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OH MY GOD it’s highschool!Groff, this is the greatest thing ever (thanks, media database free trial!)

Bitten by the acting bug as a child, award-winner now wants to bring theater to next generation

(Lancaster New Era, April 11, 2002)

GOOD THINGS NEVER happen to Charlie Brown. The little red-headed girl ignores him, and Lucy is always tricking him with that infernal football. Even the Easter Beagle shortchanges him!

Jonathan Groff has much better luck than Charlie Brown.

As an actor, this Conestoga Valley High School junior is playing the lead – Jesus Christ – in this weekend’s production of the musical “Godspell.” (See Sked for details.)

And just last month, Jonathan won the 2002 Beth Bash Memorial Award at the annual High School Theatre Festival held at the Fulton Opera House. For that, he can thank the hapless Charlie Brown.

Jonathan, 17, directed and starred in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which he and five other CV students took to the March 27 festival.

Jonathan won the award, for direction and performance, given in honor of Bash, a McCaskey High School graduate and rising theater star who died in 1985.

“He really did an outstanding job,” says Jeanne Clemson, director of the Fulton’s Academy of Theatre. “It was just very nicely directed. It looked like faculty work…. And the acting was delightful.”

Jonathan is quick to credit his co-stars. “If it wasn’t for them, there is no way I would have gotten it,” he says.

Jonathan’s fellow cast members are: sophomore Kim Martin as the ever-crabby Lucy; juniors Dan Shapiro, the piano-playing Schroeder; Lee Fulmer, the blanket-toting Linus; Katie McCarty, Charlie Brown’s little sister, Sally; and Emily Fritz, as that famous beagle, Snoopy.

For the competition, Jonathan and his fellow actors performed a half-hour of vignettes, such as Lucy stealing Linus’ blanket and a baseball game. In addition to Jonathan’s award, the cast was recognized for its presentational style of acting.

In another stroke of luck, Jonathan and company were chosen by video audition to present their play at Disneyworld for Magic Music Days. On July 31, they’ll perform at the Magic Kingdom, on the Tomorrow Land stage.

Jonathan’s production of “Charlie Brown” is actually part of his graduation project.

“This year I wanted to start a student-run production for the elementary school kids to come and see,” says Jonathan, who has fond memories of coming to the high school as an elementary student to see “Annie Get Your Gun.”

“I really, really, really got into theater after I saw that show,” says Jonathan, who has acted in school plays and also has appeared in productions at the Fulton.

For his project, he decided upon “Charlie Brown” after hearing it was a fun show to do. Plus, he adds, “There were kids in the school that were so perfect for their parts!” (He’s quick to add that Kim, who plays Lucy, is not crabby in real life.)

In addition to playing Charlie Brown, Jonathan had to block staging and discuss motivation, such as “Why is Schroeder so obsessed with the piano?”

“It was a challenge, but it was one that I wouldn’t have given up,” says Jonathan. “It was so much fun. I didn’t really have to give them much direction.”

The show was performed for third- and fourth-graders from the district’s elementary schools on Jan. 31. That was followed by a sold- out public performance on Feb. 3.

“They (the kids) were so much fun to perform for,” says Jonathan. “They’re just so honest. They’re not going to laugh if it’s not funny.”

Jonathan plans to do a similar production next year and start a tradition.

“I wanted to do something that will happen every year. So the kids in the third and fourth grades will be able to come and see shows here that they can really relate to.”

He adds, “Elementary school students are sort of the audience of the future, so if you get them interested now, hopefully they’ll continue to be interested in the theater later in life.”

After being bitten by the theater bug as a youngster, “I put on my own shows and dressed up all the time and pretended I was different people,” says Jonathan.

He loved Disney movies, especially “Mary Poppins” and “Peter Pan” - - “I always wanted to fly.”

As an eighth grader, his break-out role was as Teddy Best in “Best in the West.” As a freshman, he auditioned for the Fulton’s production of “Peter Pan” in 1999.

“When I found out that there was a theater doing “Peter Pan,’ I just wanted to be a part of it somehow.” He was chosen to be one of the “lost boys.”

“My interest just grew from there. I just auditioned every chance that I got.”

His other Fulton roles have been as an apprentice in “Cyrano,” Rolf in “The Sound of Music” and in the ensembles for “Evita” and “Rags.” He didn’t mind all the hard work. “I loved having long hours….I loved every minute of it!”

This summer, Jonathan will be rehearsing for the Ephrata Playhouse’s September production of “Honk,” based on the ugly duckling story. “I’m playing the ugly duckling,” he states.

