Jonathan Groff on Bobby Darin, Divas, and His Leather Era
This week, 2024 Tony winner and 2025 Tony nominee Jonathan Groff is on The Run-Through to discuss starring in Just in Time, his cabaret-style musical based on the life and music of Bobby Darin. Chatting with Chloe and Vogue's Marley Marius, Jonathan identifies Darin as a major inspiration and one of the ultimate divas (complimentary)—alongside the likes of Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga. Plus, Jonathan considers entering his leather era, inspired by another idol: Beyoncé.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
We Mourn KING OF THE HILL Actor Jonathan Joss' Death & Share His Husband's Heartbreaking Words
King of the Hill did not resemble the other shows I watched when I was growing up. I snuck it by my mom and always felt mildly like I was doing something I shouldn't be doing when I flipped it onto my TV. And still, something about it drew me in. And, judging by the excitement of our readers about the upcoming King of the Hill revival, many fellow nerds feel this way as well. And so, with a sad heart, I learned that Jonathan Joss, the voice of John Redcorn on King of the Hill and its revival, had been killed in a fatal shooting. But alas, as more details of Jonathan Joss' death came out, the circumstances only became more heartbreaking and more harrowing. After news of his death broke, Jonathan Joss' husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales shared a vulnerable and aching statement, recounting that Joss' shooting, and here we must say, allegedly, was a hate crime. Below, we share Tristan Kern de Gonzales' statement in full, but wanted to add a note of caution for our readers that these words paint very painful images, and those who feel sensitive toward such things, should take proceed carefully. Statement from Tristan Kern de Gonzales Husband of Jonathan Joss My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done. Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic. When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired. Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved. To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family. My focus now is on protecting Jonathan's legacy and honoring the life we built together. If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built. Tristan Kern de Gonzales It's hard to describe the unbelievable sadness that these words evoke. The incredibly cruel act described above is hard to reckon with. And we admire Tristan Kern de Gonzales for his openness in discussing Jonathan Joss' death and the circumstances surrounding it. There is simply no sense in what happened to this loving couple, seemingly just for openly celebrating their love and being proud of their identities. But Kern de Gonzales asked primarily for one thing in the wake of this alleged hate crime: for us to remember Jonathan's legacy and honor his life, to protect what he built. On King of the Hill, Jonathan Joss gave life to a sadly rare Native American character, honoring his own legacy as a man of Comanche and Apache descent. He appeared in TV movies and shows including Walker, Texas Ranger, Friday Night Lights, The League, Ray Donovan, In Plain Sight, and Parks & Recreation. We will also get to hear his voice one more time when the King of the Hill revival graces our screens. Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, and Saladin Patterson said in a statement, 'Jonathan Joss brought King of the Hill's 'John Redcorn' to life for over a dozen seasons, including in the upcoming revival. 'His voice will be missed at King of the Hill, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan's friends and family.' In the end, it is critical that we hold both the truth of the circumstances surrounding Jonathan Joss' death and the beautiful legacy of his life in our thoughts. Rest in peace, Jonathan Joss.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
'Sunset Blvd.' on Broadway Mandy Gonzales Norma Desmond interview
Vivid Seats is the New York Post's official ticketing partner. We may receive revenue from this partnership for sharing this content and/or when you make a purchase. Featured pricing is subject to change. A desperate young screenwriter stumbles into the mansion of a nearly forgotten actress. Fate unfolds, and the two rustle up a plan to rewrite her script — his chance at catching a break, and hers at reclaiming the spotlight (though, we're not sure if she noticed it was gone). You might think you know how that story ends, but Jamie Lloyd Wright's electric, theatrical revival of 'Sunset Blvd.' at the St. James Theatre stretches the imagination in ways we'd never expect. And, yes, there's still a love triangle — that ends in a pool of blood. If you haven't been yet, 'Sunset Blvd.,' which netted seven Tony nominations, runs Tuesday through Sundays at Broadway's St. James Theatre until July 13. As of now, tickets are available for all remaining performances. At the show we attended, Mandy Gonzales guest starred in Nicole Scherzinger's role as silent-film star Norma Desmond. She led the ensemble alongside Tom Francis who plays down-on-his-luck writer, Joe Gillis. Their performances are a blur between Broadway and film noir; thrilling, dark, foggy, sparingly staged, yet so fleet of foot you'll barely have time to blink. We spoke with Gonzales on manifesting her role in 'Sunset Blvd.,' how she resonated with Norma's fight to endure in a demanding industry, and the art of balancing acting and motherhood. 