Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Drew Groff March 26, 1985 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St. James in the musical television series Glee.
Early life
Groff was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to a Methodist mother – Julie, a gym teacher – and Mennonite father – Jim, a harness horse trainer and driver. He has one older brother, David. Of his upbringing, he has said "My mother’s side of the family is Methodist, which is how I was raised. It was conservative in that I had strong values—sitting down and eating with the family every day, listening to authority and going to church every week and having perfect attendance at Sunday school. But at the same time, my parents always encouraged my brother and me to be happy with what we were doing. My parents were athletes in high school; my mom and my dad were the stars of the basketball team, but they never pushed my brother and me to be anything we didn’t want to be."[1] He graduated from Conestoga Valley High School in 2003 and was going to attend Pennsylvania State University for a BFA in Musical Theatre until he booked his first professional gig in New York city, the musical In My Life.[2]
Career
Groff booked his first acting job in 2005 as a swing/dance captain for the musical "In My Life" by Joseph Brooks. The musical was about a boy with Tourette's Syndrome, and Groff understudied the lead part. He never performed in the role. [2]
Groff originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening. He played the role from the musical's Broadway debut on December 10, 2006[3] through May 18, 2008. He also played the same role in the original Off Broadway production earlier during the summer of 2006.[4] Groff also was in the National Tour of The Sound of Music as Rolf, and appeared in Fame at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts. In April 2007, he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his role in Spring Awakening. In May 2007, he was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance, with the award eventually going to David Hyde Pierce.[5]
He played the recurring role of Henry Mackler on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. His storyline about a school shooting on the long-running soap opera was nixed due to the Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007, and he is no longer on the show.[6]
Before performing on the Broadway stage, Jonathan was a performer at The Ephrata Performing Arts Center in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. There he portrayed such characters as Edgar in Bat Boy: The Musical and Ugly in Honk!.
Groff played as Claude in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair, which ran July 22 through August 31, 2008. He also appeared as Michael Lang in Ang Lee's major motion picture, Taking Woodstock.
Groff has appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Prayer for My Enemy by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss, Light in the Piazza) about the consequences the Iraq war has had on an American family.[7]
In August 2009, Groff performed The Bacchae as Dionysus as a part of the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.
He was guest starring on Glee as Jesse St. James, the male lead of rival glee club, Vocal Adrenaline for eight of the back nine episodes. He also serves as a love interest for his former Spring Awakening co-star Lea Michele's character, Rachel Berry.[8] Newsweek critic Ramin Satoodeh stated that Groff was unconvincing in the role of the straight Jesse ("he seems more like your average theater queen, a better romantic match for Kurt than Rachel").[9] Groff's performance was defended by Glee creator Ryan Murphy and guest star Kristin Chenoweth, both of whom described Satoodeh's essay as homophobic; it was also condemned by GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios.[10][11]
In August 2010 he made his West End debut in Deathtrap,[12] at the Noel Coward Theatre in a production directed by Matthew Warchus.
Groff returned to Glee at the end of the second season, where his character tried to ask Rachel for forgiveness. He returned to the show on May 10 to finish out the remainder of the second season.[13] Despite leaving the show for the first part of its third season, Groff returned to Glee in Saturday Night Glee-ver as the coach of his former Glee club, Vocal Adrenaline.
Personal life
Groff told Broadway.com during the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., that he is "gay and proud".[14][15] He guest starred in the back nine episodes of the first season of Glee along with Spring Awakening co-star Lea Michele. During his role with Lea Michele in Spring Awakening, they became best friends. He introduced Michele to Glee creator Ryan Murphy prior to the show's start.[citation needed]
Credits
- Broadway
- Spring Awakening as Melchior Gabor (2006–2008)
- West End
- Deathtrap as Clifford Anderson (2010)
- Off-Broadway
- The Submission as Danny Larsen (2011)
- The Singing Forest as Gray Korankyi/Walter Rieman (2009)
- Prayer for My Enemy as Billy (2008)
- Hair - Shakespeare in the Park Revival as Claude (2008)
- Spring Awakening as Melchior Gabor (2006)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | One Life to Live | Henry Mackler | 11 episodes |
| 2008 | Pretty Handsome | Patrick Fitzpayne | Pilot |
| 2009 | Taking Woodstock | Michael Lang | |
| 2009–present | Glee | Jesse St. James | Recurring; 11 episodes |
| 2010 | West End | Simon Russell | |
| 2010 | The Conspirator | Louis Weichmann | |
| 2010 | Twelve Thirty | Jeff | |
| 2011 | Glee Encore | Jesse St. James | |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Mr. Jimmy Fellner | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Boss | Ian Todd |
Discography
Cast recordings
- Spring Awakening (2006)
- Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers (2010)
- Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna (2010)
- Glee: The Music, Volume 6 (2011)
Featured singles
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [16] |
AUS [17] |
CAN [18] |
IRL [19] |
UK [20][21] | |||
| "Highway to Hell" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 2010 | — | — | 88 | — | 89 | Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One |
| "Run Joey Run" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 61 | 64 | 45 | 12 | 27 | ||
