Transcript

Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler

From Good Hang with Amy Poehler · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 23 min · 15,252 words · 369 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler", an episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler published February 10, 2026 (1 h 23 min, about 15,252 words). It mentions 15 people, works and ideas, including Jonathan Grath, Just in Time, Spring Awakening, Gracie Lawrence, Hamilton.

What this episode is about

In this engaging conversation, Jonathan Groff shares insights on topics ranging from his experiences in Broadway, particularly his role in "Just in Time," to the importance of friendships formed through work. Additionally, guest Gracie Lawrence, who performed alongside Groff, contributes her perspective while balancing her own Broadway rehearsals.

Key takeaways

  • In Broadway's chaos, friendships bloom; even Gracie finds her calm watching Good Hang before shows.
  • Jonathan Grath and Gracie Lawrence embody the modern artist: versatile, multifaceted, and genre-defying. Categories? So yesterday.
  • Aldi on Uber Eats: saving you from an empty fridge and food boredom, one 20% discount at a time.
  • ‘Just in Time’ isn't just a musical; it’s a reminder that even legends like Bobby Darin had humble beginnings.
  • Nothing says Broadway like surprise drop-ins from Amy Poehler—just another day in the life of a star.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Just in Time, Gracie Lawrence, Jonathan Grath, All Out
  2. – 20:00: Visible, Spring Awakening, Hamilton, Glee
  3. – 30:00: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  4. – 40:00: Spring Awakening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Just in Time, Glee
  5. – 50:00: Hamilton, Spring Awakening, Jonathan Grath
  6. – 1:00:00: Hamilton, Spring Awakening
  7. – 1:10:00: Gracie Lawrence, Thoroughly Modern Millie
  8. – 1:20:00: Just in Time, Spring Awakening
  9. – 1:22:43: Jonathan Grath

Notable quotes from "Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler"

  • Are going to speak to her while she is in rehearsal for another Broadway show, All Out. Gracie, do you have a question for our darling Jonathan?
    about Gracie Lawrence · at
  • We're talking about and to Jonathan Grath today who I know you love.
    about Jonathan Grath · at
  • Just in Time is a Broadway show. It is directed by Alex Timbers. and it is about the life of Bobby Darren. and I play Connie Francis. And Jonathan plays played Jonathan currently plays.
    about Just in Time · at
  • Many occasions where he like objectively should be like leading a show, doing huge interviews, going to the Tony's, performing three times at the Tony's. He is like Yoda like…
    about Tony Award · at
  • Of it was like thoroughly modern Millie which I had seen six times. The director of Spring Awakening is Michael Mayer the director of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Wow.
    about Thoroughly Modern Millie · at
  • Yeah. Amazing. So much happening in your 20s. Like so much. And then you go on Glee, which is this insanely popular show with your buddy Leah and like you just you're just.
    about Glee · at
  • Coming off of the body. My whole body went hot and I went I blush. I was like blushing and it was like spring awakening a another role that I was like almost like a ring of…
    about Spring Awakening · at
  • Not really A BUMMER because all of a sudden, guess who's available for Hamilton?
    about Hamilton · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Jonathan Grath — Person · Main guest · 4 mentions · first at
    Primary interview subject; discusses his Broadway work ("Just in Time"), career arc, upbringing, and creative friendships. Also referenced by others (Gracie Lawrence) as a collaborator and as notably calm under pressure.
  • Gracie Lawrence — Person · Guest pre-interview caller / collaborator of main guest · 4 mentions · first at
    Provides third-party perspective on Jonathan’s temperament and talent; asks a key question about his calmness. Identified as a singer/performer (band Lawrence) and as having played Connie Francis in "Just in Time."

Books & papers

  • Just in Time — Book · Primary recommendation · 6 mentions · first at
    Jonathan Grath's Broadway smash hit, discussed as his current project and artistic achievement.
  • Spring Awakening — Book · Referenced work · 7 mentions · first at
    Highlighted as a pivotal early career role for Jonathan Grath that influenced his personal growth.
  • Hamilton — Book · Referenced work · 6 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as part of Jonathan Grath's career achievements and experiences on Broadway.
  • Thoroughly Modern Millie — Book · Referenced work · 3 mentions · first at
    A significant influence on Jonathan Grath's early interest in theater and performance.
  • All Out — Book · Referenced work · 2 mentions · first at
    Gracie Lawrence's new Broadway show, mentioned in the context of current projects and collaborations.
    Yes. It's a show called All Out with our mutual friends Abby Jacobson and John Stewart and Eric Andre and Ike Baron Holtz. and it's FYI, I'm coming to see it tonight.
  • Glee — Book · Referenced work · 2 mentions · first at
    Part of Jonathan Grath's career trajectory, mentioned alongside other significant roles.
  • Mine Hunter — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as part of Jonathan Grath's diverse career in theater and performance.
    You were in Spring Awakening, of course. You were in Hamilton. You were in Glee. You were in Mine Hunter. You like you're Kristoff and Frozen. You do so many things so well. but through it all, through it all, I feel.
  • Frozen — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as part of Jonathan Grath's voice acting roles in popular media.
    You were in Spring Awakening, of course. You were in Hamilton. You were in Glee. You were in Mine Hunter. You like you're Kristoff and Frozen. You do so many things so well. but through it all, through it all, I feel.

Places & events

  • Tony Award — Event · Referenced event · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of Jonathan Grath's achievements and experiences in theater.
  • Lancaster, Pennsylvania — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Jonathan Grath's hometown, discussed in the context of his upbringing and early life.
    You grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Sponsors

  • Uber Eats — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as a sponsor of the podcast episode, with promotional content.
    This episode of Good Hang is presented by Uber Eats. Big news. Aldi is now on Uber Eats and you get 20% off your first grocery order with code new Aldi26.
  • Visible — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as a sponsor of the podcast episode, with promotional content.
    Wireless hack to save money and still get great coverage and a reliable connection. Switch today to Visible today and cross wireless savings off your to-do list. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details.
  • eBay — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Presented as a sponsor of the podcast episode, with promotional content.
    Just got to have. I've mentioned this totally normal obsession many times before because it's my thing. On eBay, you can always find whatever your thing is. From rare…

Full transcript with timestamps

Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We are so excited to talk to Jonathan Grath. 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. We're going to talk about Broadway. We're going to talk about um 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 Darren. 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 uh 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, do you have a question for our darling Jonathan? Hi. This episode of Good Hang is presented by Uber Eats. Big news. Aldi is now on Uber Eats and you get 20% off your first grocery order with code new Aldi26. So whether your fridge is empty and you're too tired to shop or you just ran out of essential ingredients in the middle of meal prep, don't worry. Fill your fridge in just a few taps and get 20% off your first Aldi order on Uber Eats. For orders over $60, you can save up to $20. Ends February 28th, 2026.

Terms apply. See app for details. What do you say? All I ever wanted. Hello, Gracie.

Okay, wait. Sorry. There's some people in my dressing room that are back. I I I told him that I was in the middle of something, but it's like in there.

Oh my god. Listeners, John Stewart and Abby Jacobson are flanking Gracie Lawrence right now. We got a threeer.

A threeer. A sentence I've dreamed of. Yeah. A threefur with Amy Polar. Oh my god. Hi friends.

Hello friends. What a good surprise. No. They live in my dressing room. Yeah, we share a dress.

This one Amy topnotch. So so tal so naturally talented. The only downside honestly Amy is the drinking. Yeah. Really, that's the part that the only thing that's holding her back.

Yeah. Yeah. We don't have to talk about it. Yeah. There there's actually not a podcast today. Uh, 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 Polar?