'As a woman in this industry, once we hit a certain age, (we're told) it's done. I think as women…we just get more and more interesting. I think that's the truth,' Gonzales teased while describing her character. Before unpacking 'Sunset Blvd.' with Gonzales, we had to find out exactly what the Tony-nominated show that's stopping traffic on 47th Street was all about, so we grabbed some seats at her May 20 performance. What we thought of 'Sunset Blvd.' on Broadway A slow burn has its place, but not here. Wright's characters leap into their roles sooner than the lights drop. Hannah Yun Chamberlain (young Norma) opens the show with an ethereal ballet — graceful, haunting, and a bit beguiling — her scenes float like memories in motion. Joe rises from a body bag in a flash of foreshadowing and Norma sweeps in with her first musical number, 'With One Look.' It's 1950s Hollywood. Joe's chasing a break, Norma's in need of a comeback, and the price is yet to be determined. An 18-piece orchestra hums under all of this, but for almost two hours and 35 minutes, it's mostly Gonzales and the rest of the cast who grip the audience, sprawling the stage with spinning, psychological choreography and spoken-sung-style vibrato that divulge Norma's delusions. There are no bad seats in the St. James. Line cameras track the actors for cinematic close-ups, mere inches from their faces, plastered across a slanted, larger-than-life screen behind. These intimate, raw projections magnify them under a lens, granting watchers access to every twitch of emotion — grief and desire, fear and isolation, Norma's spiraling obsession with Joe, and her fading career. It's a glimpse into her split reality. In Act II, the story doesn't pick up, but spills over and outside. Cameras chase Joe as he weaves down from the top of the dressing rooms, catching flickers of backstage banter, through chaotic corridors and dimly lit dressing rooms. By the time he reaches the ground, it's like you've brushed shoulders with the entire company. You begin to wonder, are you watching the play, or are you in it? The live sequence follows Joe and the cast as they transcend the theatre and take the streets of Times Square, where they belt 'Sunset Blvd.' to a crowd of unsuspecting tourists who just found free, front-row seats. It's loud, grand, and more than a bit voyeuristic. This is envelope-pushing art that can only be expected by an accomplished contemporary visionary, such as Jamie Lloyd. Without spoiling the story, we'll say that Norma and Joe do find a final moment under the lights, though the nature of this departing act wasn't what either had in mind when the curtains first drew back. And, with that, we couldn't wait to chat with the magnetic Gonzales about her work in the show, career and love of all things Broadway. What attracted you to the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.? I grew up in California, and, for some reason, my public middle school was really awesome. For a field trip, they took us to see 'Sunset Blvd.' with Glenn Close… I think the following year we saw 'Phantom of the Opera' and I absolutely fell in love with Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. I loved Sunset Blvd. so much. We bought the cast album and I listened to it all the time. When you're a kid, and then your twenties and thirties — you're like 'oh, well, that kind of part seems too far away.' [So] when this came up, it was like 'yes, absolutely, I want to sing that!' and then when I met with Jamie Lloyd and saw how he was challenging me as an actress and a person, I just thought this is going to stretch me in my artistry… I would say I manifested it. I don't know, but maybe I did. Does Norma's story resonate with you on a personal level? Norma is definitely a fighter and a survivor. In my own life, I went through breast cancer in 2019 while acting in 'Hamilton' and wanted to show people I could still do it — like this was just a part of me, and wanting to fight and still be a part of things. Even though inside, it was a very dark place. I think that really helped me understand Norma. If you're in this business long enough, you go through so many ups and downs and so many people. I've been lucky that I've been in shows that have been hits, and shows that have been the biggest misses. One of those shows was my first original Broadway show, 'Dance of the Vampires,' which I starred in opposite Michael Crawford. I was about 23 years old, and the show was panned all around. At 23, I had somebody come up to me and say, 'well, you're probably going to leave the business now because this is it,' and it was just like, 'why would I do that— I've only just begun.' René Auberjonois, who was also in that show, said, 'the only place to go is up.' What did you learn from being told your career would be over at 23 years old? Back at that time, I was like 'why me,' but I look back and think that really taught me a sense of how strong I was. To read things about yourself, or about people you care about in a show, that are really horrible — it allows you to go, 'oh, I can either believe that or I can just keep going and keep fighting.' I think Norma is exactly like that. I think she is the ultimate warrior. Norma's a complicated character. How did you capture her emotions? She's not just a