Latest news with #BobbyDarin
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Four-Time Tony Nominee Jonathan Groff on Eight-Year Journey to Become Bobby Darin and Spitting While Singing Quirk: 'Nothing I Can Do About It'
'It's my first love,' Jonathan Groff tells The Hollywood Reporter, on why he returned to Broadway so soon after winning his first Tony Award for Merrily We Roll Along last year. Now, Groff has received his fourth Tony nomination for playing singer-actor Bobby Darin in the jukebox musical, Just in Time. He has previously been nominated for his work in Hamilton and Spring Awakening. But this time, the experience is 'unlike anything' before, as he's been involved with the project for the last eight years and has learned how to embody the moves and persona of the legendary singer. More from The Hollywood Reporter Ike Barinholtz Jokes He's "Lucky to Be Alive" After Driving With 'The Studio' Costar Seth Rogen How 'Survival of the Thickest,' 'Mo' and 'Shrinking' Are Helping Destigmatize Therapy for Men of Color Tom Felton to Reprise Role of Draco in 'Harry Potter' on Broadway And the Mindhunter star is having a lot of fun doing it. At the top of the show, he introduces himself to the crowd as himself, which was Groff's idea, and even warns the crowd that he might spit on them while singing, poking fun at his saliva-based singing quirk that's become a running joke over the years. This year's best performance by an actor in a leading role category is also nostalgic because Groff is nominated alongside his former Glee co-star Darren Criss (Maybe Happy Ending), which he says is 'surreal' and the 'great gift of longevity with your peers.' Below, Groff tells THR about how he got in the best shape of his life by prepping for the show, his most memorable crowd interaction and how he creates the 'magic that happens between performer and audience.' This is your fourth nomination. What does this one in particular mean to you? I've never before been involved in a project from the conception. So, eight years ago, my friend Ted Chapin asked me to do a night of Bobby Darin music at the 92nd Street Y, and we've been developing the show ever since then. So to be nominated for this and for the show itself, to get six nominations after working on it for eight years, is unlike anything I've ever experienced. After , why did you want to return to Broadway so soon instead of taking a well-deserved break or focusing more on film or TV? (Laughs.) I love the theater, is the simple answer to that question. I just I love doing it so much. It's my first love. I didn't anticipate that the timing would work out. We've been trying to make the Bobby Darin musical happen for so many years that I never anticipated it would happen, timing-wise, like this. But there is an inertia and an energy and an acceleration to the vibe of Bobby Darin that it ultimately felt like the right thing. What's crazy is, the day after the Tonys last year, which is the last time you and I spoke, the next day, I went with our producers and Alex Timbers, our director, and Shannon, our choreographer, and Andrew, our music supervisor, to the Circle in the Square to do a site visit for the show. This is just the way it worked out, honestly. It was not something that I intentionally planned or scheduled on purpose. It just sort of shook out this way. What do you appreciate about playing someone who was actually alive? And how is this experience different from some other roles you've done? Over the last eight years, I have become such a deep, deep Bobby Darin fan. By all accounts, he was this Oscar-nominated actor and this Grammy-winning recording artist and prolific songwriter and producer, but everyone says he was at the height of his powers when he was at the center of a nightclub floor working the audience. So the most important thing for me, as I was doing the research on him, and for all of us as we were putting the show together, was to honor the spirit of that, of that energy, of that magic that happens between performer and audience. And this was the jumping off point for this conceit of our show that we turn Circle in the Square into a nightclub and where we've got tables on the floor level that you can reach out and touch the performers from where you're sitting, because that's what it was like when Bobby was at the Copa. Also, this conceit that I start the show as myself, so I establish this relationship between myself and the audience in the present moment, and give everybody the sense that like, let's all be here now together and travel back in time with each other to experience the story of Bobby Darin, while never losing that invisible thread between performer and audience that makes you feel when you're an audience member and as a performer like anything can happen on any given