 18-show residency at Broadway’s historic Palace Theatre, Ben Platt didn’t just conjure up the spirits of Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and other legends of the newly renovated venue. The Tony-winning star of “Dear Evan Hansen” also channeled James Taylor on a beaming rendition of JT’s 1977 classic “Your Smiling Face.” And it’s ’70s singer-songwriters such as Taylor, Cat Stevens and Paul Simon (with and without Art Garfunkel) who are the touchstone troubadours from the first notes of Platt crooning “like a canary” on his third studio album “Honeymind,” out on Friday.
But right after the airy acoustic guitar balladry of opener “Right Kind of Reckless,” you realize that we’re not in Kansas anymore. The LP’s second track, “All American Queen,” comes sashaying on out as the queer anthem we needed to kick off Pride Month in June. “He was born in the sticks, right in the middle of fall/He wants to be a cheerleader, runs away from the ball/He’s got a song in his heart and a collection of dolls/And there’s a pale shade of pink on his bedroom wall,” Platt sings on this shimmering sunshine-pop bop.
So maybe it’s just a different kind of Kansas — one that hasn’t always lived out loud in the music world. But with its easy openness about queer love — and the queer experience — “Honeymind” is a sweet reminder that it has always been here. And by the next track, “Andrew” — a lilting, lovely re.