Look at you guys. Broadway, you know, it's just rehearsal. Broadway babies. Broadway babies. Guys, let's do our thing. me.

Okay, we actually I could go down. Okay, bye. Love you. Love you. We're talking about and to Jonathan Grath today who I know you love.

I love Jonathan Grath in such an intense way. Wait, I need to say something to you first.

Okay, wait. Okay, wait. Okay. Like, wait. Like, everyone stop. First of all, I would watch this this podcast in my dressing room at just in time before the show because it was like a calming

warm hug. I would watch it with my dressing roommate Erica Henning and we were like

the best. We'd be like panicking before we went on stage and we would watch this podcast and a calm would come over us.

So Gracie, you are rehearsing right now for your new Broadway show. Yes. Do you want to tell people what that is?

Yes. It's a show called All Out with our mutual friends Abby Jacobson and John Stewart and Eric Andre and Ike Baron Holtz. Um, and it's

FYI, I'm coming to see it tonight. I heard that nasty little rumor. Are you really? Oh my god, I'm going to be so

And I like to wear a very loud sweater so people can see me. And I like to make a lot of noise.

I'll find you. I'll find And I like to give thumbs up or thumbs down as the show goes on.

That's totally fine with me. I like to make a lot of uncomfortable eye contact with one audience member and I think it's going to be you tonight. Um, yeah. And then I'm in the show with my band Lawrence, which is my brother and I and six of our closest friends and we're playing our original music in this show. It's super cool.

And Gracie, you are you like you you straddle this amazing world. And one of the things I want to talk to Jonathan

Well, you you straddle an amazing world. Don't get dirty, you little little minks. You'll watch it. Someone's listening to this before they go on and they want peaceful.

They want peace. No, totally. Okay. you're a singer and you are on on stage and you record and you act like you you and and it's really interesting because I think Jonathan very similarly like when I look at his career he has done so many things and both of you are examples of like there's no categorizing artists uh anymore there's no you know there used to be this feeling that like you could only be this kind of performer or actor be and Jonathan is a perfect example of that can you tell me the first time you met him and what your first impression of him was.

I met Jonathan on the first day of rehearsal of the workshop of Just in Time. And for people who don't know, can you just tell us what that show is?

Just in Time is a Broadway show. It is directed by Alex Timbers. Um, and it is about the life of Bobby Darren. Um, and I play Connie Francis. And Jonathan plays played Jonathan currently plays Bobby Darren. I played Connie Francis and um yeah, we met on the first day of the workshop and I was really nervous

um which is like a theme of my life. Um and Jonathan walked in and the first thing I did in the day was sing with him. That was like my first my first entrance to this show. He walked in like star of the show. Like he was just such a star from the second he walked in. And it was like

I got the right entrance from him. I was like watching him walk and he put his binder down and then he sat down next to me and it was kind of like and then he just

did the did the Jonathan Gra thing of like making really intense beautiful eye contact with you.

Perfect. Which you'll experience in the Can't wait. He's so charming. As far as his actual like big uh width and breadth of talent, what what do you think makes him such a special performer? 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 Darren. 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 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 [ __ ] in like he will he's going to do that.

Okay. He is also like a lover of like shenaniganry and like [ __ ] 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 know? He just really knows."

He has a playful energy that's a tiny bit of um I mean I I imagine when you just do show after show after show, you got to keep it fresh.

Yeah. Um Okay. So, I asked my Zoom guests to give me a question for my guest. I 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, um 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 um like leading a show, you know, doing huge interviews, going to the Tony's, performing three times at the Tony's. 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. Um, 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 [ __ ] 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 [ __ ] Like I I'm annoyed. It's crazy.

Yeah, that's that's a great great question because you're absolutely right. He you never catch him working too hard, but he's the hardest worker and he's makes things I mean that's to your point about like we feel like we know him. He also makes things feel accessible to us like I think great artists do. They just they don't over complicate things.

No, he's not tortured. No, he's not. That's why I love him because he's such a good example in my opinion of the more talented you are, the easier you are to work with. Period. The end.

Again, there are the few eccentric geniuses, but for the most part, if you're not coming from a fear-based place,

it's such a pleasure to work together with someone who's so talented. So, h yeah.

Well, Gracie, that's a really really good question and I I think he's really good. Really great. I mean, I cannot thank you enough for taking what I'm sure is your this is probably your downtime, your eating time, your looking at your phone time before we have to go back out there.

I'm I'm sure they're just I'm supposed to be rehearsing something, but Harris, I'm here.

Thank you so much. Such a pleasure to meet you. Take care. Bye. This episode is brought to you by Visible. This year is already in full swing, which means you're likely being pulled in a million different directions. Keep the new year, new me momentum going by switching to a new wireless plan from Visible. It's oneline wireless with unlimited data and hotspot for $25 a month. Taxes and fees included. You heard that right, $25 a month. Same cost every month. All in Verizon's 5G network. It's the ultimate wireless hack to save money and still get great coverage and a reliable connection. Switch today to Visible today and cross wireless savings off your to-do list. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details.

This episode is brought to you by eBay. You know what's great about eBay? I can always find my one true love there. Fake food, carved sushi, crocheted cupcakes, hyperrealistic artichokes. Some pieces I just got to have. I've mentioned this totally normal obsession many times before because it's my thing. On eBay, you can always find whatever your thing is. From rare collectibles and vintage cars to designer fashion, it's all there. Millions of finds, each with a story. eBay, things people love.

Jonathan, I'm very, very excited that you're here. I'm very excited to be here.

I thank you for doing this. You know, when we started the show, we were like, who? We just like thought about people that we wanted to talk to that would be good hangs and you are definitely someone that we really wanted to talk to.

I am so honored. I'm so honored. Thank you. And have we ever met? No, this is our first time.

This is our first time meeting. I mean, I'm sure you get this a lot, but I do feel like I've met you.

Same. Same. I know. I lifted you up. It's like it was an off people. It was off camera, but when when you came in, we hugged and you lifted me up, which I really enjoyed. Yeah.

I mean, I I don't always love being lifted up, but I really liked when you did it. And also, people should know you're very jacked.

Oh my god. Thank you. I'll take it. Your arms are really strong. I'll take it. My friend Susie, every time I would see her, I would lift her up and then she was like, "Jonathan, please stop lifting me. I don't I don't Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, when you're like a short person sometimes like this was her point. In improv, you got lifted up a lot. 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 I, 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. I loved everything about it. Thank God. It was exciting. That was our first meeting. Lifted you.

I know. And and I'm talking to you today. talking to you today because you have your show tonight.

Yes. And it's few literally you're going to be in on stage in a few hours. Yeah. Yeah.

And I have so much I want to talk to you about today. I I but but what one thing I realiz is that in you've done so many things so well. It's going to be hard to talk about all of them. But most of your life, your job, the hardest part of your day is at the end of your day. like what what is it like to have a full day waiting for your hardest part of the day to start?

That is such a great question, Amy. And I Thank you. And I've never thought about it like that before.

I used to have a version of that with SNL, right? But but but a that was once a week was the actual performance. The rest of the time was like a split like, you know, midday to night. But

it may be the most challenging part of my day, but it's also the most joyful part of my day that getting out there and getting to do it, it's like I'm like a kid with the high school play.

That's awesome. Yeah, I get amped and then I sleep very hard at night. So, I think maybe I'm naturally a night person.

Before we get into your life, I need to get into sleep because it's my favorite thing to talk about. What time do you go to bed? Okay. So, usually the show I'm

not going to like this. I'm already worried. But the show is over at what? 10 if you're lucky.

Show over at 10:30. Oh god. And then often times part of the fun is like having people backstage.