caricature. As I've gotten older, I see that more. Her vulnerability is real. She's always being watched by somebody in her mind. Whether the show is in her imagination or whether the show is really happening, I think that's a really beautiful thing, and nobody really knows. As women in this industry, once we hit a certain age (we're told), it's done. I think as women… we just get more and more interesting. I think that's the truth. When you're so isolated, and that's all Norma has — her career and her past — that can be a very dangerous thing. Norma never learned the balance of things, or how we try to balance different parts of our lives. She always put her career first. How did you practice for the close-ups on the screen? I come from a theatre background and worked in television and film. But theatre is what I love. During the rehearsal process, they had a small screen and they were rehearsing with the cameras, and there was one moment when I turned and was like, 'Oh, that's really close. That's very triggering.' As women, we look at ourselves and say, 'oh, there's that wrinkle, and there's that,' and Jamie just said, 'We never look into the screen. We never look at it,' and I have not looked at it. It's all coming from my heart. It's not coming from how I think I should pose, so I'll look better in front of the camera this way or that way. It's very freeing as a woman not to think about the screen. It's like not thinking about the mirror, and being like 'I am the most beautiful woman in the world.' Was there anyone in the cast you grew close to over the course of the production? Tom Francis. I was able to rehearse with the company for the first few weeks of rehearsal here in the States, so I was able to be Norma for everybody. Tom came in early, so we could work together and develop our show together, which I really loved and appreciated. He's so fantastic. It's really the entire company. That's what I love. I love community, I love putting it together. Eating lunch together. Hearing what everyone's talking about. I feel like it's a family and nothing happens on that stage without the other person. What about that pivotal scene where Joe leaves the theatre — how do they do that? Is it recorded? That's all live! I'm lucky. I just get to sit there on stage and watch it all happen, and I've watched through all of it. Through winter in New York, through snow, sleet, and rain… But, Tom… it amazes me every night that I get to see it. He's seamless. He makes it, he tells the story, and he gets those lyrics out. That's all live, the orchestra is playing live, and all the camera operators are out there. They have a great security team and he has people around him, so people won't come up to him and interfere with filming. It's just this thing that has never been done before, and it's thrilling. The way that Jamie Lloyd has used space, he's expanded beyond the theatre to create this story. That's what I love, pushing beyond the bounds of what we think is possible. I'm so impressed by actors who can flip between roles. How do you do that? We're women, and we multi-task very well, and I think it's just that. It's about survival, and when you're an actor, it's like, 'Oh, okay, like this is where the job is, and you've got to do it.' You've got to figure out a way to do it, to make it happen… You don't get home from the show until 11, and then you stay up until 2 in the morning, and then you've got to get up for your kid at 6. That's just part of it. When did you first get the Broadway itch? It started early for me because I had a grandmother who lived in the Valley, who loved musical theatre. She especially loved big Torch Singers, so I grew up listening to Judy Garland, Eydie Gorme, and Liza Minelli. I fell in love with any musical they were in because my grandma would play them for us, and I was really the only grandchild who sang back. My grandma was the one who said, 'Mandy has talent. She's really loud, and she's going to hurt herself, so we have to get her into lessons,' and little did she know that that loud voice would someday help me. What's next for you? I am going to be making my Carnegie Hall solo debut in the Fall. As well as with the Boston Pops, I will be with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. I am going to be doing a show that I created and have been working on with my dear friend Lin-Manuel Miranda's music catalog. Any other Broadway shows you've enjoyed recently? Any Tony's predictions? I just saw 'Buena Vista Social Club,' which I absolutely loved, and I think so many things about that show are just so incredible — from Saheem Ali's direction to Justin Peck and Patty Delgado's choreography. I also just saw 'Stranger Things,' which I thought was fantastic. The entire ensemble completely blew me away, as did the show's set design. Last question. Give us one word to describe Norma and one for Mandy. For Norma, I would say, limitless. For me, I would say fearless. This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity. Huge Broadway musicals Already seen 'Sunset Blvd?' Here are five more hit shows on the Great White Way you won't want to miss live these next few months. • 'Death Becomes Her' • 'Just In Time' • 'Maybe Happy Ending' • 'Buena Vista Social Club' • 'Dead Outlaw' What else is running in Midtown? Take a look at our list of all the biggest Tony-nominated shows going down on Broadway to find the one for you.
