Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We are so excited to talk to Jonathan Groff, huge fan. And what a delight. What a just so, so talented and funny and so fun to talk to. And we're going to talk about a lot of things today. We're going to talk about horses.
Chapter 2: What early experiences shaped Jonathan Groff's passion for performance?
We're going to talk about Broadway. We're going to talk about making lasting friendships at work. We're going to talk about us both playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and the different things we brought to it. And we're going to talk about his Broadway smash hit, Just In Time, which is open for a few more weeks on Broadway. He plays Bobby Darin. It's amazing. You have to see it.
But before we do, we're going to check in with someone who knows our guest, who's worked with our guest, who loves our guest. And that person is Gracie Lawrence. Gracie is an incredible singer from the band Lawrence. She was Connie Francis in Just In Time. And we are going to speak to her while she is in rehearsal for another Broadway show, All Out. Gracie? Yeah.
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Hello? Gracie? Okay, wait. Sorry, there's some people in my dressing room that are... I told them that I was in the middle of something, but it's like... Oh, my God.
Listeners, Jon Stewart and Abby Jacobson are flanking Gracie Lawrence right now. We got a threefer. A threefer. A sentence I've dreamed of. A threefer with Amy Poehler. Oh, my God. Hi, friends. Hello, friends. What a good surprise. No, they live in my dressing room. Yeah. We share a dressing room. This one, Amy, top, top notch. Yeah. So, so naturally talented.
The only downside, honestly, Amy, is the drinking. Yeah. That's the part that's the only thing that's holding her back. Yeah.
We don't have to talk about it.
There's actually not a podcast today. Gracie, we're all here because we love you and we want to... You know what? I thought that this seemed strange. I was like, why are they in my dressing room? Why am I getting a call from Amy Poehler? Look at you guys. Broadway. You know, it's just rehearsal. Broadway babies.
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Chapter 3: How did Jonathan Groff's family background influence his career?
I do think he's like one of the greats, like one of the greatest performers of all time. He reminds me of the kind of performer that, you know, is of a different era. He reminds me of Bobby Darin. Like he is this kind of, performer that can do it all and is like so magnetic and so charming.
Yeah.
His magic trick as a performer is making people feel so at ease and so comfortable and like they know him immediately. And even when he's playing bizarre weirdos, it's like you still feel really comfortable around him and you want to he's like the most watchable person I've ever met.
ever on stage like yes and his the eye contact thing because I will tend to be like you know like if someone's looking at me too long I'm like what he will lock the fuck in like he's gonna do that okay he is also like a lover of like shenaniganry and like bullshit on stage like he will really I don't know how
He knows the right moment to do the things, but like somehow he will violently tickle me on stage consensually. And I'll have friends at the show and I'll be like, did you guys notice when Jonathan just like fully in the middle of the scene was like, and they'll be like, no, I didn't catch that. And I'm like, how does he like, no, he just really knows.
Yes. He has a playful energy. That's a tiny bit of, um, I mean, I'm not, I imagine when you just do show after show after show, you gotta keep it fresh. Yeah. Um, okay. So I asked my zoom guests to give me a question for my guests.
I thought of a million questions, um, because he is in some ways so anomalous. Um, But given that I'm technically a new friend of his, even though I feel I know him very well, I've noticed in this year that I've never seen him frazzled or anxious or nervous. And he's had so many occasions where he like objectively should be like leading a show or
you know, doing huge interviews, going to the Tonys, performing three times at the Tonys. He is like Yoda-like, like he is so calm. And when I'm nervous, he always turns to me after I say like, I'm feeling kind of nervous. He was like, really? Huh? Like he doesn't understand that. And I'm wondering why isn't he more scared of things? When did he, has he always been this way?
Like, did I meet him in a time in his life where he just really has his shit together? Or has he always been extremely calm? Like when he was auditioning for things back in the day, was he like going in the room shaky or was he like, like so calm? And like, what, if anything, scares him now, little bitch?
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Chapter 4: What memorable moments did Jonathan Groff experience while performing on Broadway?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, when you're like a short person sometimes.
Yes, this was her point.
In improv, you got lifted up. Which, by the way, I'm sure there's many women out there that are like, oh, you got lifted up a lot. Good thing to complain about.
But, you know, I get it, though. There's like assumptions made. I lifted you. No, it was nice. And then I felt like, oh, no, did I just assume?
No, everything. I loved everything about it.
Okay. I loved everything about it. Thank God. Are you kidding? It was exciting. That was our first meeting. I know.
And I'm talking to you today because you have your show tonight.
Yes.
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Chapter 5: How does Jonathan Groff describe his experience in 'Just In Time'?
It does.
A rising tide lifts all boats. That was good.
You matched my, that was perfect. Thank you.
But it's true. It's true. Like that, that there's this, you know, you can decide. And I feel like, I feel like not knowing you, but knowing so many people who love and love working with you. I feel like that is you. And so congratulations on that. I have no question. I just wanted to say.
that about you and you have done so much you've done musicals you've done television you've done film you're on Broadway right now you were in Spring Awakening of course you were in Hamilton you were in Glee you were in Mindhunter you like you're Kristoff and Frozen you do so many things so well but through it all through it all I feel the sense from you of exactly what we started this conversation with which is like there's still just like a lot of joy in getting to do what you get to do yeah
Yeah.
And if, and like you hold onto that, you're grateful for it.
Yes. Yes. And you work for it and you like, you find those people. I mean, you, you're the queen of this, of like finding those people that you love and love to make things with. And I feel like as time goes by, I just turned 40 last year. I can feel myself like Getting magnetized to those people later in life of like, ah, like working with Dan Radcliffe on Merrily.
He like, that was the, that was, I think the first time I was like, oh, I've really met my match here because this guy is, loves to do this so profoundly. And we formed a lifelong friendship with our friend Lindsay, really everyone in that company. But like Dan, Dan was like sick and gripping me. Like he like had to be out, there was like a need.
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Chapter 6: What insights does Jonathan Groff share about his time in 'Hamilton'?
Yeah.
And who was saying that? Was your dad saying that?
My Mennonite grandfather, preacher, Wade.
Oh.
So incredible. So sweet. I think if they had like equated putting this young boy in a gown may open up homosexuality in him. It's like an on ramp to gayness. They may not have done it, but this was like before the Internet. And like they they just beautifully allowed me to to. So great. Fly my freak flag.
Yes. And I hear, did you play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz? I did as well. What age did you play Dorothy? At four. What did you bring to the role? How did you see her?
At four. I brought a lot. There's also a video of that. I brought a lot of, I brought a real, like I was screaming a lot. Oh. Yeah. And there's a lot of me going like, ah!
Because of the tornado. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. You were playing the tornado.
Yeah. I was like, I was very tornado forward in my interpretation. Interesting.
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Chapter 7: How does Jonathan Groff handle the pressure of live performances?
You were more like the phoenix rising from the ashes. You were like leading everyone somewhere.
It was just in my eyes.
The tornado was in my eyes. Yeah, it was like a quick look. Like blink and you miss it.
I went, what was that?
Wait, is she okay? But then immediately you were leading us. Yeah. Oh, it's so much smarter. Fuck.
Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my.
Ah!
Okay, so then you're on the farm, you're scared of horses, you're singing. What makes you, you're going to go to college and then you get a part.
It really is as you describe. You're on the farm, you're with the horses, you're singing. Okay. What is going to happen? When I listen to the original cast recording of Company, I still smell horse. I still have the sense memory of smelling horse. Because you're really listening to it in the bar. Yeah, it smells like the pile of manure that we would make from the stall.
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Chapter 8: What is the significance of friendships in Jonathan Groff's career?
Yeah.
And that playing the role in that show allowed me to grow the muscle to be able to do that. So cool. So cool.
And you put that in such a beautiful way. I think people... often underestimate that sometimes the struggle to live authentically doesn't have as much to do with how you feel about yourself as it does in the worry of how it will change the temperature in the room like how it will change the dynamic in the family how it will make other people feel it's often like
told through like an inner struggle when sometimes the struggle is really about how will other people change? Yeah, totally. Like how will they feel? Yes. And were your, how did your family feel? How did they, how did, were they surprised? Cut to me screaming as Dorothy. And Wade was like, well.
My men and my grandmas were like, who's that little girl in the Wizard of Oz? They were like, that was Jonathan.
But were they surprised?
My dad was surprised. My brother was surprised. I told my brother first.
Oh, that's nice.
And he was like, what? He was surprised. Yeah. Which like, yeah, my mom said that she kind of knew. It was, it was like complicated and, and cut to like, whatever, two or three Christmases later and they're handing presents to my boyfriend that's home for the holidays. So it like very quickly, it took a minute for them to digest it all.
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