Nightmare. True nightmare. And then I'll talk to people and hang for a bit in the dressing room. I'll get on my bicycle.

You bike home. Yep. Should people know that? We could cut that. Don't follow me.

Suddenly I'm being followed by people on bikes. That's incredible. Yeah. I bike I bike to and from the theater. I arrive on a bike usually.

That's great. And then I'm I'm in bed probably by like 12:30. 12:30 or 1. Okay. I like that.

Yeah. I'll go home. I'll eat something. I'll watch some YouTubes. Yeah. And then I'll I I do feel when I walk in my apartment like I start to go like

Mhm. like I'm powering down. I'm dying. Yeah. And then I fall asleep and I are Are you I'm a I'm a very hard sleeper.

I I I used to be a really really hard sleeper. I'm I'm getting a little lighter as I get older. But yeah, I I'm with you. I'm not I don't get up in the middle of I can go down. I can go down.

I go down. You go down. And then what time is morning time? Is it 10:00 a.m. or is it 9:00 a.m.?

It's 10:00 a.m. How did you know it was 10:00 a.m.? Well, because the 1:00 a.m. bedtime is usually like a 10:00 a.m. wake up.

Yeah. Yeah. That's the natural that's the natural wake up. 10:00 a.m. Yeah. So, we're we're talking to you right now at like basically your lunchtime.

That's exactly right. I'm having this coffee. Black coffee for lunch. I'm having black coffee.

And what is this like? What time are you going to go to bed tonight? We're going to finish this. I actually I'm already stressed about the fact I have to go have to I have the lucky privilege of going to a show tonight. I'm going to a show and I'm already stressed about the fact that I am not going to be

in bed. In bed. I love bedtime. Ideally for me, you couldn't go to a matinea. I know. I I I blew it. I love the mat.

Yeah, right. Cuz then you can go straight to bed. And when I'm there, I'm so happy. But I'm literally counting the minutes till I can go to sleep. Um, okay. But what I wanted to say, Jonathan, I'm now I'm starting.

Okay. Okay. OKAY. You got the glasses on. Well, because we kind of wrote it down because you are such a nice boy. You are a good nice boy. You to me are the embodiment of someone who is deeply deeply open and and and a good caring nice person and also crushing it and ambitious and like like ambition with a side of you know compassion basically. You don't have to be a jerk.

I love that you're saying that too. Yeah. Because often times ambition is seen as like a negative thing or like a cutthroat thing that you have to like

push people aside in order to do your thing. But we're all just in our own on our own little like track and field lane.

Yes, that's right. You're competing with yourself. Exactly. And that the idea that if like a rise, you know, what is it? A rising a rising boat.

All boats rise. Yeah. It's not that all boats rise. But isn't it a rising tide? No.

A rising tide rises all the boats. Really? A rising tide lifts all boat lifts all boats.

But that a rising tide. That's your warm up for tonight. A rising tide lifts all boats.

A rising tide lifts all boats. It does. A rising tide lifts all boats. That was good. You matched my That was perfect.

Thank you. Um but uh 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 right back at 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 uh you were in Spring Awakening, of course. You were in Hamilton. You were in Glee. You were in Mine Hunter. You like you you're Kristoff and Frozen. You do so many things so well. Um, but through it all, through it all, I feel the sense from you of exactly what you 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 on to that, you're grateful for it. You're in the moment.

Yes. Yes. Yes. It's 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 h 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 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

in him that I really related to. And I'm finding like as time goes by and you get older, like there's such a joy in the people that we started out with, the ones that really want to be here are still here.

Yes. It's such a cool thing. And Dan Radcliffe Radcliffe is an example of this and you are which is also you want longevity in the business. You want to work a long time if you like it's a it's the long game.

It's the long playing the long game and and I mean I can't wait to talk to you about Merrily. It It's such an incredible piece of art. It's so deep. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be approaching 40 and winning a Tony for a piece that is all about the circular feeling of life and like having it in real time and and so before we get there

we're going to we're going to get there. But I I am so enamored and and moved by your by little Jonathan on the horse farm like your horses.

You grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Yes. Yeah. Your dad was a horse trainer.

Yep. Still is. Is Yeah. And do you ride horses and do you like horses? Uhoh. Is this controversial?

It's not controversial. I So he did he does um harness racing. So it's like the cart behind the horse like you're sitting in the cart with the whip.

Oh yeah. And so he is that are you in a like a large was that like a Menanite um or

Yeah. My dad is his whole family is Menanite. Wow. My grandfather was a Menanite preacher. Um and he kind of like was expected to take over the dairy farm and cuz he was the oldest son but didn't wasn't into cows and so pivoted to horses and got really into horse racing and then my mom was raised Methodist and so started going to the Methodist church because the Menanites were not super into the gambling aspect of his career.

Interesting. Um he wasn't shunned or anything but just Yeah. And uh so yeah, growing up I would play pretend on the horse farm with my brother, but my brother and I my brother David and I were both

petrified of the horses cuz they're they're so scary. I got So So I am I'm afraid of horses.

Okay. Like they scare me. I respect them. They're beautiful, but I don't I don't mess around with horses.

Yeah. Then that's really wise. I feel like when you know that you're really tapping into the empathy of the horse because like

Yes. I don't want to startle them. Yes. And I'm a little nervous. I don't want to make them nervous.

Yes. And there are some people that are just so so good with them. And I I feel like I feel to horses like people who who don't want to have children feel towards children. Yeah. Which is like I think that's great for you.

Yes. Not my journey. And I want people who want to ride horses to ride horses. Not my journey.

Exactly. They're so tall. Their eyes are so Their mouths are enormous. Enormous. And they like Yeah. Yes.

Yeah. They don't make that sound. I was nervous like I I we like I was shoveling the [ __ ] in the stalls with the horses also. So you can imagine not loving and like the like sort of like moving around the horse to like shovel it [ __ ] into the thing. I was like it was not Yeah.

That's funny. Like that's like not going into the family business is not liking horses.

Yes. I was blasting Britney Spears and Steven Sonheim on the like on the tape player in the barn shoveling the horseshit being like this I don't fit here.

I love that. I loved your Tony speech when you thanked your family and your brother, your parents like for like letting you just be you in like they really did that, right? You were you were exactly that singing and dressing up and getting to do stuff and everybody was like that's

that's our Jonathan. We have this VHS of my of me dressed as Mary Poppins. I was three and my mom and my dad like they I had lipstick and a carpet bag and a hat and a dress and we're on my grandfather's Menanite farm Wade and I'm like with the with the carpet bag like and in the background you can hear him going Mary. Oh Mary, not even really clocking the gay joke that he's making by calling me Mary but

which then became a very successful Broadway show. Exactly. And that's where that's where Cole got the idea.

Cole got the idea. Oh my god. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. And who was saying that? Was your dad saying that?

My Menanite grandfather preacher Wade. Oh, Wade. So incredible. They let me They 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 um Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz? I I did as well.

What age did you play Dorothy? At four. What did you bring to the role? How did you how did you see her?

At four. I brought a lot. There's also video of that. I brought a lot of um I brought a real like a I was screaming a lot.

Yeah. And it's a lot OF ME GOING LIKE CUZ OF THE TORNADO. YEAH. YEAH. YES. You were playing the tornado.

Yeah. I was like I was very tornado forward in my interpretation. Interesting. You So you were interested in the the like the trauma before the the yellow brick was

Yes. I held that like that I carried through. Yeah. M what was your on? Thank you for asking. I I was in fourth grade and I was really in I was in fourth grade a little older, a little wiser. I knew we were going to be okay, I think.