Vogue
an hour ago
- Vogue
Le Spa at the Park Hyatt Place Vendôme
Welcome to the second iteration of Vogue's global spa guide, an index of the 100 best spas in the world, built from the expertise of our global editors and trusted contributors. There is a lot to choose from in the world of wellness, and no matter how far you're planning to travel—from a subway ride to a trans-Atlantic flight—we want to make sure it's worth the journey. Whatever your path, let us be your guide. Why go here? Le Spa at the Park Hyatt Place Vendôme feels like a haven in the middle of bustling Paris. Located right off the Place de l'Opéra, the hotel is walking distance from the Opera Garnier, the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde, and the Tuileries Garden, meaning you can get a massage in the morning and then move on to an afternoon at the museum with not a moment wasted. I know this sounds potentially not ideal for a relaxing spa experience, but it's quite the opposite. I visited Le Spa after a morning of reporting at the shows for Paris Fashion Week, and an hour or so later I was on the Metro for my next appointment. What better cure for all the hours spent hunched over on those little metal benches, waiting for the shows to start. Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme Spa What's the vibe? The overall vibe of the space takes its cues from the hotel—it's sophisticated and modern with stone, mahogany, and black granite, but still has that opulent Parisian feel, with gold mosaic throughout. An usher greets you as you walk down to the spa and fitness center area to point you in the direction—necessary, given that the treatment areas are hidden behind a sliding door. Le Spa does not quite feel like Paris—that's a good thing. The enclosed area shuts down all outside noise, allowing you to fully embrace the experience. The entire spa was designed by the late Ed Tuttle, and the treatment areas are simply beautiful. In the dimly lit spaces, quiet music plays, while a signature scent, created by master perfumier Christophe Laudamiel of Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren, wafted through the rooms. There are four treatment rooms, one of which is a double that features a large jacuzzi with a shower and a closet. Le Spa uses all La Mer products—truly major for all skin-care devotees. Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme Spa The history? Tuttle's signature simplicity and tranquil aesthetic are felt throughout, and most of all in the spa area. Being under the Park Hyatt luxury umbrella and the larger Hyatt chain, there are certain expectations when it comes to the level of the treatments, the location, and, most of all, the staff. What makes this particular Park Hyatt spa worth the splurge is that it doesn't only meet the bar, but it feels individualized. Sometimes chains can feel corporatized or simply over-uniformed, but this one balances the value of the Park Hyatt reputation with the famous Parisian savoir-faire. Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme Spa What should you try? My recommendation would be to book the appropriately named Haute Couture-Signature massage—the flagship treatment—which is, honoring its name, custom made based on your needs. I asked for a deep, full-body massage that would help me loosen up and release tension, plus a reset for my lower back and neck, which tend to suffer most during Fashion Week. The ideal time at Le Spa, I'd say, starts with a workout at the fitness center, which is one of the better hotel gyms I've been in, and continues at the actual spa facilities. The 'right' way to go about it would be to arrive at your treatment a little early to soak in the jacuzzi or try out the sauna or steam room. Then proceed to your treatment room to rinse off—and lather up in La Mer!—to pre-relax before really disconnecting. Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme Spa How environmentally friendly is it? Le Spa uses no disposable linen and tissue bags as opposed to plastic bags. It also works with brands that prioritize sustainable practices: The French-born and French-made ecological Kure Bazaar nail products for its manicure and pedicure services, for example. What else do we need to know? Le Spa offers seven additional massage options, which include Japanese Shiatsu and Thai treatments, plus relaxing or vitalizing experiences. (It's worth noting that none of the massages are adapted to pregnant women.) There's also an option to have an in-room spa treatment, which the very spacious bathroom area in each room certainly allows. There are also shorter options, for those only looking for a quick treat as well as a few La Mer–specific body treatments, facials, and manicures and pedicures, though I'd say that the real must would be the sensorial experiences, longer treatments that combine massages, facials, and/or scrubs. Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme Spa Who can go? The spa facilities are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for hotel guests. Outside clients can use the facilities if they have a massage or treatment booked between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Day passes are also available. If you choose to bring your phone with you, it should be turned off or silent and put away—but let's assume, for the sake of your relaxation journey, that you were doing either of those things already. Booking details for Park Hyatt Place Vendôme Address: 5 Rue de la Paix, 75002 Paris, France Read more from Vogue's Global Spa Guide.
