Fresh off winning a Tony Award in 2024 for his performance in Merrily We Roll Along, Jonathan Groff is now back on Broadway in Just In Time at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Starring as legendary singer Bobby Darin, Groff is joined by Erika Henningsen (Mean Girls, Hazbin Hotel) and Gracie Lawrence (The band Lawrence, The Sex Lives of College Girls), who are playing the roles of Sandra Dee and Connie Francis, respectively, in the Alex Timbers-directed production.
We caught up with the company at a press event ahead of the show’s Broadway premiere to talk about Groff’s leading performance, how the Circle in the Square is being transformed for this unique musical experience, and what fans should be excited to see.
What is Just in Time about?
Jonathan Groff: Just in Time is a celebration of the life of the supernova talent that was Bobby Darin. We’re telling the story of his life kind of in the context of a nightclub setting.
I’m starting the show as myself and forming a direct connection with anyone that shows up on those nights at that show. And then we’re experiencing the story of Bobby Darin’s life together. We’ve got songs from the great American songbook. We’ve got the pop hits from the fifties and sixties. We’ve got folk songs from the seventies. We’ve got an amazing live band on stage, a la the Copa. It’s gonna be lit.
How will the theatre be transformed for Just in Time?
Jonathan Groff: Alex Timbers, the incredible visionary director that brought you Here Lies Love, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and Peter and the Starcatcher is turning the Circle in the Square into a nightclub.
Alex Timbers: The Circle in the Square is a really unique Broadway theatre, and it’s the only one that’s not a proscenium theatre. So, you are certainly going to be certainly in the center of the action. There’s gonna be a stage on one side, a stage on the other, cabaret seating in the middle, and the action will take place in the middle of that seating, in the aisles, everywhere. And so I think you’re gonna get real that sense of immediacy and the intimacy that Bobby Darin tried to foster in his life, that’s the whole idea behind it.
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What are you most excited for your fans to see in Just in Time?
Jonathan Groff: The greatest relationship Bobby Darin ever had was his relationship between him and the audience. Him and the fans essentially. So, the notion for me as a performer is really exciting because we want the show itself, Just in Time to feel like a gift and a love letter to the audience.
Bobby Darin had a song called ‘The Curtain Falls’. It was one of his signature numbers that at the end of it, he says, “if I had this to do again, I would spend it with you again.” And that’s, I think, a reflection of his passion and love for the audience, which I really connect to.
Gracie Lawrence: I’m really excited for any Lawrence fans that come to the show to maybe learn about Connie Francis. And, you know, I’ve spent so much time in my life doing research on women in music that came before me and who I admire and aspire to be like, and Connie Francis is high on that list. So, I’m excited for anyone who might be a fan of my music and my brother’s music to kind of learn about this woman who was in a totally different era of the music industry than the one I’m in, but who, kind of paved the way for a lot of the musical choices that I make in the band. And the poise and grace and strength she had is something I draw a lot of inspiration from.
Erika Henningsen: [The Hazbin Hotel fans] are incredible and they’ve been so kind and welcoming and they love music. They love music. And I’m excited for them to see something live. And this is so alive. Like, it is electric.
I just think that the element of live music is something that we will always watch. And I’m excited for those animation fans who have been behind the screen watching to come and be in the show with us. And to meet them afterwards, like, I love getting to cross all these different sectors of the entertainment world.
What should Jonathan Groff fans look forward to seeing from him in Just in Time?
Alex Timbers: What we tried to do was we thought about all the amazing things he did in Merrily We Roll Along, and we said, “what hasn’t he done?” We don’t see a lot of dancing in that. So here he’s just dancing. He’s playing the drums, he’s doing all sorts of things and so, I think if you love him and all his other performances you’re gonna still see him flexing and doing all sorts of extraordinary other things. He also doesn’t leave the stage for the first forty minutes of the show. I mean, it’s a really virtuosic, extraordinary performance.
Gracie Lawrence: Jonathan is such a versatile performer. He can be really funny and charismatic and charming and then in, like, the same moment be incredibly heartbreaking. And I’m really excited for his fans to see the journey that this character takes over the course of the show and how many different sides of Bobby, but also Jonathan, that you’re going to be able to see because I know I don’t wanna speak for him, but I know so much of his process is bringing himself to this performance. And I think it’s just like a beautiful performance.
Just In Time is now playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre.