Jonathan Groff, who starred on Broadway in “Spring Awakening,” is now better known for his recurring role as Jesse St. James on “Glee.”

Now he’s returned to his theatrical roots, currently appearing onstage in the new Off-Broadway drama “The Submission.”

How did you get involved with “The Submission”? I moved out to L.A. a couple months ago. Then, in June, I was sent the script and offered the part straight up. I didn’t have to audition or anything.

Was it the first time you didn’t have to audition for a role? Yeah, that never happened to me before. I later found out that the playwright [Jeff Talbott] had seen me on Broadway and actually wrote the play with my voice in his mind. That’s the first time anyone’s said that to me, too.

What do you think of your West Village venue, the Lucille Lortel Theatre? I love, love, love that space and that neighborhood. All of us in the cast have been talking about how lucky we feel to be in that specific theater.

What’s “The Submission” about? I play this playwright who writes about an alcoholic black mother and her son. And he thinks no one will take it seriously if they find out it’s written by a young white guy. So he submits it to the Humana Festival under a black woman’s name, and they decide to produce it.

As an actor, have you ever felt that kind of desperation to succeed? Absolutely. When I was 19 and moved to New York, I’d wake up at 5 a.m. with my tap shoes and go to all the open calls.

Do you see yourself doing more theater after this? It all depends — I’m just going where the work is.

Will you be back on “Glee” this season? I don’t know. Everything I’ve done with “Glee” has been really last-minute. But I have a blast on the show.

Do you regret your decision to not do “Hair” on Broadway after its Central Park premiere? No. I saw it like four times on Broadway, and I was so happy for how successful it was. I spent that year doing Off-Broadway work — I was 23 or 24, hadn’t gone to college, and wanted to push some different buttons and experience different things as an actor.

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Yesterday was the official opening night for The Submission. Check out all the pics of Jonathan at the after party and curtain call.

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Check out Vogue’s interview with Jonathan about The Submission:

When I meet Jonathan Groff in front of the Starbucks on Sheridan Square, he is nursing a chai latte in a paper cup on which someone has scrawled “Happy Man.” It turns out that the barista at Starbucks had written it to identify Groff, and the phrase seems to accurately capture the boyishly handsome, 26-year-old actor’s current mood. He’s getting set to open at the Lucille Lortel Theatre a few blocks away in the new ensemble comic drama The Submission and, as he tells me, “I’m always at my happiest when I’m doing a play in New York.” Groff first caught New York’s attention as a soulful, angst-ridden, and hormonally super-charged teenager in the 2006 rock musical Spring Awakening and a soulful, angst-ridden, and hormonally super-charged hippie in the hit revival of Hair. Since then, among other things, he’s appeared with his Spring Awakening cast-mate Lea Michele for a season and a half on Glee and acted opposite Simon Russell Beale in a London revival of Deathtrap.

In The Submission, the playwrighting debut of the actor Jeff Talbott, Groff plays Danny, a white playwright who submits his gritty drama about an African-American family to a theater festival under the female pen name Shaleeha G’ntamobi. When the play is accepted, he hires Emilie, an out-of-work African-American actress (Rutina Wesley), to pass herself off as the author, wreaking havoc on Danny’s relationships with his live-in boyfriend, Pete (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and his best friend, Trevor (Will Rogers). Danny and Emilie find themselves at odds with each other—hidden prejudices are exposed, and questions about race, sexuality, and artistic ownership are raised. Sitting on a bench in Sheridan Square Park next to a pair of George Segal sculptures of same-sex couples, Groff and I discuss the play, which, under the customarily precise direction of Walter Bobbie, opens tonight.

There’s a lot going on in The Submission. What was it that attracted you?
I was sent the play in June, and it was the first time I’d ever been offered a part without having to audition first, so right away I was like, “Wow, this is pretty cool and wouldn’t it be great if I loved it.” And I did love it. It’s such an intense piece of work, filled with so many controversial ideas, and I was really conflicted about whether or not I liked the character that I would be playing—and all of that really attracted me. I was surprised that they offered it to me, though, because it gets pretty dark and nasty, and that’s something I’ve never gotten to play onstage before. Right after I said yes, the playwright emailed me and said that he’d written it with me in mind.

You seem like such a likeable guy, but your character isn’t always, as you said, that easy to like. As an actor, that dichotomy must be very appealing.
I’d just seen Good People, which I loved, and during all the scenes between Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan, I really felt torn, like, “Oh, I’m on her side. No, now I’m on his side. Wait, I think I’m actually on her side.” And it made me so excited—I was on the edge of my seat—and I thought, God, I would really love to do a play where I get to experience that as an actor and feel what it’s like to walk the tightrope between likeable and unlikeable. It’s been really interesting in previews. Some nights, an off-color thing I say will get a huge laugh; some nights, it’ll get some nervous titters; and some nights . . . (Groff makes a “wind blowing through the open prairie” sound and laughs). It really feels like I’m walking the line between “am I taking it too far?” and “am I not pushing it far enough?” and it’s a really exhilarating experience.
(more…)

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Check out Broadway.com’s Beyond Broadway: The Submission video here. Tonight is opening night! Check out some of the reviews so far:

THR – The Submission: Theater Review
Variety – The Submission
New York Times – He’s Written a Play. Who’s the Author?
New York Mag – The Submission Is Just More Straight Talk About Racism — From White Guys
TheatreMania – The Submission
Entertainment Weekly – The SubmissionTweet

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Jonathan presented at 27th Annual Artios Awards yesterday! Check out the pics:

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The Submission officially opens at MCC Theatre today! Check out the performance highlights video from Broadway World!Tweet

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MCC Theater talks to cast members Jonathan and Rutina as well as playwright Jeff Talbott and director Walter Bobbie about “The Submission”. Officially opening Tuesday September 27.

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Jonathan attended 25th Annual Broadway Flea Market today! Check out the pics so far!

Too cute how Nick Adams RT this tweet

RT @BwayNews I just saw Jonathan Groff hug @TheNickAdams – my heart melted instantaneously #bwayflea2011

4 hours ago

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I’ve added HQ Promotional Stills of Jonathan in “The Submission”.

Gallery Link:
HQ: Promotional StillsTweet

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Rutina Wesley talks about working with Jonathan Groff in The Submission:

How did The Submission cross your radar?
I was sent the script and was immediately intrigued. It’s got so much fire and asks such interesting questions. Who has ownership over stories these days? As an actor I want to be inspired and challenged mentally and physically, and this play calls for all of these things, especially playing a character like Emilie Martin who has so many textures and layers. I can’t even put into words how happy I am to be here. I’ve been dying to do a play. The last time I was on stage was when I did In Darfur at the Public in 2007, and ever since I’ve been saying, “Play, please?” I’m honored to come back, especially in a new play. I get to put my stamp on it, and I’m excited and nervous about that.

Why nervous?
I sort of wanted to see, do I still have it? Am I “too TV” now? Will they be able to hear me? Do I still remember all the stuff I went to school for? Once I got into that rehearsal room, it all came rushing back. I was like, OK, this is how you sit and stay focused for five hours. This is how you play and you create, and working with Eddie [Kaye Thomas], Jonathan and Will [Rogers] has been like a dream. I love those boys. It’s kind of fabulous to get to be the only girl. I get treated like a little princess.

Is it hard being so brutal with the famously nice Jonathan Groff?
It is! He’s so genuinely nice it’s really hard to tear each other apart in the way that we do. We kind of have to look at each other and say, “Love you!” But we all get along and trust each other, so we can actually go there and it’s OK. It’s a safe world. Everyone’s on the same page, we all support each other and we all have each other’s back.

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