BWW Exclusive: Jonathan Groff on SPRING AWAKENING, HAMILTON & the Secrets Behind HBO's LOOKING

By WAYMAN WONG

Jonathan Groff recently appeared at the historic Curran Theatre in San Francisco and wowed the crowd by ''Looking'' back at his stage and screen career.

The Tony nominee dished about upcoming sex scenes on his HBO show, ''Looking,'' and divulged the secret circumstances behind his coming out. He also revealed what he thinks of the Broadway revival of ''Spring Awakening,'' and spilled the beans on his favorite celebrity visitor to ''Hamilton.''

Groff, currently on leave from ''Hamilton,'' is in San Francisco shooting the film finale to ''Looking,'' his GLAAD-nominated comedy-drama about gay friends by the bay. But he spent his night-off (Nov. 7) being interviewed onstage at the Curran by its editor-at-large, Kevin Sessums.

Accompanied by musical director Billy Philadelphia, the Theater World Award winner also crooned three of his signature tunes: ''I Got Lost in His Arms'' from ''Annie Get Your Gun''; ''Left Behind'' from ''Spring Awakening,'' and ''I'd Rather Be Sailing'' from ''A New Brain.''

Here are highlights from Groff's more notable quotes of the night.

On shooting the finale of ''Looking'': ''There's a lot of sex. I don't want to say who it was with, but I just shot the most intense sex scene I've ever done. One of the cool things about 'Looking' is that after the first season, a lot of people - shockingly, liberal, open artists in New York and L.A. - said they didn't know that gay people could have sex while facing each other. The show illuminated intimacy in sex [between men] without being porny or salacious. Those scenes felt very real and true to life. I was excited to do them. ... I feel like a song from 'Oklahoma!': 'I'm just a girl who can't say no.' (Laughs.) ... Somehow, I've found myself in these projects where I'm literally exposed, and it's felt comfortable and meaningful, so I've said yes. There's something special about 'Looking.' Not a day has gone by that I haven't wept. It's been very emotional [but] great that we get to say goodbye to San Francisco and our characters.''

On how ''Spring Awakening'' changed him: ''When I moved to New York, I wanted to be in the ensemble of 'Hairspray.' That was my goal. 'Thoroughly Modern Millie.' I loved traditional musical comedy. That was my passion. Then 'Spring Awakening' happened, and it took that rock 'n' roll and pop music to change gears for me. Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater and Michael Mayer, who developed that show, did a real solid for kids. Every time I've seen 'Spring Awakening' anywhere, the young people have risen to the material and been f-ing incredible. It takes them seriously and gives them material they can sink their teeth into. After 'Spring Awakening,' I wanted to do things that are really challenging and outside my comfort zone; things that scare me a little and make me grow.''

On coming out: ''When I was doing 'Spring Awakening,' I was deep in the closet. Hard-core. I had a boyfriend who was my 'roommate.' And we kept two bedrooms [in case] family or visitors came over. My castmates, even Lea [Michele], knew what was going on, but we never talked about it. I was only gay between the four walls of that apartment. I was very compartmentalized. I kept a journal about my acting, but never wrote about my personal life. Ever. What if someone else read it? I didn't want anyone to know. In 'Spring Awakening,' I played Melchoir, who was rebellious, uber-sexual and confident. It was the opposite of who I was. When I left the show, I went to Italy on vacation. My boyfriend [Cody] was doing a show out of town, so I went by myself. And in Florence, I saw [Michelangelo's] statue of David, and I burst into tears. It was so beautiful. The next day, I journaled that 'I can't believe I've never journaled about Cody, or written his name.' Then I had this revelation: I have to come out. And I'm not in love with Cody anymore. After that, I came out to my family and friends and got my own place. I didn't realize how suffocating being in the closet was all those years. Now that I'm out, it's liberating to talk about it.''

On learning to be out and proud: ''When I came out, I had come to terms with it, but I wasn't thrilled. If I could snap my fingers or meet some girl who made me feel I wasn't gay, that would be awesome. I didn't feel proud. I told my mom: 'I'm gay, but I'm not gonna lead a parade.' And then last year, I was asked to be one of the grand marshals of the Gay Pride parade in New York. (Laughs.) I said, okay, sure. But when I got to the parade, I was so moved and blown away by the importance and the power of expressing yourself, by all the joyfulness and celebration. I'm really proud to be gay.''

On loving Irving Berlin's ''Annie Get Your Gun'': ''That was the first show I saw in fourth grade. It was a high school production. Omigod! It was intermission, and I thought it was over. They told me there was more. Later, I got the [cast album] at the library and recorded it on cassette. While I played video games, I'd be listening to Ethel Merman. When I was developing a cabaret act [many years later], I wanted to sing something from 'Annie Get Your Gun.' And 'I Got Lost in His Arms' is such a phenomenal song. Singing it as a man, it was revelatory. It felt like a great explanation of what it means to be gay.''

On catching Deaf West's revival of ''Spring Awakening'': It was unbelievable. A lot of us from the original show came opening night. Michael Arden directed it, and Michael had come to see our show six times when it was at the Atlantic. And he was Lea's date to the Tonys. The fact that he directed [the revival] was so meaningful. I helped them with the Kickstarter campaign [to produce it] in L.A., but I hadn't seen it. So to actually see it [in New York] was so cool and moving. And the guy who plays Melchoir [Austin P. McKenzie] is amazing. I was so ready to be like, 'Alright, dude.' But he was phenomenal. We had lunch a couple of weeks ago. He's a star. He [auditioned] because he knows sign language, not because he thought he'd play Melchoir. He's such a beautiful person.''

On meeting celebrities at ''Hamilton'': ''The backstage area, where the dressing rooms are, is so small, so everyone goes on the stage [at the Richard Rodgers]. The cast is very chatty and excitable. But there are only two times when there was complete silence, and that was for President Obama and Beyoncé. Michelle Obama also came and was so generous. She hugged every single person: the crew, the cast, the band. She said 'Hamilton' was 'the greatest piece of art' she had ever seen. ... My favorite celebrity has been Cate Blanchett. I worship her. I wake up in the morning and think about her. And when I met her, I told her that. And she was like, ''Okay.'' ... Madonna was such a bummer. She was on her iPad all the time or three-fourths of it. ... It's crazy [that 'Hamilton' has such broad appeal]. Dick Cheney apparently loved it, according to his wife. And my Mennonite preacher-uncle said it's the best thing since 'Fiddler on the Roof.' 'Hamilton' is just a genius piece of writing. And playing King George III is a good gig. [But] Angelica [Schuyler in 'Hamilton'] is my dream role. I am so obsessed with her!''