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;">Groff became famous for originating 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[4] Other Broadway
credits include the 2005 musical, In My Life. Jonathan 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 for his performance in
Curtains.[5] production earlier during the summer
of 2006.
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] Henry was killed off
the soap on May 8, 2007 after having a drug-induced heart attack while driving a
car and subsequently crashing.[citation needed]
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!. After the success of Spring Awakening,
Jonathan made a visit to The Ephrata Performing Arts Center to reunite with some
of his old cast members during a special event entitled "An Evening With
Jonathan Groff". Jonathan also performed in numerous productions at The Fulton Opera
House in Lancaster, PA where he accumulated a substantial
amount of acting experience.
Some earlier jobs of his included being a waiter at The Chelsea Grill in Hell's Kitchen,[7] a ride operator at
Dutch
Wonderland,[8] and a counselor at a
theater camp in York, Pennsylvania where he taught acting to 11 and 12 year
olds.[9]
Jonathan left Spring Awakening on May 18, 2008. Part of
his decision to leave was due to his starring role as Claude in the Shakespeare in the Park production of
Hair, which ran
July 22 through August 31. Jonathan's last performance with the production was
August 16, and he decided not to join the Broadway revival of Hair[citation needed], starring
much of the Public Theater cast from its run at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
Jonathan has recently played Woodstock organizer Michael
Lang in acclaimed director Ang
Lee's film, Taking Woodstock. Filming began in late
August 2008, and the film was released on August 28, 2009.
Jonathan was recently in the Off-Broadway production of Prayer
for My Enemy a new play by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss, Light in the Piazza) about the
consequences the Iraq war has had on an American family. The show co-stars Tony
winners Victoria Clark and Michelle Pawk. It played in the fall of 2008 at
the acclaimed Off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons.[10]
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.[11] In a controversial essay for Newsweek, critic Ramin Satoodeh opined 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").[12] 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.[13]
In August 2010 he will make his West End debut opposite Simon Russell
Beale in Deathtrap,[14] at the Noel Coward
Theatre in a production directed by Matthew Warchus. He also has two movies to be
released later this year: Robert Redford's The Conspirator[15] and Jeff Lipsky's Twelve Thirty.[16]
| Jonathan Groff | |
|---|---|
 Groff outside the Delacorte Theater, August 19, 2009 | |
| Born | March 26, 1985 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |