Jonathan Groff Set for 'Curran: Under Construction' Series - 'Groundbreakers With Kevin Sessums'

Carole Shorenstein Hays announced today that for the next subject of Groundbreakers, the Curran's Editor-at-Large Kevin Sessums will sit down with Tony Award-nominated actor Jonathan Groff, who is currently starring in the smash hit musical Hamilton, for a special conversation and performance. Tickets for this event, taking place on stage at the Curran (445 Geary Street) at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, can but purchased for $25 via Eventbrite by visiting www.SFCURRAN.com. Groundbreakers with Kevin Sessums is Curran: Under Construction's recently announced occasional on-stage series of conversation and performance featuring today's most compelling thought leaders and artists.

"I am thrilled to have Jonathan as my next guest in my Groundbreakers series at the Curran," said Kevin Sessums. "I've known Jon since his days starring in Spring Awakening on Broadway and have loved watching his career take off ever since - whether it was his guest shots on Glee, appearing as Claude in Hair at the Delacorte in Central Park and on the West End in London in Deathtrap, starring in HBO's Looking or now stopping the show each night in Hamilton when he walks on the stage as King George III. Even my inner schoolgirl got all giddy when I heard his voice as Kristoff in the Disney musical film Frozen. We're planning to roll a piano onstage at the Curran during our conversation. Get ready to get giddy."

Jonathan Groff first burst into the public consciousness in 2006 with his Tony nominated star turn in the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening. Now back on Broadway in the generation-defining sensation Hamilton, Groff has taken a short leave-of-absence from that show to shoot the HBO film that will serve as the series finale of the Bay Area-set series "Looking," in which he starred. Included among the cultural juggernauts to which Groff has lent his talents are Frozen, "Glee," HBO's "The Normal Heart," and American Sniper. Sessums will sit down with Groff to discuss the intricacies of his boundary-crossing career in film, television, and theater.

Kevin Sessums began his career as Executive Editor for Andy Warhol's Interview magazine before serving as contributing editor at Vanity Fair for fourteen years where he was also the Fanfair Editor. He has been a contributing editor for Allure and Parade magazines and his work has appeared in Marie Claire, Elle, Playboy, Out, and Travel+Leisure. For several years, he was a regular contributor to The Daily Beast. His Facebook page has a large and loyal following. Sessums's two memoirs, Mississippi Sissy and I Left It on the Mountain, have both been New York Times bestsellers. He lives at the top of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco with his dogs, Archie and Teddy.

"Curran: Under Construction" features an array of wildly inventive and diverse works, each with ties to the Bay Area. This ground-breaking festival began with The Events (September 23 - 26) and The Object Lesson (October 14-18) and continues this Friday with Ghost Quartet (October 23-25 & 28-31), Steve Cuiffo is Lenny Bruce (November 19-21), Stew - Notes of a Native Song (December 3-5), Story Pirates' Greatest Hits Show (December 12-13 & 19-20) and Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (January 17-31). Tickets for "Curran: Under Construction" offerings are priced from $25 to $50 and can be purchased by exclusively via Eventbrite by visiting SFCURRAN.COM, where you can also find all the latest information about "Curran: Under Construction" and plans for the new Curran theatre.

Built in 1922, the Curran has housed some of the most important productions in theater history and has maintained a reputation over the course of its life as one of the most prestigious live entertainment venues in North America. Now, nearly 100 years after it welcomed its first Bay Area audiences, the Curran is undergoing a major restoration and renovation. Under the curation of eight-time Tony Award winner Carole Shorenstein Hays, the Curran will reopen as a 1,600 seat venue in late 2016 with the new mission. Inspired by the unique entrepreneurial spirit of the Bay Area, as well as Ms. Shorenstein Hays's lifelong passion for creatively daring, cutting-edge material, the Curran will provide a home for a handpicked selection of the most exciting stage works being conceived and created anywhere in the world.

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