| "Another One Bites the Dust" (Glee Cast) | 79 | — | 53 | 41 | 101 | ||
| "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Glee Cast) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hello" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 35 | 79 | 37 | 31 | 35 | Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers | |
| "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 16 | 28 | 17 | 3 | 9 | ||
| "Like a Virgin" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 87 | 99 | 83 | 47 | 58 | Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna | |
| "Like a Prayer" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff) | 27 | 28 | 27 | 2 | 16 | ||
| "Rolling in the Deep" (Glee Cast featuring Jonathan Groff)[22] | 2011 | 29[23] | — | — | — | — | Glee: The Music, Volume 6 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||
Other appearances
- In February 2011, Jonathan appeared in two promotional videos for his brother Dave's commercial kitchen supply site, WEBstaurantstore.com. The first was one promoting the company's Facebook fanpage and contests for its customers. The second was a special Valentine's Day video in which he made a martini and promoted products sold on the site. The martini he made was a special recipe created especially for Jonathan called the "She Loves Me Martini", for the video by Dee Brun, "The Cocktail Deeva".[24][25][26]
Awards and nominations
Nominations
- Drama League Awards: Distinguished Performance 2007
- Drama Desk Awards:: Outstanding Actor in a Musical 2007
- Tony Awards: Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical 2007
Awards
- Theatre World Award, 2007
- Obie Award, 2009 (for both "Prayer for the Enemy" and "Singing Forest")
- WhatsOnStage London Newcomer of the Year Award, 2011 (for "Deathtrap")
References
- ^ Hoof Beats Magazine, July 2007: "Profile Jim and Jonathan Groff
- ^ a b "Jonathan Groff". YouTube. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ Jonathan Groff at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Lortel Archives—The Internet Off-Broadway Database
- ^ The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards – Official Website
- ^ One Life To Live' Pulls Hostage Plot After Virginia Tech Killings
- ^ "Playwrights Horizons". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ Ross, Dalton (2009-10-19). "'Glee' Exclusive: 'Spring Awakening' star Jonathan Groff to join the show | Inside TV | EW.com". Hollywoodinsider.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ Satoodeh, Ramin (April 26, 2010). "Straight Jacket". Newsweek. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ EW staff (May 11, 2010). "'Glee' creator Ryan Murphy pushes for 'Newsweek' boycott". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ Villoreal, Yvonne (May 12, 2010). "Newsweek-gate: GLAAD weighs in". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ Baz Bamigboye (2010-04-16). "Glee heart-throb Jonathan Groff is to be star in the West End". The Daily Mail.
- ^ Ward, Kate. "He's back: Jonathan Groff returning to 'Glee'!" EW.com, March 30, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ Jensen, Michael (2009-10-19). "Tony Award Nominee Jonathan Groff has Most Low-key Coming Out Ever". AfterElton.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ Setoodeh, Ramin (2010-05-09). "Straight Jacket". The Newsweek/Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ Peak positions for featured singles in the United States:
- "Hello": "Hot 100: Week of May 01, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 1, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- "Like a Virgin", "Like a Prayer", and "Total Eclipse of the Heart": "Glee Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "Run Joey Run": "Hot 100: Week of May 22, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 22, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- "Another One Bites the Dust": "Hot 100: Week of June 19, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 19, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- ^ Peak positions for featured singles in Australia:
- "Hello": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 10 May 2010" (PDF) (1054). Pandora Archive. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "Like a Virgin": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 17 May 2010" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- "Like a Prayer" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart": "Discography Glee Cast". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "Run Joey Run": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 31 May 2010" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. May 31, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- "Hello": "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 10 May 2010" (PDF) (1054). Pandora Archive. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ Peak positions for featured singles in Canada"
- "Highway to Hell": "Canadian Hot 100: Week of May 01, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 1, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- "Like a Virgin", "Like a Prayer", and "Total Eclipse of the Heart": "Glee Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "Run Joey Run": "Canadian Hot 100: Week of May 22, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 22, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- "Another One Bites the Dust": "Canadian Hot 100: Week of June 19, 2010 (Biggest Jump)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 19, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- ^ "Discography Glee Cast". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats – Glee Cast". Chart Stats. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart for the week ending 19 June 2010". ChartsPlus (460). Liverpool: UKChartsPlus: 1–4. June 16, 2010.
- ^ "Rolling In The Deep (Glee Cast Version featuring Jonathan Groff)". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ "Rolling in the Deep (Glee Cast Version featuring Jonathan Groff)". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Jonathan Groff Says Hello To WEBstaurant Store Fans". YouTube. 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Rub VODKA on it". Cocktail Deeva. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
External links