But I was really interested in the like the follow me aspect. I was very much like come on over here. Come on. Like very very into like

leading lady follow the like follow the yellow brick road. Like let's go. The the let's go of Dorothy. like the I love the skipping and the running around and just like the journey part. I was really into that part and the tornado I just um I just went internal. I just really small.

You were more 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 your 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.

[ __ ] Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my. Okay. But so then you're on the you're on the farm. You're scared of horses. You're singing.

What makes you 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. What?

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 listening to it in the bar. It smells like Yeah, it smells like like um like the pile of manure that we would make from the stall.

How did you get those records? Like who to who how did you find out about what was the what was the musical that made you fall in love? Was it the Hor is even funny or not? I can't believe I haven't thought about this Amy in so long. When you say record, I went to the Lancaster Public Library

and got the record LP. I mean, it's not like this was like the ' 60s. This was like 1992. But I I got the

the the LP record of Ethel Murman singing uh Annie Get Your Gun. Wow. And I would play the record of Annie Get Your Gun over and over again. And we had a record player in my house growing up and like a giant computer, you know, remember like the early computers? and like a hand thing that was like doing the video games and I would be playing a like very basic video game and blasting Ethel Murman singing. Um,

do you remember h what like a young how a young boy discovered Ethel Murman? It's amazing who how did you find out about her? They took us to see the high school play of Annie Get Your Gun

and I was like when it got to intermission Yeah. and they were like, "Okay, now we're going to go to the bathroom and then we're going to come back." I was like, "There's more

after that." There's I We're going to come back and it's going to happen again. There's going to be more story. I was so excited.

Did you ever go into New York when you were a kid and see a show? Yeah, I went. That was the And you get your gun moment happened when I was in like fourth grade and that's when I went to the library then and got the record and was obsessed. And then my my mom started taking me on bus trips to see Broadway shows and that was like fifth grade, sixth grade,

middle school. Then I started going What did you see back then? I saw Beauty and the Beast. I saw Greece. I saw Annie Get Your Gun with Bernardet Peters, which I was like losing my mind for. Um, I saw in high school I saw Thoroughly Modern Millie six times. Obsessed.

You were obsessed with Sutton Foster. Yeah. Obsessed. Obsessed with her. Yeah. What was it about her that you loved?

She would like to you. She on stage. Well, on stage is a couple of things. She would like be right here.

Mhm. There was a level of presence about her that was so magnetic and I couldn't

like stop looking at her when she wasn't speaking in scenes. I would be staring at Sutton because she felt so alive.

And then she had been the understudy in that show out of town and replaced and kind of was like pushed out into the front um to take on that role in which she was like 28 years old. And there was almost like like when it's really hot um when it's really hot and you're driving and you see those waves of heat coming off the road.

You know that when you're like in the car and you're like wo it's so hot that you can see the air is like

that was what was coming off of her body when I when I in my experience and my memory of watching her and

it was like heat was coming off of her. And you were still in high school. You would you did you know you were going to be an actor? Did you know did you have a sense that you were going to move to New York and be an actor at that point?

Yeah, once I was in high school there there was two community theaters in my hometown. The Fulton Theater and the Effort of Performing Arts Center. They're both still there.

And uh at the Fulton Theater, I was meeting actors that they hired from New York to play the leads.

Oh wow. And I would like I was obsessed with all of them. One of them is in Just in Time.

Whoa. this a woman named Terry Kelly who was the lead of the show in 2001 at the Fulton is now one of our amazing swings in just in time. So we have a full circle moment there. But

yeah, I I started to dream about moving to New York. That's when I learned that you could go to open calls

and I did that my senior year of high school. I went to like an open call for the Son of Music tour

and got it and went on the road and then moved to New York. And we were you you basically told your parents I'm not going to college. They really they said if you want to go to college we will find a way to pay for this for you

but it's so expensive and like are you sure you want to major in theater? Yeah cuz what's that going to get you at the end of 4 years all this money and I was like I it's my passion. It's what I want to do. And my dad I remember like a late night with my dad sitting in his chair and he was like if this is really what you want to do we'll figure it out. And I was like, "Okay, thanks, Dad." But then I went to New York and auditioned for this tour and got it. And I went on the road and I deferred my admission from college

and I made $10,000 in the year of working on this non-union tour. Carnegie Melon at that time was $40,000 a year. That's where I deferred my admission.

And I was like, I'll never be able to pay Mhm. this off. Mhm. And my parents were like, right,

take your money, go to New York. Yeah. See if it works out. If it doesn't work out,

come back and go to college for something else. So, that was the plan. And then 21 years old, you get nominated for a Tony. 21. I mean, Spring Awakening. I'm feeling Dorothy. I'M FEELING DOROTHY. I MEAN, that musical. I saw you in that musical. I saw The Ridge.

A Come on. So amazing. So I mean an original musical that's so successful that that age.

I mean I don't I guess my question to you is like now you've got some time right now and you and you did the documentary. You produced a documentary.

You really know your stuff, Amy. I try my best. Such a hard worker. But I mean you're you're like looping back around it now. So, you've got now you've been able to look back like looking back now at that at that boy.

Like what what do you take away from that moment now? Like with distance and time, what are you so grateful for about that moment?

Oh my god. Um it was like getting picked up and put somewhere else. It was like the claw coming and just like

that's a good way to think about it of it was like thoroughly modern Millie which I had seen six times. The director of Spring Awakening is Michael Mayer the director of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Wow.

Like I I I I it was it was a combination of feeling like I got picked up and put somewhere and I remember auditioning for it. And I I remember calling my dad on the phone the the night before the call back and saying, "I can't do this right now, but I know that I could do it if they gave me the chance." Like

why why the can't why why were you thinking you couldn't do it? cuz I knew I I I like my talent was not

I just like I I didn't really have the proper like gifts like this my singing was I didn't have my singing together but I had this like primal thing down in my like gut

that was like I have to play this role and they let me do it and it was like so then this thing in me got to like it's like those opportunities like you you get that opportunity And especially with theater because

it's almost religious because you're repeating and when you repeat things over and over again, it can change you from the inside out. Uh, and I've it like like um made me the the it like taught me how to act and taught me how to sing. And there was and I was in the closet during that whole show

and I had my roommate Cody that was my boyfriend. And when I left that show, I came out of the closet a month later because this this like rebel that was this character, this person that didn't care, didn't let the world define him. This was what I was playing. Like you said, um I'm a people pleaser. I'm a I'm like like prioritizing niceness, prioritizing like making sure everybody feels good.

Yeah. And coming out felt like that would create a dissonance and I it was really hard for me to do that.

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 you 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 a inner struggle when sometimes the struggle is really about how will other people change.

Like how will they feel? Yes. And and were your how how did your family feel? How did they how did were they surprised

cut to me screaming as a way was like well my men and her grandmother was like who is that little girl in the in the in the Wizard of Oz for they're like that was Jonathan. It was

were they were they surprised? I mean like my dad was surprised. My brother was surpris my I told my brother first

that's nice and he was like what he was surprised 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. Sure. And then ultimately it's been great.

Yeah. Amazing. So so much happening in your 20s. Like so much. And then you go on Glee, which is this insanely popular show

with your buddy Leah and like you just you're just you're just everything is happening really fast. Yeah,

it feels like that when I look at your stuff like that that your 20's is just like things are really moving and chugging along and you're just working like crazy and being like a New York kid.

Yeah. Yeah. Because you have a quality about you that's very young. You've been told that, I'm sure.

I feel it. Yeah. I feel eternally young in a certain way. I'm I'm very like excitable.

Do you have an age you feel like you are? Like do you know what I mean? Like that you relate to? Right now I feel about 15.

Yeah. I feel I You're just picking people up left and right. I'm picking you up drinking black.

