Video: Jonathan Groff Talks MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG on TODAY WITH HODA & JENNA

Jonathan Groff, who is currently playing the role of Franklin Shepard in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, visited TODAY with Hoda and Jenna on Monday.

In the interview, Groff discussed some of the prominent people who have come to see the show, and his preference in knowing who will be attending the performance beforehand.

"I find it inspiring. I learned it actually from Lin-Manuel Miranda on Hamilton. He would love to know who was there and he would allow it to inspire his performance."

He went on to talk about performing Spring Awakening and its role in his life, before coming out of the closet. "It was like therapy, like self-expression. It was a way to express all of my emotions in a way that I wasn't in my life."

Groff noted the difference in his approach and how he has changed as a performer: "Now 20 years later, doing Merrily We Roll Along, it's like I'm bringing myself into my work and there's a vulnerabilty and honesty and it's like I used the experience of acting no longer to escape, but to investigate and to be more myself than escaping myself"

Merrily We Roll Along is running on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre through July 7, 2024.

Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive, cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs. Directed by Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart.