#if i saw jonathan groff perform in merrily LIVE

[legiterallylunar]

BIG NEWS EVERYBODY GROFF WON A TONY

MY GUY

HE WON A TONY

[jgroffdaily]

How did I end up here? What are those moments, decisions and coincidences that shape our lives, sometimes leading us down pathways once unimaginable, for better or for worse?

Radcliffe, Groff and Mendez join host Robin Young to talk about the show, its history and their own relationships to the characters they portray.

Interview summary:

Jonathan is asked about the show being a love story about friendships that get left behind. He says that he thinks it’s more difficult, as an actor, to fake a friendship than to fake romantic chemistry.

Dan talks about how much he loves the cast, and he doesn’t have to work to feel that.

When the interviewer plays a clip of Dan singing Franklin Shepherd Inc, Dan says that he moved violently away from the microphone and headphones to avoid hearing himself singing! He stresses out about the song a lot before he does it, but loves it during. He sees it as a love song sung by someone who is desperately trying not to lose a friend but going about it in the worst possible way. The disagreement between Charlie and Frank is because Charlie wants more of Frank in his life than Frank is able to give.

Jonathan says that we are all changing all of the time. It’s challenging to allow yourself to change; your partner to change; your friend to change.

When Jonathan saw Frank in the London production (presumably on video) say the line “I’ve made one mistake in my life, but I’ve made it over and over… that was saying yes when I meant no”, he thought “oof, I get that!”, and was then a “bucket of tears” throughout the rest of the show. When he was trying to learn the show, after he and the rest of the cast had signed on, he couldn’t hear Our Time over his own hysterical crying, remembering what it felt like when he was 19 years old and had just moved to New York - the hope, the dreams, the optimism.

Lindsay said that Our Time still hits them all a lot. She says that at the previous night’s performance, the audience’s reaction to the line (SPOILER!) where Frank first meets Mary and says “I just met the girl I ought to marry” broke her, because it showed how badly the audience wanted that, and the fact that we know it doesn’t happen is so sad.

The trio then discussed what it is like to think about what the original Merrily cast went through, and Daniel compares it to the experience of doing Harry Potter. He says they have had nothing but lovely experiences with the original cast, who are finding the current situation complicated but joyful.

[emilysworldoffandoms]

Merrily We Roll Along

Phenomenal revival! Perfectly cast! This was my first time seeing Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff live and they were both amazing. This has been one of my favorite musicals since I saw it performed at my high school. The book is not the best, but the songs are perfect. Unfortunately, the audience did not know how to behave, but this looks like it is the case moving forward.

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan said he was first alerted to Merrily We Roll Along through the Lonny Price documentary 'The Best Worst Thing That Had Ever Happened'.

Jonathan was asked to join the cast on 23 January 2022. Jim Carnahan was one of the members of his quarantine film club, and Jim told Jonathan he was in consideration for the revival and did he know the show. Jonathan then watched Maria Friedman's London production on YouTube and he "immediately said yes".

He shares a dressing room with Daniel Radcliffe and Reg Rogers and wants to do another show immediately after each performance. He said the show is so much fun, the group believes in the show so much, and they feel lucky and honoured to be in the show.

Jonathan, Lindsay and Daniel all made their Broadway debuts in 2008.

Jonathan met Stephen Sondheim once in 2010 while performing in Deathtrap. He went to the first performance of Into the Woods at Regents Park and met Steven while waiting for the cast to come out. "He was so warm and nice and I was completely starstruck. He had come to see Spring Awakening but I hadn't met him then and he came to see Hamilton.'

An audience member at Merrily the day before had told Jonathan at the stage door he was at an off-Broadway performance of 'A Strange Loop' on the same day as Sondheim, but they didn't meet.

Jonathan said the rehearsal process was extraordinary. Everyone felt lucky and honoured to be diving into the material, and the creative team, who had worked on it 10 years ago, knew it so well. He learned a lot from Maria Friedman about Sondheim, the show, and his lyrics, and he says everyone was 'elevated' by her knowledge and experience. Maria says Sondheim is still the smartest person in the room.

Jonathan says doing the show is like "going to psychotherapy and is endlessly fascinating, endlessly challenging, and I have never felt so alive, moment to moment, in a piece before." "I can't wait to get there every day and learn something new."

The Singing Forest with Olympia Dukakis in 2009 was rehearsed at the New York Theatre Workshop.

Acting influences include Olympia and Michael Mayer (a lifelong friend, guide and shaper). He says he takes acting experiences to grow and change, more than anything else. All he ever wanted coming from Pennsylvania was to be a part of the New York theatre community, and that is his biggest influence. He is still watching as many shows as possible. On his days off during rehearsals for Merrily he saw A Man of No Importance, Leopoldstadt and Topdog/Underdog. He still loves getting on his bike and watching great actors (and says this is why he will always live in New York).

Theatre is still his biggest, deepest love and ignites a "deep, primal passion and I love acting. I do enjoy the intimacy... and theatre aligns with my natural personality [to do the same thing every day]." He finds film and television more difficult as the work changes every day, but keeps him sharp and thinking.

He says he in his happiest state right now doing Merrily and knowing he will do a Broadway run. But theatre and television is helpful for his growth as an actor to work in different locations, be involved in the culture of different countries such as Berlin, learning different skills, and working with different directors and actors.

Host Michael Portantiere said he recently sent Jonathan a photo of Jonathan's billboard for Knock at the Cabin on the back on the Wintergarden Theater where Sutton Foster is now performing in The Music Man. Asked if he could do one show with Sutton Foster, he would want to be in an original musical and watch her work.