I feel like I feel like we're on the like high school news. Like I did like the high school news.

Remember like Good morning everyone. It is December 16th. Very high school news. I'm having like a I'm having a hot flash right now.

Yeah. It's giving high school news station. Very high school. Yeah. We're on the morning announcements.

We would both of us would have definitely done morning announcements for my dream.

Sure. My dream. I would have had a big crush on you and people would like I would have been just following your Dorothy leads

and people would have been like Jonathan does not have a crush on you. Okay. You're not his type. Um like I don't know. I think I can get him. I think I can win him over.

Oh yeah. would have been totally us on the news. Then you're on Looking, which is this first show on HBO to feature a gay man as the lead. Is that real?

Is that real? Is that right? I don't know. I saw it on the internet, but who knows? We We don't have We don't have time to figure that out. But incredible. Like, but that's a big jump to be coming out in a few years later playing like a really fully realized, sophisticated single man looking for love. That's a big jump. Yeah, it was it was like I I um I'm really riding the wave here of of life and of of progress. And when they they initially like send me that audition, I said no. I felt um scared to be gay on a TV show. One thing to be out publicly and another thing to be like like eating ass on TV

only in film. It's like I'm gay and then and then it's like okay gruff like we get it like to see me in different positions and like

but I mean you actually bring up a really good you bring up a good point which is it's it's very hard to do intimate scenes no matter what to be

but it's funny cuz you didn't care. No, in Spring Awakening I was like let's go.

It's true. You already did that. You already ate ass. in a different way. In a different way, I felt a kind of like um safety with women

uh because they didn't feel like there was as much at stake and we could really like go for it. It felt like

it in some ways like it felt like back then like like what I wished I was like like wishing I wasn't gay, wishing I was straight and it was like this is who I wish I could be. It felt like dreaming it like like changing who I was like a fantasy of what I wished I could be.

But then when they send me these scripts and it's actually how I am, it's it then does become a little bit scary.

But I'd seen Andrew Hag when he became attached as the director. I'd seen his film Weekend at the IFC on 6th Avenue and I was like a wreck like crying in that movie theater because I'd never seen something that felt so real.

And so when he became attached as the director then I was like no-brainer. Yes, I want to do this. I want to work with this man. And that the way that he tells those stories meant meant so much to me in that movie and I want to do this with him. But at the audition, I was shaking and I felt sort of like sudden when I'm talking about the heat coming off of the body. My whole body went hot and I went I blush. I was like blushing and it was like spring awakening a another role that I was like almost like a ring of fire birth into a new version of self like therapy

like a sematic exorcism and you knew it was right because you were feeling it so big.

And they asked me to be in the in the the to be the grand marshall of the gay pride parade. I told my parents when I came out like 5 years before. I was like, "Hi. Uh, so Cody is not my roommate. That Cody's my boyfriend and I'm gay, but like I'm not going to like be in a parade." That's what I said when I came out. I was so still full of shame. I was like, I'm not but listen like I'm not holding the flag. I'm not like the cut scene eating ass on television. And then ultimately on the grand marshalling the the New York Pride parade like with a sash, a rainbow sash literally like elbow elbow wrist wrists.

And I felt scared. I I still felt scared back then. I I was like this feels like right. It feels like the right thing to do. But I'm LIKE

DOROTHY. You were like Dorothy screaming as I'm getting pushed. what doesn't this is an amazing theme I'm realizing about you which is really amazing is that you and I I think it may also just come from like familial unconditional love which I'm learning more and more like when artists have it they can take big chances you you took you take a lot of chances when you're like holy [ __ ]

yes you do you do it though you do it yes I think I'm a little drawn to it I must be like magnetized to it and like you said unconditional love I think you're Right. There's a little bit of a thing where like you I'll speak for myself too coming from that background where like I I don't want to bypass the fact that there's a safety element that I had in my in my youth that allows me to do that. Now,

talk about it, Amy. Because I like the I I I I think that there's you cannot discount that feeling that if you had a safe home

in your professional life or your creative life, you you just feel sometimes like emboldened to take these chances when they're given to you. And that's definitely what you did because it is

it is like you're just your career is just like, "Yeah, let's try this. Let's do this." And then looking happens and then it it gets cancelled. Bummer. But not really A BUMMER because all of a sudden, guess who's available for Hamilton? Guess who's tech a veil for Hamilton?

Jonathan Grath. Another fear factor thing though of like Brian Darcy James originated that role and then he his show something rotten got fasttracked to Broadway unexpected while they were in rehearsal for the public theater

and I get a text from Lynn who I had become friends with through the years being like hey Brian has to bail right after opening will you come in off Broadway and do this for 2 months

um for the last two months of the off Broadway run and he was like it's basically just one song and it's on a lot of moves and you and you'll be great. And I was like, "Okay."

Wow. And I and I said yes without hearing it, knowing anything about it. They sent me the song. I learned the song from like a piano thing. And then I I saw it and went in 2 days later. I was in LA at the time.

And so I didn't know I had to have a British accent. And did you ever did you ever

No, I'm kidding. Exactly. I mean, ACCENT IS PERFECT. NO, but yes. drag me. But you're right. No, I'm not dragging.

Not dragging. It's its own. It's its own like your accent is its own. It's delicious. When you say bake, you'll be bake. It's incredible.

Where did you come up with that accent? When I went on the first day off Broadway, it looked like I had won a contest to be in Hamilton because I had no sense of character. I had no They were like, "You have to do like a British accent." I was like, "But what?" Every like everyone's black. Like I don't like why I have to do a British accent.

No one. You're right. No one's historically accurate. Except I have to do a British accent. And then I saw it and I was like, "Oh, I get it. I'm like the one thing." Okay.

Inc. It's And your the choice of your voice is in your voice is incredible in it. I love your accent.

So then Thank you. So then I I like Pipa was like you could there's this the woman at Giuliard that can help you. So she's I was like what I but here's the lesson I learned too when I went on and I had no character at all. I had no accent. I was just trying to remember the words and the notes and then walk off. It was like they put me in a King thing and I walked out there and I did what I could remember and then they pulled me off.

But the song killed. I mean one could even say stole the show. But I I was like, I don't have to do anything. I came out here, I have no idea what I'm doing. Such a funny song. This writing

Yes. is so genius. And the the device, sorry to interrupt, the device of you being the lover, the the the jilted lover saying you'll be back is such a funny device for

It's so surprising. It is. It's so funny. It's like the first time people aren't rapping. So the all the white people in the audience are like, "Oh,

they're like, "Now this is how I remember this is how I remember Broadway." Right.

It's It's so true. There's It's And it is this great record scratch moment in the show, which you know, look, we don't we could talk forever about Hamilton. is beyond genius in every way. But it is you're it is so funny because it reminds you for just a second of how things used to be

vocally, lyrically, stylistically. Yes. On so many levels. Yes. It's hitting on so many levels. And that like lesson of like, oh, I have no idea what I'm doing, but this song is killing was then when I was when then for the next two months when I started to learn the the very specific upper whatever accent and I was watching all the also so different than Brian RC James. I was watching these clips of Barbara Streryand uh um from her TV special My Name is Barbara and I was watching her

come out on stage and like basically like [ __ ] herself with her own voice like like so so enjoy so small but like

enjoying every little I was like okay and then I started to build the character but it was I'd never built a character in front of an audience in a show before. Wow.

And so that was also a bit of like getting pushed out there and because the show is so great, I was able to just play catchup because you can be completely um unaware of what you're doing, but sing that song and it nails it.

And you're right. You were like seducing us. You're very seductive and you're very laconic as that character as like

talking about laconic. Tell me that. I believe it means sleepy like like just like not thirsty.

