Jonathan Groff opens up about death, Bobby Darin and why he's done with birthday wishes

USA Today

03-06-2025

Jonathan Groff opens up about death, Bobby Darin and why he's done with birthday wishes
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Jonathan Groff cried when Lea Michele's son saw 'Just in Time'
Jonathan Groff explains to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa why he cried when Lea Michele's son came to see "Just in Time," a musical about Bobby Darin.
NEW YORK — In Broadway bio-musical "Just in Time," Jonathan Groff is a-splishin' and a-splashin' eight shows a week as chameleonic crooner Bobby Darin.
And frankly, you couldn't ask for a better steward of his legacy. On a recent Zoom call from his dressing room, where he keeps a picture of Darin and Liza Minnelli, the affable actor lights up as he expounds on his favorite deep cuts ("I Am") and performances ("The Judy Garland Show") from the "Beyond the Sea" heartthrob.
"Wow, I'm really nerding out right now," Groff says, grinning. "He was such a special performer. I mean, Lucille Ball used to play canasta with her sister and put 'Darin at the Copa' on repeat. There's a video of him singing 'If I Were a Carpenter' with Stevie Wonder on YouTube, and they're going back and forth. He could hold his own with every great entertainer."
Groff, 40, is Tony-nominated once again this season for best leading actor in a musical, after winning the award last year for Maria Friedman's heart-rending revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along." "Just in Time" is similarly emotional as it recounts the too-short career of Darin who, after a lifetime of health issues, died of heart failure in 1973 at only 37.
But the musical is also an infectious showcase of Groff's megawatt charm. He conceived of the production eight years ago with director Alex Timbers and producer Ted Chapin. It's performed in the round at the intimate Circle in the Square Theatre, which has been transformed into a swank nightclub with two separate stages and table seating. Groff begins the show as himself, chatting and dancing with theatergoers as he steps back in time to tell Darin's story.
"The cabaret tables, and me starting as myself, isn't just a gimmick," Groff says. "It feels like an essential way to celebrate the energy and spirit of who he was as a performer."
Groff is beloved by Broadway fans from "Hamilton" and "Spring Awakening," although this is his first time developing a musical from the ground floor. "Jonathan has thought about the show in its totality – his performance, but also the writing and design and choreography," Timbers says. "He's a storyteller that cares about how every element contributes to the clarity of the narrative."
We spoke with Groff about "Just in Time," his career so far and what's next:
Question: Bobby Darin covered many musical theater standards and always wanted to star on Broadway. How does it feel to get to realize that dream for him?
Answer: It feels so special. His son, Dodd Darin, wrote me a beautiful letter saying, 'Thank you for keeping my dad's story alive.' Bobby Darin was so prolific and so ahead of his time. Before 'Cowboy Carter" was genre-swapping, he was gaining fame and then immediately genre-swapping. Even for me, I knew 'Splish Splash,' 'Mack the Knife' and 'If I Were a Carpenter.' But I didn't know they were all sung by the same person, or that he wrote 'Dream Lover' and 'Simple Song of Freedom.' So I feel really proud to be sharing his artistry with the world again in this way.
There's a quote that's widely attributed to Bobby: "You only die once. You live lots of times if you know how." Looking at your own career, how do you feel that you've managed to shape-shift and evolve?
Every new project feels like a different life. I feel so lucky that last year, I was doing 'Merrily We Roll Along,' which was a huge dream. Meanwhile, we had been trying to make the Bobby Darin show for eight years, and we did this final gesture of a workshop while we were doing 'Merrily.' The gift of being able to come right back to Broadway in such extremely different projects has felt like living two lifetimes. I've always dreamt of being on Broadway ever since I was a kid, so to have as many creative experiences as I've had in my last 20 years of being an actor, I really feel deep gratitude.
And what has stayed the same? When you think back to the little boy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who dressed up as Dorothy in his dad's barn, what has been the through line ever since?
Isaac Oliver wrote me this line where I get to say, 'I was twirling in my mother's heels in Amish Country, Pennsylvania.' A thing that has changed is 20 years ago, it was a lot of closeted men playing straight on Broadway. But at the top of this musical, I really get to own who I am as a gay guy. I get to declare exactly who I am, and then take them on the journey of this playboy crooner, who in many ways, was the polar opposite of me. I'm just incredibly grateful to live in a time where I can own that shift live in front of the audience.
The thing that's stayed the same is that every show is like the middle-school play or performing in my dad's barn. This is why I relate the most to theater and why I always go back. There's something primal about the lights going down in a space, and there's an audience and the performers on stage and the simplicity of telling a story. It's just my favorite thing in the world.
Was there a moment that really put time into perspective for you, or showed you how valuable life is?
My grandfather died on my 10th birthday. I remember the night before that, we had a birthday party and the whole family came over; all the grandparents and cousins were there. I got VHS tapes of 'I Love Lucy,' because I was obsessed with 'I Love Lucy.' I blew my candles out, went into the living room, and just sat in front of the TV watching these episodes on repeat. The next day, we got the call that my grandfather died, and my 10-year-old self was wracked with guilt and regret about the fact that I didn't even say goodbye to him when he left. I was so glued to 'I Love Lucy.'
I then became really superstitious about saying goodbye to my dad whenever he would leave to go to work. I would stand in the window and wave as the truck went away in the distance. But that was the first time death really landed for me. I remember seeing him in his coffin and comprehending at 10 that he's not going to wake up.
So what do you hope this next decade looks like for you?
I turned 40 this year, and I had a revelation when I was blowing out my birthday candles: No more wishes, just thank you. Even with the marathon that is opening a Broadway show and then doing a Tony campaign, I don't feel worried like I used to. By the time you're 40, you've sort of learned who you are and what you need. I've found my tribe of people that I love, which makes the whole experience less stressful.
Back in 2007, you said you were so happy doing "Spring Awakening" that you couldn't imagine leaving it. Is it rare to find projects that give you that feeling?
I remember the week of doing my huge, epic fight scene with Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix Resurrections.' I had been training for so long, and we shot it over the course of five days. But I remember standing in the shower in Berlin on a Tuesday, like, 'OK, by the time I get to Friday, I will have done it. I will have fought Neo. I can breathe and relax and go out to these clubs.' And then I remember thinking, 'No, Groff, don't wish this time away! Try and enjoy the stress and intensity of this moment. Don't just fast forward to Friday – that's not a way I want to live.'
So there are jobs where the end will come and I'll feel a sense of relief. Not with "Just in Time." I love it so much. I can't even think about leaving right now; I'm dangerously into it. My friend came to see the show last night and he was like, 'Jonathan, I just have this feeling you're so happy up there, that whenever you leave this, there's going to be some postpartum.'
I thought that was going to happen with 'Merrily' and it didn't, because we had a real, complete experience. So maybe when I get to the end of this, it'll feel like a complete experience and I'll be ready to let go. But right now, I'm Gollum.
"Just in Time" is now playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 W. 50th Street) through Jan. 11, 2026.