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Spring (Awakening) Fever: An Interview with Jonathan Groff

Lately, it's been Spring (Awakening) Fever on Broadway with audiences, fans and celebrities coming to see the new show – not to mention that it has received the best reviews of any musical so far for the 2006/2007 theatre season. In a companion piece to Lea Michele's interview, I checked in with another of the show's talented young stars – Jonathan Groff, who plays the role of Melchior in Spring Awakening.

Ok, let's start at the beginning – where were you born and raised?

I was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania - in Amish Country!

And where did you go to school?

I went to a local high school in Lancaster. Not much I can say about it, it was pretty much your typical public high school back in Pennsylvania.

Did you do any theatre there?

Actually, there was a great community theatre that I did a lot of theatre in, and there's a regional theatre called the Fulton Opera House in downtown Lancaster that I also worked a lot in. I basically grew up in that theatre. When I wasn't doing shows, I was working on crew there and then I of course did all my High School plays, which were great.

Which ones were those?

I did How to Succeed in Business..., Kiss Me Kate, Godspell and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown in high school all of which were fun.

Did you get to spend time in New York also? What was the first Broadway show that you saw?

I think the first Broadway show that I saw was Beauty and the Beast, and that was in 5^th or 6^th grade. Our school would take bus trips up to see shows and so it was on one of their bus trips that I got to see Beauty and the Beast.

Did you see lots of shows growing up?

Fortunately I did! Lancaster's only two and a half hours away from the city (New York), and there's always a bus trip going up. Later in High School, when I could drive up with my friends I would. We'd make a day trip out of it and hang out in the city and then see a show. So I was real lucky that I got to grow up so close to the city.

Do you have any personal favorites or shows that inspired you to make this your career?

While I was in High School I saw Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie and she was the one that was most inspiring to me for sure. I saw Millie 6 times in a span of two years or so.

Did you keep going back because of her?

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Robert Diamond founded BroadwayWorld.com in 2003, which has now become the largest theatre web site in the world. He also serves as the site's Editor-in-Chief, covering Broadway and beyond, with specific local coverage for 100 cities in the United States, 30 countries worldwide and 15 other related areas of entertainment - including dance, opera, fashion, concerts, comedy, films, television and more.

The 2001 Syracuse University graduate (School of Information Studies) is also the owner of Wisdom Digital Media, an award-winning leading design company for entertainment and technology web sites. In his previous life, he held an executive position for the world's leading publisher of technology magazines, web sites and conferences and, as a result, was named among the "Top thirty magazine industry executives under the age of 30" by FOLIO Magazine.

Diamond got his start in the entertainment field, accidentally, when he created the 'official web site' (while in college) for Michael Crawford, the popular actor and original Tony and Olivier Award-winning star of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. (He still blames Crawford - and credits him - for anything that goes particularly right or wrong during an average day.)

As a respected member of the Broadway and theatre community, Diamond also served as Lead Producer for a series of sold-out shows using the BroadwayWorld.com 'brand' for a set of 'Standing Ovations' concerts, which also branched out into titles that included Holiday Shows and even more specific concerts like 'From Stage to Screen and Back Again' in tandem with publishers and movie studios. All proceeds were in turn donated to Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, the industry's leader in aid for performers in need.

Robert lives in Manhattan with his wife and two dogs, growing the business and getting little sleep. In addition, you can usually find him in a theatre many nights a week.

Robert's very popular blog, 'The Broadway Pulse' appears daily on BroadwayWorld.com and he also writes weekly about theatre for the USA Network's Character Approved blog.

In December of last year, Diamond was one of 5 Syracuse University Alumni, all having achieved success in the world of start-ups, business growth and venture capital, participating on a panel addressing young alumni who are currently pursuing their dreams of running their own business and experiencing the day to day challenges of a startup. It is part of the university's new Student Accelerator Program, for which Rob was recommended by Syracuse University's i-School.

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