I have so many questions about backstage at Hamilton. Okay. Yeah. Number one, were you allowed to come late?

Did I come late or was I allowed to come? Because you were you had about an hour before you were on, right? I had no I was on in the first like 20 minutes, 25 minutes

and then you have a big break. Yeah. How long? An hour. Oh my god. So much time.

What do you do during that time? Such a good question. Okay, so Bobby Darren, I am off stage for 45 seconds in the in the whatever two plus hour thing.

And this is my preferred I love being out there. When we walked into the dressing room at the Richard Rogers in tech for Hamilton and Lynn and I were sharing a dressing room space, I was like whatever. Adena Menzel had done the show right before if then. And I was my dressing room was Adena's waiting room and it was like a little closet and I was like, "Oh, this is where I live.

I'm on stage for 9 minutes, but this is where I live." And I started to get claustrophobic when I walked in of like, "What am I going to do? back here. Um, and I read so many books.

You couldn't leave the building. Leave. No, cuz you're in the white wig. And the

You never ran out to get something and took the wig off. I never ran out to get something.

A good boy. I That's so like because those you did a lot of performances. Yeah.

And I used to think about you backstage and be like, what are what's he doing back there? I ended up really learning how to embrace well I would have visitations from the cast so that there would be like nightly visitations which was great and kind of like

free hang time which was it was like we I could have like done this and like we could have done

announcements done morning announcements. It really feels like we're on the morning announcements. Uh

but then I started reading all the books that I wanted to read. I started to just like boom boom boom boom knock through them all and it became a very productive time.

Cool. Very cool. Yeah. And then you had to come back out. Mhm. So that must have also been like Did you ever miss a

queue? It's hard. I can't believe I never missed a queue. I know cuz it's hard when you I mean I know you work with total professionals who will make sure that you don't miss a queue. I'm sure like all the stage managers are like, "Um, yeah, you didn't miss a queue cuz I told you." Exactly.

10 minutes, baby. Exactly. But the but the when you have that long stretch, it's hard to get. It's just like having one or two lines in a sketch, like you really can screw it up.

Yeah. Right. It's like a little sprint. And I also find always having one or two lines to me is the hardest thing. Do you find that? Like coming in killing and leaving cold. Coming in cold.

Yes. I would have five Altoids in my mouth when I came on stage because it was like to open up my

Is that what they open up your Yeah, that's I've now moved on to um sugarfree black cherry halls. I have one of those in my mouth for the entire show since I did Little Shop in 2019. That's my new thing. But in um

You're not afraid it's going to pop out or shoot out? You know, it's never shot out until like 5 days ago.

It did. popped out during Splishplash and I was like I lost a tooth. Uh but the it bounced into the audience.

That's a really good Broadway story. It popped out during Splishplash and it's like thank god it was just your

bang bang. I saw the whole gang. It came right out and went. It's like why did he get fired? It popped out during splish splash and it wasn't supposed to.

I mean there popped it out. Yeah, he popped it out during split. I mean, I'm projecting because I used I used to have a ton I don't know if you did you ever have nightmares when have you ever had Broadway nightmares where you miss you're late or um like a stress dream.

Oh yeah, I used to have stress dreams all the time that there was a there was like a staircase at SNL where you had to kind of run down to get to to the studio that I was running down and I was hearing my cue. Oh, that's going to give me nightmares tonight.

Yeah, but that I was missing a queue. Missing a queue. And those those used to give me like to And to add to it, everyone I cared about and whose opinion I cared about would be on the stairs being like

you're late. You missed it. We're not mad. We're just like surprised. Yeah. I thought we Yeah.

Just can't believe Amy like of all people missed the queue. Yeah. I guess it's the disrespect for me. Oh,

and then let's talk about Merrily if we can. Of course, that experience must have been just so fulfilling in every way because to your point of like being turning 40,

the show is all about the beginnings and middle and ends of things and how life feels like it's this shuffle of all those things and

the friendships we make along the way. And here you are like now, you know, almost a 20-year vet in the business when you're doing that show.

And I know how much Sonheim means to you. Yeah. Smells like horse. Yeah. He smells like horse. He helps you like

Yeah. When you were scared of those horses, he probably has written a song about horses. I'm sure there's

a reference to horse racing in Bobby and Jackie and Jack, one of the songs in Meril Roll. There's a famous horse that's quoted in that song. Um, but yeah, the it was so crazy because I I moved to New York in 2004. We did that show in 2024, so exactly 20 years to the year.

Um, it's about it takes place exactly over 20 years and it's about looking back. Um, in Maria Freriedman, our incredible director's vision and staging of the show at the very beginning, Dan comes out over here. How did you get to be here? What was the moment? Lindsay comes out over here, over the shoulders of Frank, the character I played. How did you get to be here? What was the moment in the exact positions 15 years earlier? John Gallagher Jr. stood here as a ghost in Spring Awakening. And Liam Michelle stood stood over this shoulder.

Lindsay Menddees, LM, Liam Michelle, LM, the same initials of the actresses standing on this side of the thing. Talk about sense memory. I had crazy things come up on that one.

There would be moments where I because also it was the most I think well he said son it was the most autobiographical thing he ever wrote. He said that about the song Opening Doors, but I have a feeling from all the people that came through to see the show that we could talk to after and the people that knew him and how Prince and Mary Rogers that this was about the his him and his two friends and these relationships that fracture over time

and the heartbreak and the disappointment. And I would be saying a line. I would be saying a line to Lindsay on stage. And I would say it and it would come out and it would feel like Frank talking to the character of Mary. It would feel like Steve talking to Mary Rogers. It would feel like Jonathan talking to Lindsay in this like crazy like therapeutic exorcism. Yeah. It was wild.

So cool. Yeah. Amazing. And then to like have that be so celebrated for it to really feel like people were ready for it when because for people who don't know this the the history of that show is it really was ahead of its time and it wasn't received the way it was it should have been received and it kind of like needed to just marinate for some reason and much like

the show itself like it needs time. So, the show needed time and then it came back out and it was celebrated and the way it was celebrated, it must have been so so satisfying. It must have just been so satisfying.

It was every dream I ever had come true. And then we made this movie of it. Yes.

And that I went on Monday night last week to go see it just in a normal movie theater and I was like weeping just like I cannot believe this. Cannot believe how Maria the director directed it so beautifully for film and and it's like the hybrid between a like filming of a theater piece and a movie like what she made is so unique and special and feeling the audience in the movie theater get the story and the idea that this was his big flop of his career and apparently his big heartbreak Steven Sanheim and Hal Prince it was the end for many years of their really fruitful over a decade long collaboration that this show is like captured in this way and is playing in movie theaters is like you can't it's so surreal.

Well, it's kind of like why longevity is the goal in work and in life, you know, knock on wood, right? Which is like if you stick around long enough, like things come back.

Yes. And I You're exactly right. And I and this the ethos too of like if you make something well

Mhm. in the moment, the faith that what you did in that moment to make it well and then push that boat out and then whatever that boat's journey is is that boat's journey, but that you put the time and attention to detail and the care in the thing that you were making. Merrily is the perfect example of they put their hearts and souls into that and they pushed out that boat and it was not received. But because it was crafted so well and such a beautiful piece, 40 years later,

you're getting this boat is coming back around and because it was because the people when they made it in the present moment took such care,

it can exist and have this life. It gives me such faith in in when we're creating things

that when if we do it with the proper intention and with everything we've got then you just set it free and if it hits

today we have people from like looking we were canceled after two seasons people still come up to me and say like this show changed my life. There's like a

if you if you do something with your whole heart it can continue to resonate and stand the test of time.