night, it's always different. So in playing Bobby Darin, that energy felt like the most essential thing to bring spiritually into the theater. I also took piano lessons. He was a prolific artist in so many ways. He played seven instruments in the show. I played the piano, I played the drums. I have been trying to embody him as much as possible physically as well, in addition to playing the instruments and then working with the writers Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver. There's so much story in his life. You could do a whole TV series about him. He has many books written about him, and so much went on in his life, so [it was about] trying to distill his story down to the most essential beats to really honor and celebrate who he was. You mentioned you're yourself at the beginning of the show. And you do introduce yourself by saying, 'Hi, I'm Jonathan Groff,' before devolving into Bobby Darin. Whose idea was that and what do you think it brings to the show? Yeah, I asked from the beginning if I could do that. It felt like the opportunity to tell the story of Bobby Darin's life in front of a live audience, that's where he was, at the height of his powers. That is the place to tell his story. Even removing the artifice of character at the very beginning and really establishing this connection between performer and audience was the most effective way to celebrate what he did to a room when he was in it. So I wanted to start the show as myself, and we spent years trying to figure out how we would make that work and how we would it. And really, it wasn't until our co-book writer Isaac Oliver came on board, because it's one thing for me to be myself at the top, but someone needs to write that. (Laughs.) A talented writer needs to articulate that. You don't want to just see me talking out my mouth at the beginning of the show. It's actually quite specifically constructed. What I say, how I say it and how I transitioned then into becoming Bobby Darin took a lot of writing and a lot of tries. [Oliver] really cracked the code with this opening monologue that he offered over the summer when we were doing a workshop as well as with this monologue at the end that I also delivered to the audience as myself, once the show is over, as sort of bookends of the experience. That was Isaac's idea. I think it really honors the spirit of who he was as one of the greatest entertainers of all time. You do a lot of dancing, which requires a lot of stamina. How did you prepare for that? And is it still challenging? Shannon Lewis, our amazing choreographer, she [worked with] me three times a week for 10 weeks before the first day of rehearsal. We were in the studio, and she taught me her physical warm-up, which is a 30-minute warm-up, which I still do every day before the show, to get my body ready. It's like training for a marathon physically, this role, and I'm learning a lot about my body, and I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my whole life. (Laughs.) And like you said, it's a daily, I would say it's a daily practice to check in with your body, find out where it is. I've like become friends with our physical therapist at the theater (laughs) who helps me with issues and small injuries as they come up. But it's like being an athlete, kind of, you know, you have to really take care of yourself. I've learned in the last, like, two months that cross-training is really essential for me. Earlier today, I was at the gym doing light weight lifting in order to counterbalance the repetitive motions I do every night while we're dancing. It's a real discipline. You acknowledge that part of the audience may be hit with spit during the performance. What went into that decision to mention that? Yes! (Laughs) This is the brilliance of Isaac, our co-book writer. He really cracked the code with that one. It's an interesting experiment to play one's own self (laughs), and he really helped. He did many things and wrote many amazing parts of the show, as did Warren, who gave so much to the show in so many different ways. But one of the contributions that Isaac made was finding the sweet spot of me, sort of like taking the piss out of myself and declaring who I was at the same time. I'm so grateful that he wrote me in the way that he wrote me. That was all his genius. People online have noticed that you do spit a bit when you sing, what do you make of the attention that it's gotten? It's funny, it started with back in the days of Spring Awakening. People used to ask if I would spit in their programs after the show, because I had spit on them on stage. And then years later, when the Disney+ version of Hamilton came out, and I was playing King George, and I was spitting kind of on myself, like, drool, like it was coming down my face, that became a whole thing. And then last year, during Merrily, Dan [Radcliffe] and Lindsay [Mendez] and I were joking and laughing about it a lot on the press tour. At this point, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just sort of letting it happen at this point. Fortunately, all of my fellow actors that I've been on stage with are incredibly patient and like loving with me about that, and they don't make me feel too bad about it. What's been your most memorable dance and crowd member interaction so far? Good question. Oh my gosh, it's really fascinating because we're learning with these audiences that it's quite multigenerational. It's really like eight year olds and 80 year olds are both enjoying the show in equal measure. A couple of performances ago, this probably eight-year-old girl was in the front row, and I noticed her at the very beginning. I was sort of like winking at her and smiling at her, and you could tell she felt a little scared or a little nervous, and so I was trying to make her feel relaxed throughout the show and smiling at her. And then at the very end, I reached out my hand to ask her to dance, and she lit up like a light bulb. Her face got so excited, and she took my hand and immediately started spinning around in circles. I wanted to cry. It was so cute. Have you found any similarities between you and Bobby that helped you to understand and connect with him? There's this line I have at the end of the show when it's like in the middle of the very final song that I sing, called 'The Curtain Falls,' which was his famous closing song in his act at the end of his career. And I say, 'doing this,' meaning connecting with the audience in this way, 'Doing this was when he felt the most alive.' And then I say, 'honestly, same,' (laughs) that's the next line. And I really feel that connection with him. This great, deep, profound, primal passion for performing and for sharing that experience with the artists on stage, the cast and the band, and sharing that with the audience, is one of my favorite things in in my whole life. I just I love it so much. That love, I would say, is the thing that I have the most in common with him. This year you're also nominated alongside your former co-star Darren Criss. What does it mean to you that you're both nominated for Tonys in the same category? It's so awesome. It's so surreal. I remember him making his debut on that show, and creating such a sensation, and being such a like fresh, new, exciting talent, and to now see him be a real like, I mean, he's done many Broadway shows. I saw him do Hedwig [and the Angry Inch]. He was one of the replacements in Little Shop of Horrors. I saw him in Maybe Happy Ending, he's exceptional in it. This is the great gift of longevity with your peers, is that we get to go through all these experiences together. Lea Michele came to opening night, and brought her four-year-old son a week and a half later, and he was sitting on the aisle, beaming. It's a gift to be able to go through life and share these experiences with your friends. It's incredibly special. Looking back on your time on that show made so many more people knowledgeable about theater and made it accessible to people who don't have the opportunity to come to New York to see Broadway shows. Have you found that to be true, or have you heard of fans who became interested in musical theater through the show? Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, Gracie Lawrence, who is Tony nominated in our show, playing the role of Connie Francis and is a supernova talent. She told me during rehearsal, she was like, 'Oh my gosh, Jonathan, I can't believe I'm doing a musical on Broadway with you, because I used to come home after high school and watch you on Glee and now we're singing together duets on a Broadway stage show. So it's an example of a former Gleek that now we're co-starring in a Broadway musical together. It's so cool. We're coming up on the 20th anniversary of . Reflecting on all that's happened in your career since, what would you tell your younger self? I did that when I was 20 years old, and I guess the short answer is, I would tell him to keep following his passion and the thing that makes your heart race. Once you're doing that, once you're locked in with that, it doesn't matter if it's a success or a failure, because I've had both of those experiences throughout the years, highs and lows. But when I'm in touch with what is making my pulse race and what I get excited about, just personally, outside of anyone's perception of what might be good or bad, but just for my own self, the things that make me excited, that's when I'm my happiest. That's how I feel inside of Just in Time. I love Bobby Darin, and I love this experience so much. And getting the chance to live inside of his music and his life, it's pure joy. Just in Time is playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Seeing Double? 25 Pairs of Celebrities Who Look Nearly Identical From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024 Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Jonathan Groff grateful to get older
Jonathan Groff sees every day as a "gift". The stage star turned 40 in March but he feels "privileged" to be around to get older and though his feelings around ageing can be "complicated", his overwhelming emotion is gratitude. Discussing his role as singer-and-actor Bobby Darin in Broadway musical Just in Time, he grew emotional as he told People magazine: "There's a line at the end of the show that I say: 'Every breath we take is a gift we get to open.' "I'm realising that to get older is a privilege. Aging is complicated, and can be confronting. But to be here now is a gift. Every day is a gift." And Jonathan has pledged to use his future birthdays to express his gratitude for life, rather than "make a wish" for the things he wants. He said: 'I was with my family, they were singing 'Happy Birthday,' and I was about to make a wish. And then I thought, 'No more wishes.' "It's just 'thank you,' now. That's it. I don't need for anything. I don't wish for anything. I'm just really grateful to be here.' Jonathan is nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical at the Tony Awards for Just in Time and making the shortlist means a lot to him because he has been involved with the production from the beginning. He said: 'It's meant so much. We've been developing this Bobby Darin musical for eight years now. So to get six nominations for the show was just phenomenal and incredible. It's been such a long road to get here, and every night at the theater feels like a gift. 'I've never been involved in something from its inception. So there's this extra energy of 'We all made this together,' and the nominations were extra sweet.' Mack the Knife singer Bobby suffered chronic health issues and died in 1973 aged just 37, so Jonathan feels the production has an important message to impart. He said: "His life is operatic. He was told he was going to die by the time he was 16 when he was eight. "And the way we're kind of weaponising his story in our show is: He accomplished a lot in a short period of time because he had this ticking clock. "What we're hoping to give the audience is this message: Life is short. Live it to the fullest while you can.'
USA Today
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Jonathan Groff opens up about death, Bobby Darin and why he's done with birthday wishes
Jonathan Groff opens up about death, Bobby Darin and why he's done with birthday wishes Show Caption Hide Caption 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.
Wall Street Journal
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Just in Time' Review: Jonathan Groff's Playful Portrait of Bobby Darin
New York An early death is tragic, but it has been mordantly—or morbidly—observed that it can spur enduring interest in a show-business career. Bobby Darin has been remembered as much for his early demise as for his work, which may in part explain the arrival on Broadway of 'Just in Time,' a glossy and vibrantly performed musical about the 1960s star, who died at just 37 years old in 1973. He had a string of hit singles and also appeared in films, but is hardly as well-known today as most of the performers previously lionized in musicals.
CBS News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The life of teen idol Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin was a major pop star … a singer, dancer, musician, and an Oscar nominee. He was the entertainer who did it all, except Broadway. Until now! Tony Award-winner Jonathan Groff ("Merrily We Roll Along") plays the icon of the late 1950s and '60s in the musical "Just in Time." "He was at the height of his powers, when he was on the floor of a nightclub with the audience in the palm of his hand," said Groff. For Darin, a live audience was oxygen. So, too, for Groff: "You can feel this vibration between performer and audience member. [It's], to me, the most essential thing to ignite in the telling of his story." Jonathan Groff as Bobby Darin in the Broadway musical "Just in Time." CBS News It's taken seven years and a whole lot of sweat to bring the show to Broadway. The casting of Groff – beloved for his roles on stage, and as Kristoff in the "Frozen" movies – might not seem obvious. Groff grew up on a horse farm in Pennsylvania Mennonite country; Darin was a scrappy Italian kid from the Bronx. I asked Groff to whom he liked listening when he was growing up. "I am in fourth or fifth grade, on the computer or Nintendo in the basement, blasting Ethel Merman, 'Annie Get Your Gun,'" he laughed. "So, this is the 1990s, probably? And you're playing something from the 1940s?" "Exactly!" Likewise, Bobby Darin was an old soul, says his son, Dodd Darin. "He admired, he loved, he respected the old timers. He loved that era of show business. That's what he related to." Singer Bobby Darin performs on "The Ed Sullivan Show," January 3, 1960. CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images That may have had something to do with the woman who raised him: "Polly, his mother, was an old vaudevillian," said Dodd. "And she nurtured him and said, 'You can't play stickball in the street. And you can't roughhouse with kids' ('cause he was frail and sickly). 