‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

JUST IN TIME
Book by Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver
Based on an original concept by Ted Chapin
Music supervision & arrangements by Andrew Resnick
Choreography by Shannon Lewis
Directed by Alex Timbers
Through November 30, 2025
Circle in the Square
235 W 50th St.
https://justintimebroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff gives his best performance to date in Just in Time, the new Broadway musical about the iconic Bobby Darin, the velvet-voiced pop singer of the 1950s and 1960s who died at age 37.  Mr. Groff brings the man who sang such classics as “Splish Splash,” “Mack the Knife,” “Dream Lover” and “Beyond the Sea” to vivid life in the best “jukebox musical” since Jersey Boys nearly two decades ago. One doesn’t need to be a Bobby Darin fan to appreciate the nonstop energy that Mr. Groff brings to the role.

Broadway via the Copacabana & Las Vegas

Scenic designer Derek McLane has turned Circle in the Square into a glorious retro nightclub that pays homage to the venerable Copacabana in Manhattan and the glitzy Las Vegas lounge stages of yesteryear. It’s a winning tribute to a bygone era when stylish ladies and gentlemen would gather in cozy, intimate nightclubs to sip cocktails, smoke cigarettes and marvel at the latest pop crooners of the day. Shortly after the show opens, Mr. Groff reminds us that he’s not the real Bobby Darin and we’re actually watching this spectacle “in the basement of Wicked.”

What’s more, the mellifluous orchestrations by music supervisor Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber bring all the ebullient brass and jazz-hot sounds of a “big band” orchestra to the Broadway stage. This lets audiences immerse themselves in the nostalgic glory of the classic songs being performed.

As an added treat, we see performances by two of Mr. Darin’s real-life romantic partners: The inimitable, golden-throated pop queen Connie Francis (Gracie Lawrence); and “America’s sweetheart,” movie superstar Sandra Dee (Erika Henningsen), who was briefly married to Mr. Darin. Both women, like Bobby Darin himself, lived very public, volatile lives and were scandalous tabloid fodder in their heyday and beyond.

An icon & his lady loves

Bobby Darin (real name Walden Robert Cassotto) had a short but dramatic life. Growing up in East Harlem, New York, he suffered from bouts of rheumatic fever as a child and doctors said he would only live to be 16, but he proved them wrong.

He started out as a songwriter for Ms. Francis. She was already a household name with such hits as “Stupid Cupid” and “Who’s Sorry Now?” Darin immediately took a shine to the star and she was also smitten with him, but her parents did not approve.

Goody-two-shoes matinee idol Sandra Dee also won his heart. After pouring on lots of charm and giving flowers to her demanding, overprotective mother (Valeria Yamin), Mr. Darin got her blessing and was allowed to date Ms. Dee while filming Come September in Portofino, Italy in 1960. She was just 18 and he was 24 at the time. They had a brief, passionate affair and later married. Ms. Dee and Mr. Darin had one child, son Dodd, before divorcing.

Scandalous family secret

Mr. Darin was raised by Polly Walden (Michele Pawk), his nurturing mother. His older sister Nina (Emily Bergl)  looks out for him as if she is his nanny. When Mr. Darin becomes successful, he hires Nina’s husband—his brutish brother-in-law, Charlie Maffia (Joe Barbara)—as his personal valet. All three family members have been keeping a scandalous secret from Bobby all his life and his world is shattered when he learns the truth

Outstanding performances

Director Alex Timbers skillfully directs the gifted cast, all of whom give outstanding performances.

The supporting cast are certainly worth noting. Gracie Lawrence is superb as Connie Francis, singing the nostalgic star’s songs with the right mix of zest and vulnerability. Ms. Lawrence’s take on the Connie Francis standard “Who’s Sorry Now?” is one of the show’s highlights. She also captures the singer’s demure presence and powerhouse presence with aplomb. That’s no easy task considering Ms. Francis was a superstar in the 1950s and 1960s, singing both pop chart-toppers as well as ethnic standards. Songs from her two albums Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites and Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites are still played at many Italian and Jewish weddings today.

Erika Henningsen also gives a knockout portrayal of Sandra Dee, another megastar from the era. Ms. Henningsen brings all the saccharine sweetness and melodrama to the character, and does so with consistent conviction. It’s quite a departure from her most famous Broadway role, originating the lead part of Cady Heron in Mean Girls. 

Michele Pawk as Polly Walden, and Emily Bergl as Nina, both bring plausibility to their respective roles, and each has a unique and crisp voice. Valeria Yamin is magnificent as Sandra Dee’s overbearing mother.

Noteworthy supporting cast

Other noteworthy supporting performances include the always-delightful Cesar Samayoa (How to Dance in Ohio and Come From Away). Mr. Samayoa really nails the part of 1970s music maven Don Kirshner, the man who discovered many pop and rock greats, including Bobby Darin. Gen X audiences will remember his 1970s TV show “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”  Mr. Samayoa has an amazing voice and does a fine job portraying Mr. Kirshner as well as other small parts in the show. In addition, Joe Barbara is the ultimate New York tough guy as Charlie, Bobby’s personal valet and brother-in-law.

