Ben Platt, you can invite Kacey Musgraves onto the stage any time.
The Tony Award-winning star of “Dear Evan Hansen” brought the Grammy Awards golden girl as a surprise guest to the opening night of the show’s 18-performance run at Broadway’s historic Palace Theatre on Tuesday, which also served as the unveiling of the newly renovated venue.
Pratt, who will feature a different special guest on each of the limited run of shows, which runs through June 15, said Musgraves was “the first person that came to my mind.” [that] “I gotta open for you,” he said before introducing the country-pop singer.
“I have so much respect for her as an artist,” he continued. “Her songwriting has inspired me endlessly. She’s totally herself, totally unapologetically, and liberal in an unliberal space, which is so incredible. She’s a dear friend of mine. I can’t believe she got on a plane and came here and did this for me. It’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.”
As Musgraves, 35, made her crowd-pleasing entrance, she heaped praise on Pratt. “Doesn’t he have a great voice?” she said.
And Pratt, 30, said Musgraves’ song was “rainbow” The song, from her popular 2018 album “Golden Hour,” comforted him during the pandemic’s darkest hours. “I sang this song and listened to it ad nauseam,” he said.
And of course, the two had no choice but to duet on the song, bringing the crowd to their feet with their heartfelt harmonies and giving Pratt an “out-of-body” experience on his big night.
But that wasn’t the only “rainbow” of the night: Platt closed the evening with a stunning rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a signature song by his idol, Judy Garland, who he famously performed at the Palace earlier in his career.
“I loved Judy Garland from an early age,” he says, “I was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy, and I would dress up as Dorothy as a kid and watch The Wizard of Oz after school. And I loved her as a character, and as a singer, and as a performer, and I think subconsciously, just as this incredible queer icon.”
Pratt also paid tribute to Garland’s daughter, another legendary performer, Liza Minnelli, who donned a gorgeous gown and belted out the Cabaret classic, “Maybe This Time.”
Pratt also paid tribute to other famous people whose spirits reside at the palace, including Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte and Bette Midler. “I welcome all ghosts,” he said.
“When this opportunity first came up, I was so scared, and then I saw the list,” he said. “I felt so scared, and so worthless, and I still do. But I think what I was really trying to glean from these people is that they all live so deeply and unapologetically in their own way.”
Pratt also performed songs from his new album, “Honeymind,” out Friday. His third studio album sees the singer exploring same-sex relationships, including his relationship with fiancé Noah Galvin, the subject of the folk-inflected ballad “Before I Knew You.”
“This song was about realizing that this person had been a great friend to me for a long time and was already in my life,” he said, “and here I was, right in front of me, the love of my life, and it’s a wonderful thing to realize.”