So cool. It's like sending out a missive to space and just like it taking that many light years to get there.

Yeah. Lyrically, what is a lyric for you that like still bubbles in your head that you had to sing? And what is one that was a hard one to get? Like what was one that always felt like a bit of a hurdle and what was one that just tickles you still like in your brain? It's from the song growing up which is which which the character of Frank sings. So old friends

don't you see we can have it all. Moving on. Getting out of the past. This is the one for me. You ready?

Yeah. Solving dreams. Not just trusting them. Taking dreams. Readjusting them. Growing up. growing up. This idea that you can have these dreams as a kid and it's not something that you either

make happen or you repress, but that you take this dream and you figure out what it was and what it still means to you. Solving dreams, not just trusting them, taking dreams, readjusting them, growing up.

Yeah. Come on. Come on. That's major. It's so good. It's so good. It's about because there's like an element of like being in relationship to the past but not having it hold you down.

Yes. It would bring up something for me every single night different. It's so good. And it's also also kind of the theme of what we've been talking about a little bit today. The idea of if you're open and flexible to readjustment, that is what like it's the best you can hope for.

Yes. Because nothing happens the way it's supposed to ever. No. And you have to only just kind of like stay steady and flexible for what's coming.

Yes. It's such a paradox. Yeah. It's so true. And what I love about that too is is the friendship in that show is like helps us solve the dream part. Like the solving of the dream like it's almost like it can't be done alone.

Yes. And when I when I wanted to talk to you today, like one of the things that I wanted to talk to you today really is about the friendships you have made in the work that you do. I know it's really important to you like you have really made lifelong friends.

Yeah. The people that you share the stage with, like they share your life like they're, you know, you do not leave productions and say like, "Peace out. See you later." Or like you're deep friends with people for life that you've worked with. It's really amazing. And it

Yes. It's interesting because I feel like a little bit that starts from a place of like when I was closeted and and in high school and in community theater. I wonder if you feel this way too about writing and performing like

you you go there because you need that intimacy and you can't get it in your real life for whatever reason. And there's a and there's a like

deep primal need to go and like connect with people. And so that part of me is still alive. Like I can't even though I think I'm I came out of the closet. I'm I'm better adjusted in my life. But when I go to work, I don't go to work. I go to live.

And that and I I look at the people that I'm with and it's deep and I and it's it's like it's it's uh it's powerful and it's and it's profound.

Yeah. Lindsay, Daniel, Leah, and can you tell me can you tell me about Gavin Creel, who I never got to meet. Will you tell me just something about him

because I love hearing about him. Oh my god. Yeah. Um, well, he changed my life. He changed my life. Um, because Well, okay. Oh my god. I'm going to tell a memory that I have about him. Please, for people who don't know, Gavin's an amazing

performer who passed a few years ago, two year, a year ago, a year, a month or two ago now.

A little over a year ago. An incredibly talented performer and a dear, dear, dear friend of yours.

Yeah. Yeah. I think he would appreciate the story that I'm about to tell. Great.

Gavin, if you don't know Gavin, you have to Google Gavin. Gavin like did a lot of amazing things and is a profound amazing person. My the first time I ever met Gavin, I also dated Gavin. We had a whole relationship. He's like what gave me the confidence to come out of the closet. He changed my life. But the first time I ever met him

was uh at the stage door of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which he was in opposite Sutton. He played the role of Jimmy. And I would wait at the stage door. Uh I was in high school and the the actors would come out and I was like I would I would I was like crazy. I I like I I just couldn't believe they were real people. Like to see them would give me energy

and like get me like amped. Um, I have a crazy story about Matthew Brderick that we could share at some other time, but um, meeting him at the stage door, but um, Gavin comes out and signs the program and I was like, whoa. And then he goes back into the stage door. And then Mark Kudes, who played Trevor Graden, comes out and he's signing my program and Gavin comes back out the stage door with an apple in his mouth and he walks past Mark Kudish, grabs his ass and Mark goes like "Oh." And looks as Gavin is walking by and Gavin just looks at him and winks with the apple still in his mouth.

Oh my god, so hot. And I was like, I have got to BE IN THE THEATER. What is this? What is happening here? Where this this beautiful man with an apple in his mouth is like is like tapping the ass of this other man and they're like, but it's very free and it doesn't necessarily feel sexual, but there's a subtext of sexualness. And like I was like, I've got to get into this world. That was the first time I like met Gavin.

Just like what an entrance. What a what a what a walk-on from him. Totally. And isn't it amazing when people come into your life like they just are in your simulation, but you don't know how yet.

Yes. Yes. They just walk in and it's like cue the walk-on and it's like in 5 years you two are going to be together, babe. And like who knew?

Crazy. And I it was like primal. I still can see it the whole thing playing out.

Okay. Um, thank you for telling me that story and and for reminding us about Kevin. And um, so speaking of um, of friendships that you made and relationships that you made, we spoke to Gracie Lawrence today.

A new friend in a way, although she said she feels like she's known you forever.

Oh my god. And she um, you and her were in your show together. You played Bobby Darren. She played Connie Francis. you had to really connect. She's incredibly talented. Like she told a story about meeting you for the first time. You know what? And it was really like an apple in the mouth story. Like you came into the room and she felt this energy like he's he's I mean because that's what I love about you is you are a STAR and I love stars and don't you're a good boy. Hey, you're a nice boy, but you're a star.

Don't let anyone tell you different. So, Oh, you're tickling me. You are a star. You're a star. So, you had a just a moment of like right and she has that moment with you and she and so she had a question she wanted me to ask you which I it's very sweet question and also you know she was like get ready for some amazing eye contact. She said, "Your eye contact is really great." And it is really great. And I thought I would be overwhelmed by it, but I'm not at all.

You're also Your eye contact is also very I didn't want to say anything, but I also have

And we'll be right back. And make sure you guys that you get your your yearbook. The yearbooks are being passed out today. So, but I I don't mind eye contact from the right person. Um, but here but here's Gracie's question and it was really cute question and she said like you know she said she she's like I've never seen him nervous or anxious or rattled and she said or frazzled you know is the word I think she used and she said you know he has like a Yodaike calm and um she said why why aren't you more scared of things um have you always been this way and what if anything scares you now little [ __ ] is what is what she said is what she said. How she said it.

She said you little [ __ ] You little [ __ ] And it's funny cuz Gracie to me like I love I love her so much. I love her so [ __ ] hard. And to me like she has a kind of sociopathic calm when she's on stage and her like like her I saw her like at Lawrence at Radio City and she's like She's like singing. She's a She's Tina Turner basically. She's a rock star. The first thing that's coming up for me why I giggle a little bit is like my dad also has fainting goats

on his on his farm on the horse farm that freeze and fall over. Yes. And there is something and I feel like it's it's like it's kind of a I've used it to my advantage.

When something scary happens, I go dead calm. Ooh. something scary for me happens.

Yes. I start to just like talk really slowly and I bring it all the way down and I just kind of I'm like, "Okay." And like for example, I got sick for the first time two weeks ago doing the show. It was like the 250 whatever performance.

You've done that many performances? 10. And we did the Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning.

Oh, that's right. On a Thursday. You guys got to stop doing. I'm I'm sorry. That's too much.

And he was like, "This I need to talk to Broadway's agent and manager because I when I see you guys out there in the morning, I'm like, Broadway,

please file a complaint." Broadway, no more of that. I've been like I'm sorry. It's too much work.

It was fun. I was I was into it. I'm going to say that. What are you going to say? No. I'm like a little Let's go.

It's morning time. Okay. Sorry. Well, but then look what happened. I was like, "Let's go. I want to sing live. Let's go." We got there. It was freezing. Julia the one of the sirens that looked like she was Beyonce. The wind like the wind was coming at us. So we were LIKE and the next day

and the next day we had a matinea on the Friday cuz it's Thanksgiving week and I was I woke up and I was like huh?

Oh no. I was like I think I might have to call out of the show for the first time. But it started to come back

250. And then I say to our music director, "This is going to be raw. I think this might be rock and roll Bobby Darren for the weekend." Just, you know, cuz it's pretty raw. And then I get out there and I'm kind of feeling myself. I was like, "Okay, it's kind of coming back." And then I was like, "This song, this could be the start of something big." I was like, "This could be the star." And just sand like in the mummy came out of my throat all over. And I was like, And then I was like, I'm Jonathan. I'll be your Bobby Darren today. And I was like, my voice gone

gone. And I get to answer Gracie question to answer Gracie's question. Completely calm.

Yeah. And I I didn't I was just like, "Okay, and now I'm going to see if it comes back. I'm going to sing the next song." Couldn't sing it.

Do the next song. Couldn't sing it. Did the next song. couldn't sing it. The the sirens, the the girls in the show were like

and the band's just like and the band is like, "Gr, what's happening?" And then I was like, "I'm going to wait till I'm alone on stage cuz I don't want to put any of the rest of my castmates through this."

And 20 minutes in, I'm alone and I was like, "Hi everyone, this is Jonathan." And I start the show as myself. So it was kind of like they thought I was part of the show and I was like, "I'm Jonathan." And um I really wanted to turn it out for you today because it's Thanksgiving week and I know it's really an important time. Um but I've lost my voice and I'm going to hurt myself if I continue. Matthew Magnus is going to come on stage right now and be Bobby Darren and he's amazing and the show is amazing and please stay and enjoy the rest of Just in Time without me. and I walked off stage and it was sort of like nightmares like you're talking about like

the idea of losing your voice in a musical on Broadway could be like a nightmare

but I felt I went I was in shock but also may I just say wisdom experience no it just experience like experience sometimes can just you know it's just like you've just done the show a lot you've been on stage a lot for someone else that could have been truly it would have like could have taken them down in a way where they'd never recover. And instead, you're like, "This is one night in 250 and I'm going to be back here again and I know how this goes. I'm going to take care of my cast." Like, that's what it like. It's a very leader mentality.

Thank you. And I think you should sue NBC and you should sue Radio City and you should never ever

sue Macy's. Sue Macy's. Sue all of those balloons. Outrageous. They make you do that. Okay. Um, so you have to go you have to go to your show, but I have one very last question for you, which is what what are you watching, listening to? You said you love your YouTube.

What do you Where do you go right now to laugh? I mean, obviously you're laughing on stage or having a good time at night, but what what's your laughy place?

Yeah. Yeah. What do you It's YouTube. I am looking at like YouTube. I'm not on any social media.

Incredible. And the one like internet thing that I struggle with an addiction to is YouTube. And I'm like scrolling and I'm laughing. And even like back in the days of Spring Awakening, I had the like

even back then. Yeah. The cast would come over. I mean, there's this is like maybe 16 years ago. Like they would come over and I would I would be the one. This was like before the iPhone or it was like when the iPhone came out. But weirdly, even though I'm not on any social media, I was the one that like knew the YouTubes that would make us laugh.

Who was making what was making you laugh back then? Like, um, have you seen Gay Everest?

Okay, first of all, let's just prepare ourselves before we watch this. A news blooper

is the best. My favorite. Me, too. I could watch and have watched compilations of news bloopers forever.

Wait, me too. You know who else loves a news blooper? name drop Paul Rudd who was on the show and we watched a lot of news bloopers and he loves a news blooper. Okay,

that they are to me because there's like the pretense of seriousness. It's literally us right now us right now.

It's really us like on live. Yes, we would be in a This is us in a morning show. Hold it together. Yes.

Um, Liz Kakowski, a writer in SNL and Emily Spivey, used to always laugh and talk about like wanting to write a morning show where they're violently hung over and trying to hold it together and that.

Wait, but I feel like there's also a story somewhere in like we are we were a small town news show

and like the the gay guy and the female best friend and we now we're on the local news like we've worked our way up to like the big leagues like WG is the one in Lancaster. Yeah.

And then WG A L. That's great. It's so good. D. Wait, why did I never put together? It's W gal.

W gal. That's great. WG. And then they have a huge falling out and now we're on this like the idea of like holding the tension,

right? Suddenly he's gay or like move over morning show. Right after the break, we're going to interview Eric W. mayor who climbed the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, but he's gay. I mean, he's gay. Excuse me. He's blind.

It's her. You know what it is? It's like but but he's gay. I mean, he's gay. Excuse me. I mean, he's gay. Excuse me. That's my favorite part.

But, yeah, you're right. He's gay. I mean, he's gay. Excuse me. He's blind. Which begs the question, it's like a Sonheim lyric, which begs the question, is he gay?

So, there's another video on there of him reacting and being like, what? He's not gay. I've looked it up.

Okay. Okay. Because why does she say it twice? But if I could say something now, I'd love to like publicly ask a question.

Yeah, we could. You know what? Actually, no one's ever publicly asked a question after being asked a question. So, now's the time.

I'd like to publicly ask a question, which is another YouTube I love, which is the grape lady.

Yeah. Insane. I want to know if she's okay. Okay. So, if someone could get let us know if the lady who was stomping grapes, who fell down and really and really It sounds like really hurt.

She took a hard hope she's okay. Well, cow. We're going to make sure she is. And they're laughing.

Yeah. She took a hard fall off that. Yeah. Hope she's okay. Um Jonathan Grath, I loved our time together.

Same. Friends for life. I know. Friends for life. Let's go. At the very least, co-host for our morning announcements.

Oh, thank you so much, Jonathan Gra. That was so fun. We knew it would be. What a hang. What a doll. In love. What a dream boat. Um, so, um, for this Polar Plunge, I guess I just wanted to talk about Sonheim for a second. Um, because he is so incredible and his work is so incredible and there's a lot of people that come through this this studio talking about him. And um I would just like to say that the thing I love the most about Steven Sonheim is how his music feels like um a song rolling down a hill. Like it's it's never really starting. It's always kind of going, but it's not. It's just kind of talking and then it's going and the song is starting and it's starting this way and it's going over here. But don't forget it started over there and it's about to start but it's not starting yet and we're going over.

So I just I love um I love the rhythm of it and it's so hard to sing and I'm so glad I don't have to sing it. So Steven Sonheim, thank you uh for your work and your genius. Thank you Jonathan Gra for joining us. Thank you for listening always to Good Hang. Have a great day, week, month, and see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman, and me, Amy Polar. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat Spelain, Kaia McMullen, and Aia Xanerys.

For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Levelvel, and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. really good. Hey

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler"?

Amy Poehler (Host), Jonathan Groff (Guest), Gracie Lawrence (Guest), John Stewart (Guest), Abby Jacobson (Guest).

What is "Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler" about?

In this engaging conversation, Jonathan Groff shares insights on topics ranging from his experiences in Broadway, particularly his role in "Just in Time," to the importance of friendships formed through work. Additionally, guest Gracie Lawrence, who performed alongside Groff, contributes her perspective while balancing her own Broadway rehearsals.

What is mentioned in this Good Hang with Amy Poehler episode?

15 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Jonathan Grath, Just in Time, Spring Awakening, Gracie Lawrence, Hamilton, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Jonathan Groff | Good Hang with Amy Poehler"?

The episode runs 1 h 23 min; the transcript is about 15,252 words in 369 timestamped sections.

More from Good Hang with Amy Poehler

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 12, 2026.