Patti LuPone And Ben Platt Bring Broadway To The Grammys Again

Tony Award-winners Patti LuPone and Ben Platt brought theater back to the Grammys for the first time since Lin Manuel Miranda‘s 2016 Grammy performance of Hamilton.

“We can’t celebrate music in New York without honoring the legacy of Broadway,” host James Corden said as the stars took to the Madison Square Garden stage at the 2018 Grammy Awards Ceremony. Two of Broadway’s most celebrated stars, LuPone, recently appeared in War Paint, whereas Platt is most famous for originating the title role in Dear Evan Hansen. 

Platt, 2017 Tony award winner for best actor in a musical, performed an acoustic guitar-cello arrangement of “Somewhere” from West Side Story, in honor of composer Leonard Bernstein’s centennial. He added some of his signature runs and riffs, offering his own artistic flair to the melody. Earlier in the evening, Platt was awarded Best Musical Theater Album for the Dear Evan Hansen Original Broadway Cast Recording.

“It’s not too shabby. It’s just blessing, on blessing, on blessing. It’s insane,” said Platt in his red carpet interview. He later tweeted, “An incredibly surreal night. Thank g-d for singing!”

Following Platt’s act, Corden introduced LuPone as “true Broadway royalty,” adding, “Get ready to clutch your pearls,” before the two-time Grammy Award winner of 2008 and 2006 American Theater Hall of Fame inductee began her reprise from her iconic Tony-award-winning role of Evita, “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.” She chose the song as a tribute to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who approaches his 70th birthday. LuPone previously performed the famed Evita number at the 1981 Grammy ceremony, this time bringing the song back in its original key on a balcony replicating the Casa Rosada set.

Since Webber famously fired LuPone from Sunset Boulevard in 1994, the two Broadway legends have not spoken. However the New York Post reports that upon entering her rehearsal space, LuPone said, “Hello, Andrew,” before addressing the others in the room, “This is détente, ladies and gentlemen,” at last ending an age-old feud. “She’s in spectacular voice,” a source told the Post, “Andrew was blown away.”