Tony Awards: Read Jonathan Groff's inspiring speech after his 1st win
Broadway star Jonathan Groff notched his very first Tony award on Sunday night for his role as Franklin Shepard in the Broadway revival of "Merrily We Roll Along." In his moving acceptance speech, Groff thanked his parents for their endless support, old teachers, co-stars and more.
Groff also gave a nod to his Broadway beginnings, thanking the cast of "Spring Awakening" for inspiring him to "come out of the closet" at 23 years old.
Groff's "Merrily We Roll Along" won four Tony Awards, including Daniel Radcliffe's award for best featured actor in a musical, best revival musical, and best orchestrations.
"Merrily We Roll Along" first hit Broadway in 1981. The current revived version has played at Broadway's Hudson Theatre since last year and is planned to conclude in July.
Read Groff's entire acceptance speech below:
"Thank you. I grew up in a house surrounded by cornfields in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
I was raised by my parents Jim and Julie Groff and my brother David and the three of them are sitting right there.
Thank you for letting me dress up like Mary Poppins when I was three. 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 ever making me feel weird about it. Even if they didn't always understand me, my family knew the life-saving power of fanning the flame of a young person's passions without judgment. I walk through life with an open heart because you let me know that I could. Thank you. I love you.
Thank you to all of my teachers back in Pennsylvania, especially Sue Fisher, who told me I could do this for a living. I moved to New York exactly 20 years ago this year and I got a job waiting tables and became a volunteer for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. And all I wanted was to be a part of this community.
Thank you to everyone involved in 'Spring Awakening,' who not only made that dream come true but also inspired me to come out of the closet when I was 23. I'm now 39 and musical theater is still saving my soul.
Maria Friedman ----Thank you for letting me be your Franklin Shepard in this production of 'Merrily' and allowing me the chance to accept, respect and express both the lightest and darkest parts of myself. Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, you are more than old friends. You are soulmates. And I'm looking forward to watching each other change for the rest of our lives. Thank you to every member of the extraordinary cast for lifting this 'Merrily' into the spiritual stratosphere.
Thank you to everyone working inside the Hudson Theatre. Thank you, New York Theatre Workshop, Jim, Lonny, Ann and the original company and creative team of 'Merrily.' Special thank you to Sonia Friedman, Jim Carnahan, Tom Broecker, Hayley King, Joe Machota, and Jenny Tversky. Happy birthday to Rick and Max.
And finally, I just want to say when I was a kid in Pennsylvania, I used to record the Tony Awards on a VHS tape and watch the performances over and over again, and to actually be able to be a part of making theater in this city, and just as much, to be able to watch the work of this incredible, incredible community has been the greatest gift and pleasure of my life. And I thank you and thank you so much for this honor."
