“Fun backstage after the lovely, rousing performance tonight of A New Brain, the William Finn musical re-imagined a bit for the Encores! series at City Center. The whole cast was great but the production itself took its lead from the show's lead himself, Jonathan Groff, who gave a performance of such ease yet very moment was full. Grace and ease are becoming his signatures in all his performances. Of course, I adore the guy personally so that colors my reaction a bit about him. But as I told him tonight afterward, I've ceased being nervous for him before a show in case he might be bad because he just never is.
Here I am with my San Francisco friend Bobby Conte Thornton who has just moved to New York after graduating from Michigan in its musical theatre department. I took him tonight because I wanted him to meet Jon. Bobby got his equity card a couple of summers ago playing Danny Zucko at Paper Mill Playhouse out in Jersey and has already been hired as the young lead in the sequel to Lend Me a Tenor that is having a kind of out of town try-out at Cleveland Playhouse and then The McCarter Theatre in Princeton before perhaps coming into NYC. Also his cabaret act he did last month at the Fairmont in SF has gotten the go-ahead from 54 Below here in NYC for the fall. The kid has only been here for six weeks. That's how talented he is.
I took Jon a copy of the new summer issue of FourTwoNine. He's the cover story. It was the first time he'd seen it.
And I love this photo of Jon and Bobby. Someday folks will look at that photo and marvel maybe that this was the night Auntie Mame introduced these two. I hope one day they're in a show together.
And then the final one is of Anna Gasteyer and me. She played Jon's mother in the production tonight and brought the house down more than once. If you've never seen her in a musical role or in her cabaret act, you're missing out.
Steven Pasquale was backstage tonight too. I should have taken a photo of him for all you The Good Wife fans. I told him I listen to his soaring numbers from the musical Bridges of Madison County over and over on a loop with Crosby Stills Nash and Young's Four Way Street when I'm cleaning my apartment. He liked the company. I'm serious. I think I hear his voice more than any other's in my apartment so it was nice to get to meet him and tell him that. He's starring in The WIld Parry at Encores! in July.
A fun New York City small-town night.” (x)