Jonathan Groff‘s star turn as Franklin Shepard in the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” netted him the prize for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical at the 77th Annual Tony Awards.
The Lancaster, Pa., native had been nominated twice before for 2007’s “Spring Awakening” and 2016’s “Hamilton,” where he originated the role of King George III in the Lin-Manuel Miranda juggernaut.
“Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” star Eddie Redmayne, Dorian Harewood (from “The Notebook”), Brian D’Arcy James (of “Days of Wine and Roses”) and “The Outsiders” lead Brody Grant were also nominated.
“I grew up in a house surrounded by corn fields in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,” Groff began his acceptance speech as he fought back tears. He praised his parents, Jim and Julie, and his brother David, whom he said was sitting in the audience, for their support and acceptance: “Thank you for letting me dress up like Mary Poppins when I was 3, thank you for letting me act out scenes from ‘I Love Lucy’ on my 10th birthday, thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without me feeling weird about it.”
“Even if they didn’t always understand me, my family knew the life-saving power of fanning the flames of a young person’s passion without judgment,” he continued. “I walk through life with an open heart because you let me know that I could.”
Groff also shared that he moved to New York City in 2004 and got a job waiting tables and volunteered at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
“All I wanted to be was a part of this community,” adding that the support of that community gave him the strength to come out of the closet at age 23.
Known for his screen roles in “Glee,” “Frozen” and the 2014 film adaptation of “The Normal Heart,” Groff starred in the 2022 New York Theatre Workshop revival of “Merrily We Roll Along,” before the Maria Friedman-helmed production transferred to Broadway’s Hudson Theatre.