Jonathan Groff chats with THR on the Tony Awards red carpet talks about how his parents encouraged him to follow his passion for theater and helped him get here today. Plus, he reveals how he prepares for eight shows a week.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00Dog says how much it means to be sitting side by side and be putting on this production.
00:04It means everything. We just, Gracie and I only met in July of last year when we did the workshop of Just In Time.
00:10And we just became such fast friends. We just totally fell in love with each other.
00:14You look gorgeous, by the way.
00:16Thank you so much. You look stunning.
00:17Well, like walking over here, I didn't even take this in. You look so good.
00:20Gosh, thank you. Listen, it's an incredible night. It's Broadway. We got to show out.
00:24Totally. Show up, show out.
00:26Yes, I love that. Well, we've talked a lot about in the past how much this show and this role has meant to you.
00:32But who is one person that you really want to thank for championing your love for the arts altogether and to get you here tonight?
00:39I would have to say my parents. I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
00:44And my parents are jocks, sports people. My mom is a gym teacher. My dad trains and raises horses for a living.
00:50And when I was three, I wanted to be Mary Poppins for Halloween.
00:56And I wanted to be Dorothy in the Halloween parade when I was four or five years old.
01:01And they let me dress up in drag and be creative and express myself.
01:07And so that's like the whole reason I'm here.
01:10Very quickly, eight shows a week is not easy.
01:13Do you have a pre- or post-show ritual to kind of recenter you between shows?
01:17Well, between shows, I'm sleeping. I slept like for an hour and a half between our two shows yesterday.
01:23And before the show, I do a 30-minute physical warm-up every day that our choreographer Shannon Lewis taught me
01:28that's helping to keep my body from breaking.
01:31It's a high-energy show. We need that energy.
01:34Exactly.
01:35Exactly.