'But you can learn to sing. You can learn to dance. You can learn to play piano.' And it opened a whole world." "Frail and sickly" was no exaggeration. Born Walden Robert Cassotto, Darin suffered several bouts of rheumatic fever as a child, permanently damaging his heart. When he was a boy, he overheard a family doctor say that he wouldn't live beyond his teenage years. "Put yourself in that position," said Dodd. "So, he was ambitious. He was driven. He was always on the go. He was trying to jam it all in, 'cause he knew he didn't have time." With no time to waste, he began writing songs, and at 22, Bobby Darin made waves with a recording of "Splish Splash." Bobby Darin performs "Splish Splash" (1958): Not one to play it safe, for his second album, in 1959, Darin took a dark ballad from the German "Threepenny Opera" and made it swing. "When my dad took 'Mack the Knife' before it was released and had Dick Clark listen to it, he said, 'Why are you doing this? This is gonna bomb!'" Dodd said. It won the Grammy for record of the year, and became the biggest hit of Darin's career. The next year, he was on his way to Italy to make his motion picture debut opposite America's sweetheart, Sandra Dee. "We hit it right off," Darin said. "She hated me and I loved her, and that was it." The teen idol married the teen movie star in December of 1960, and welcomed their son, Dodd, a year later. Dodd would later write, "My father made his destiny. Destiny made my mother." What did he mean by that? "Well, my mom went through a lot," he said. "Never really wanted fame. She really didn't crave it. It just sort of happened. Unlike my dad, who loved performing, loved show business." Dee was looking for a home life, said Dodd, but Bobby Darin wasn't ready to slow down. The marriage ended after six years. Darin never stopped playing the clubs. Sammy Davis Jr. once said that Bobby Darin was the one person he wouldn't want to have to follow. "Absolutely true," said Dodd. "My dad idolized Sammy." The feeling was mutual, as seen in a 1959 broadcast of "This Is Your Life": Also featured during the episode was Nina, the woman Darin thought was his sister. But almost a decade later he would learn a long-held family secret: Nina was in fact Bobby's mother, having given birth to him out of wedlock as a teenager. Which made Polly, the woman he thought was his mother, his grandmother. "He was never the same," said Dodd. "He said that his whole life was a lie; he was, like, a fraud. It's just devastating. There's no sugarcoating it." Bobby Darin and Nina Cassotto on "This Is Your Life" in 1959. Years later, Darin would learn that Nina was not his sister, but actually his mother. NBC Looking at that tape today, says Dodd, it all seems obvious. "That's a mother's love," he said. "That's not a sister, okay? That's the adulation of, 'This is my son,' but you can't say it." Dodd, who was seven years old when his father found out, remembers a change in your father from that time: "I'm not gonna say it's directly attributed to that incident; I'm sure that's part of it. But he got into the Bob Darin stage, you know? He took off his toupee. No more tuxedo. Started doing folk music, protest music, writing music, and dropped out of show business for a while. "And that was some of the best times I had with him. He was a regular dude. We were up in Big Sur in a trailer, hanging out. And yeah, he let his hair down, if you will. It was good times." Bobby Darin performs "Simple Song of Freedom" (1970): In December of 1973, Bobby Darin's heart finally gave out. He was 37. Dodd had just turned 12. Now 63, Dodd Darin is grateful that, with the new Broadway show, a new generation can learn the story of his father. "It's so beautiful that all these years later – he's been gone over 50 years – we're here talking about him. We're remembering him," said Dodd. "He did something right." You can stream the album "The Ultimate Bobby Darin" by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full): For more info: Story produced by Kay Lim. Editor: Lauren Barnello. Watch Jonathan Groff perform "Dream Lover" for the cast album recording of "Just in Time":