Jonathan Groff’s best role yet

Bobby Darin is the role Jonathan Groff was born to play. He won a Tony Award for Merrily We Roll Along and was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Mad King George in Hamilton. However, he is at the top of his game here. Mr. Groff has the charm, acting chops and beautifully textured voice to bring Bobby Darin back to glorious life. He sweats profusely and is a manic, energized force who keeps us riveted and mesmerized from the moment the show starts and he never lets up. Don’t miss Just in Time.

Editor’s note: Just in Time received six 2025 Tony Award nominations, including one for Jonathan Groff for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Published April 30, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 26, 2025

‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Gracie Lawrence. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Gracie Lawrence (Connie Francis) & Jonathan Groff (Bobby Darin). Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Christine Cornish, Jonathan Groff & Julia Grondin. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Valeria Yamin, Michele Pawk & Julia Grondin. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Erika Henningsen. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: (left) Emily Bergl; (right) Caesar Samayoa. Photos: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman & Caesar Samayoa is courtesy of Polk PR.

The post ‘Just in Time’: Jonathan Groff is Bobby Darin appeared first on StageZine.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Ben Rappaport & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus

GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR
Written by Doug Wright
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Through August 27, 2023
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street.
(212-239-6200), www.goodnightoscar.com

By David NouNou

Most people today would not know who Oscar Levant is except if they watch TCM and see An American in Paris or The Bandwagon. For those who do know something of him, he is most difficult to describe. He was a conundrum; he wasn’t attractive in real life, but he was an MGM star. He was best known for his sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humor but could have been a concert pianist instead of a humorist, and he excelled in both. He was multitalented but also a tortured soul. He also had his inner demons to contend with, which included bouts with drugs and alcohol. Who would one get to play such a person? You certainly wouldn’t think of  Sean Hayes who portrayed Jack McFarland on TV’s “Will and Grace.” Here comes the surprise, although Mr. Hayes is much too good-looking to portray Mr. Levant, Mr. Hayes digs deep to capture the essence that was Oscar Levant, giving one of the year’s most outstanding performances on the Broadway stage.

The play is set at NBC dressing rooms in Hollywood in 1958. Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) has been transferred to Hollywood to do the nightly “Tonight Show” for sweeps week in L.A. instead of his usual home base in New York City. His first guest stars for the premier show are: Oscar Levant, Jayne Mansfield and ventriloquist Señor Wences. I wonder if that episode really existed (I Googled for hours and couldn’t find it). Regardless, they all appeared on Jack Paar— if not together, certainly separately.

Unbeknownst to Jack, June Levant (Emily Bergl) has committed Oscar (Mr. Hayes) into an institution to dry him out for his drug overdoses. It’s very close to showtime and there is no Oscar in sight. He does eventually appear: disheveled, abusive, manic, but with his abrasive wit still intact. Playwright Doug Wright doesn’t supply us with any back story or how Oscar came to this state. We only know he has a four-hour pass from the institution in the belief that he is attending his daughter’s graduation, when in fact he is appearing on “The Tonight Show” with Jack Paar.

Oscar also has his inner demons and voices to contend with; that of George Gershwin (John Zdrojeski). Oscar one might say was the definitive interpreter of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” among other works, his career was dominated by Gershwin’s compositions and not his own.

What makes the play ironic is the strict moral code of what used to be censorship and what could be said on live TV. Head of NBC, Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz), is totally against having Oscar on “The Tonight Show” because of his coarse humor and what he might say (this is a wink to the audience at this point of where our TV morals are today) but Paar is insistent. Levant appears because Parr knows he can goad Oscar into pushing the envelope with his viewpoints on politics, religion and sex, all of which were taboo topics on live TV at the time. To give full justice to the jokes, you just have to see the show.

The play is quite enjoyable and interesting, but director Lisa Peterson should have brought out her editing shears to trim excessive, needless exposition in the beginning between Sarnoff and Paar, and especially the scene with Gershwin and Levant toward the end.

Putting that aside, we have to give credit where credit is due. Having seen Mr. Hayes in An Act of God and Promises, Promises, Jack McFarland was still lurking in the wings. However, what we see now is an actor shedding his past, and digging deep to capture and create a troubled soul. His performance is sensational and his piano performance is spellbinding. The recital at the show’s end is a magical theatrical moment.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 28, 2023
Reviewed at April 27, 2023 press performance.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Ben Rappaport, Sean Hayes & Peter Grosz. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Emily Bergl & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Emily Bergl & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Sean Hayes & John Zdrojeski. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Marchánt Davis & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Alex Wyse & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Good Night, Oscar’: Sean Hayes is sensational appeared first on StageZine.