As a member of Thespus, CV’s drama group, Jonathan has played leading roles in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (as Finch, played on Broadway by Matthew Broderick, one of his favorite actors); “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged,” as Juliet; and “Kiss Me Kate,” as Fred Graham.

Also, last year at a Bucks County drama competition, he and fellow student Meredith Lamb won best production, best actor and best actress awards for “Here We Are.”

Now he faces portraying Jesus in “Godspell.”

“I’m just going to try my very hardest to do the best job I possibly can to portray him with a heart,” says Jonathan. “So many people have such an intimate relationship to him…. The fact that we get the chance to tell this story is really exciting.”

Not surprisingly, Jonathan wants to pursue theater as a career.

“I definitely want to go to college for theater,” he says. “I’d like to have the training to do anything, so I can be prepared for anything if it comes up. My goal is becoming a working actor.”

With the emphasis on “working,” he adds.

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and

CV students’ ‘Charlie Brown’ set for Disney

(From Lancaster Sunday News, July 7, 2002)

A passion for acting and a desire to interest young children in his craft prompted Jonathan Groff to take on a special project.

The junior at Conestoga Valley High School created a senior project that entailed casting, directing and choreographing “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” for the school’s spring production.

That endeavor has earned Groff and his five castmates a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to perform July 31 during the park’s Magic Music Days.

Anthony Corl, CV’s drama director, said, “We’ve been really fortunate this year, which is just a testimony to these kids.”

Charlie Brown, aka Groff, and the other cast members are “absolutely ready for this (trip),” Corl said. “I mentored him, and Jon selected the cast, directed and choreographed the show.”

“I wanted a show for elementary-school kids and thought it would be cool if it was student-directed and produced,” Groff said. “I thought it would encourage younger kids.”

The very enthusiastic Groff said he managed the project by working through an independent-study class that gave him 80 minutes a day. After getting a feel for what he wanted the show to look like, he handpicked his cast.

Groff said each actor “was” the part. Their personalities just fit. “Emily (Fritz), who plays Snoopy, is… well, you know, Snoopy.

“And Kim (Martin), who plays Lucy, is not really mean, but she can really turn it on on stage,” he said.

After rehearsing for three weeks, the gang performed for the third- and fourth-graders in the district before putting on a public performance on Super Bowl Sunday – Feb. 3.

Teacher Corl said he knew this group of kids was special, and since he had heard about Magic Music Days for a few years, he decided to look into it. Deciding that using a tour company that helps groups get selected at Disney World was too expensive, Corl took on the task himself.

“We submitted an audition tape, an 8-by-10 color photo of the cast, and information about our group,” he said. “They (Disney) are looking for high-energy, high-quality performances.”

And, Corl said, that’s what they’ll get. “This group – they are some of the most talented I’ve worked with in 22 years,” he said.

So on July 31 on the Tomorrowland Stage at Walt Disney World, the five juniors and one sophomore will perform for 20-25 minutes doing most of the songs from the “Charlie Brown” show.

“They will have rehearsal time, but then they will have one shot,” Corl said. “They are absolutely ready for it.”

Cast members Groff, Martin, Fritz, Katie McCarty, who plays Sally Brown, and Lee Fulmer, who plays Linus, will miss their Schroeder, Dan Shapiro, in Florida, but for good reason.

“Shapiro has been accepted to the Governor’s School for Music which runs for eight weeks this summer,” Corl said. “It’s quite an honor.”

Replacing him at Disney will be Paul Hutchison, who also performs with the group.

The Disney experience will culminate an exceptional year for these young performers. Groff earned the Beth Bash Memorial Award this year, the top honor awarded to a high school student during the Fulton’s Opera House’s music festival.

Also, during the West Chester University Drama Festival, the group performed a one-act version of its fall production “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” and walked away with first place for overall production. Groff also took best actor, and Martin took best actress.

At the musical day during the Bucks County Drama Festival, the group performed a 30-minute musical of “Charlie Brown” and a 30- minute production of “Godspell.” Corl said Fritz and Shapiro each received a citation for excellence in performance for “Godspell,” and Groff took best actor for both productions.

“I was honored with a best director trophy, too,” Corl said. “Godspell” also took best overall performance.

About 20 students – the Charlie Brown cast and others in the drama department and Corl will board a tour bus for Florida. The group will watch productions of a variety of shows to pass the time until they arrive for their four-day, three-night stay.

And when that excitement abates, Corl said the group will have very little time until they start preparing for a major undertaking next year.

“We’re doing "Les Miserables,’” he said. The opera – written just for high schools – will include 80 to 100 high school, middle school and elementary school students. “It will take all year, but we are really excited,” he said. “And I’m blessed with some really talented, dedicated kids.”

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