Ben Platt, who you might remember as scene-stealing Benji in the “Pitch Perfect” movies, stopped by “The Late Show” on Monday to perform a song from his Tony-nominated musical “Dear Evan Hansen.” And like the utter Broadway professional that he is, he managed to pull a standing ovation out of the studio crowd.

In fact, following Platt’s faultless rendition of “For Forever,” host Stephen Colbert reemerged onstage with an appropriately stunned smile. Shaking his head, his disbelieving response represents only a fraction of the emotional fallout theater audiences have encountered after seeing Platt sing it live on Broadway.

“Dear Evan Hansen” is far away the favorite to nab the Tony for Best Musical this year, just as Platt is the frontrunner for a Best Actor statue. The show centers on the eponymous high school senior with social anxiety disorder who becomes mistakenly bound to a fellow student who committed suicide. The New York Times described it as “a nightly display of almost unbearable anguish.” 

Tickets to the musical are hard to come by, but we’ll all get a sneak preview of the “Hansen” cast on June 11, when the Tony Awards ceremony airs on CBS. In the meantime, check out “For Forever” above.

Check out the other plays and musicals nominated for Tonys here.

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