As the extensive wreckage in our Twitter feed last night will testify, we attended a Spring Awakening cast reunion last night at Atlantic Theater. It was pretty fun. Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. and Lea Michele were all there, but only one of them was wearing an awesome black hat. Also in attendance: Remy Zaken, Lauren Pritchard, Brian Charles Johnson, Lilli Cooper, Gideon Glick, Phoebe Strole, and some other folks. The event was a kind of kickoff for a series called ATCUncovered, a program of backstage events and Q&As with artists performing at Atlantic.
The general gist of last night? It wasn’t open to the public. We were the only people in the room that no one knew, which was kind of awkward, but also kind of fun. And Jonathan Groff nearly died when his shoelace got caught on a metal step.
Oh yeah, a few more things about the marquee attendees, before we recount for you the tale of Jonathan’s valiant rescue: Jonathan’s very tall and handsome, he was wearing tennis shoes and a hoodie, and he appears to give great hugs, although neither of us can testify to this personally except for what our eyes tell us, and goodness knows our eyes tell us lots of things. But we think this is reliable information. Lea Michele wore all black, head-to-toe, was carrying a Birkin which made us kind of jealous and sad because that bag costs more than the sum total of both of our lives, and she is really an extremely tiny person, in person.
And John Gallagher, Jr.? Well he continues to be your Chuck-Taylor-wearing, skinny-jeaned, cardigan-and-stubble-sporting boyfriend of all ages and times forever and ever, and that’s all there is to say about that.
But then Jonathan got his shoelace stuck on some metal stairs and The Mick, who has possibly made it her life mission to protect this beautiful person from all danger and harm, only she didn’t really know it until last night, was standing right behind him and kindly un-stuck the shoelace from its place of stuck-edness and Jonathan was… FREE. FREE, I tell you. Then he turned around, smiled, and introduced himself to her, thus saving her life right back and also nearly terminating it in one two-second gesture. It was pretty sweet.
Other highlights? Seeing Phoebe Strole and Lea Michele snuggle up for photos. Seeing Brian Charles Johnson and Johnny Gallagher catch up and joke about some things. Seeing the cast tour their old digs at the Atlantic, including the single dressing room that they all shared.
My favorite part, though, was when the Atlantic’s artistic director Neil Pepe invited the cast back to act in plays in the newly renovated theater. They responded enthusiastically indeed, but then Lea Michele piped up, “But what about musicals?!” Amen to that, sister. And plus, it seems like the Atlantic did pretty well with a musical once upon a time…
photo: Bruce Glikas, Broadway.com
{ 1 comment… add one }
May I be the first to say, bless you Mick for saving JGroff’s life. We’re all truly eternally grateful. And we’re all truly eternally jealous that you got to save his life! Also, random side note, if Lea was using the same bag she had earlier in the day, it wasn’t a Birkin, but a Saint Laurent which is about $2,550. Not as pricey as a Birkin, but not exactly cheap either, and still more than I can afford.