Jonathan Groff left scarred in Glee accident
Glee heart-throb Jonathan Groff discovered the dangerous side of singing on the top-rated television show.
The actor still has a 5in scar on his left arm inflicted during the staging of a stunning but energetic dance number for the final episode of Glee’s first season, which will be shown in the UK on Channel 4 and E4 later this month.
Groff rolled up his sleeve and showed me the injury that ran almost from his elbow to his shoulder.
‘I was singing the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody, dancers were flying all over the place and a girl’s heel got stuck into me and drew blood,’ he told me before joking: ‘I think at that very moment of contact I reached my highest notes.
‘I was lucky, though. Some had bruises, there was a broken limb or two, others drew blood. It was like a scene from Gladiator,’ the 25-year-old added with a laugh, as we lunched at the West End fish and seafood restaurant J Sheekey.
The actor took a liking to my mushy peas and I was happy to share this most British delicacy with him.
Groff joined Glee midway through the season as Jesse St James, a student from rival singing group Vocal Adrenaline.
For a little while, St James dated the school singing club’s diva Rachel, played by Groff’s real-life best friend Lea Michele.
He was making a brief visit to London to make domestic arrangements for his six-month run opposite Simon Russell Beale, Claire Skinner and Terry Beaver in a revival of Ira Levin’s shrewd thriller Deathtrap, which has been reworked by director Matthew Warchus.
Anna Massey was to have been in it, but has had to withdraw for health reasons The play, marking Groff ’s West End debut, will begin performances at the Noel Coward Theatre, London, on August 21, with an official opening night on September 7.
He is well known in New York because of an awardwinning-performance in the Broadway run of the musical Spring Awakening, but Glee has made him a huge star.
During his trip to London, Groff queued for return tickets to see Beale and Fiona Shaw in the now legendary production of London Assurance at the National Theatre and visited him backstage.
He was struck by how Beale ran his dressing room as a thespian surgery of sorts, helping out co-stars with text and music for auditions.
The following morning Beale took his American colleague on a tour of London. ‘His advice was invaluble and I feel I’ve picked up a few of the tricks you need about living in London,’ Groff said.
One of them was to find an apartment a mere five-minute walk from the Noel Coward. Groff wants to fill it with his own nick-nacks plus he wants to get DVDs of the work his co-stars have done, particularly Skinner’s hit BBC sitcom Outnumbered.
Deathtrap producers David Pugh and Dafyyd Rogers have even promised to buy him an allregions DVD player. Groff said that although his friend Lea will be busy working on the second season of Glee, she has promised him she will carve out time to see him at the Noel Coward.
‘We see everything that the other has done,’ Groff declared. During his time in London he also wants to explore the possibility of singing in a concert or a charity show.
The box office for Ira Levin’s Deathtrap opens on Monday to the general public.
However, Daily Mail readers can book from now on 0844 482 5143. Tickets run from £19.50 to £49.50 with no booking fee.
Source via ohnotheydidnt