Check out the outtakes of Jonathan, Lauren Pritchard and Steven Sater discussing New Book “A Purple Summer: Notes on the Lyrics of Spring Awakening”:
Jonathan is in the documentary called The Standbys which will be premiering at Seattle International Film Festival next month. Jonathan did an interview in the documentary sharing his memories of being standby/understudy:
Riggs said “The Standbys” will be shown at the Seattle International Film Festival in June, and she is seeking a distributor.
The documentary tells the stories of Merwin Foard, standby for star Nathan Lane in the now-closed “The Addams Family”; Ben Crawford, standby and eventual replacement for Brian d’Arcy James as the green ogre in “Shrek The Musical”; and Aléna Watters, who briefly was standby for the role of Anita in the recent revival of “West Side Story” and was a swing for Bette Midler’s backup singers in her Las Vegas show.
The film depicts their highs and lows as they win and lose jobs as well as their interactions with family, friends and “significant others.”
There also are interviews with performers such as David Hyde Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, Cheyenne Jackson and Jonathan Groff, who share their memories of working as standbys or understudys.
Foard, who also was a standby in “Sweeney Todd” and “Kiss Me Kate” and has performed in 10 other Broadway shows, said standbys must do 99% of their preparation on their own.
The film shows him rehearsing lines with his young daughter and follows him on a Sunday when he learns that he would be playing the lead role in “The Addams Family” on Broadway that afternoon. “The Standbys” includes interviews with audience members outside the theater before and after that performance.
Jonathan will be returning in next week’s 2 hour episode of Glee. He will be appearing in 3×21 “Nationals”:
Make sure to buy tickets to see Jonathan in Mark Taper Forum’s theatre production of Red running from August 1-September 9. Tweet
Check out this new video of Jonathan and Lauren Pritchard recall the first day of Spring Awakening:
Playwrights Horizons has announced details for its online auction, to be held in conjunction with its annual spring gala, entitled The Highest Standard, at 583 Park Avenue on Monday, June 11 beginning at 6:45pm. As previously reported, the event will honor James Lapine, Bruce Norris, Stephen Sondheim, Alfred Uhry, Wendy Wasserstein and Doug Wright.
Celebrity events being auctioned include tickets to see Red at Mark Taper Forum and meet Jonathan Groff; dinner with Book of Mormon co-creator Robert Lopez before attending a performance of the show and going for a backstage tour with Michael Potts; two tickets to see Jay-Z perform at the opening of the Barclays Center with a backstage tour on September 28; a backstage tour with Michael Urie as well as tickets to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; dinner with Clybourne Park playwright Bruce Norris and director Pam MacKinnon and backstage tour with cast member Jeremy Shamos; and a backstage visit with Kelli O’Hara in conjunction with a performance of Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Additional auction items include a double date with Molly Ranson to Playwrights’ new musical Far From Heaven in the 2012-2013 season; two tickets to Godspell and drinks with director Danny Goldstein and cast member Nick Blaemire; two tickets to Other Desert Cities and drinks with Jon Robin Baitz; and a backstage visit with Celia Keenan-Bolger after a performance of Peter and the Starcatcher.
Bids will start being accepted beginning Sunday, April 29 at 10am online.
For a full list of auction items including some one-of-a-kind experiences and various stage and screen memorabilia, and to make a bid, visit www.biddingforgood.com/playwrightshorizons.
Let’s hope Jonathan’s scenes in this episode will be longer than his first. They are filming the National episode right now. Lea tweeted:
I’m so so happy because Mr Jonathan Groff is here on set shooting with us today!
Just a friendly reminder to watch Jonathan in tonight’s episode of Glee! Jesse St. James is finally back! Tweet
