VideoTony Nominee Jonathan Groff Reveals How He Got His Start Over the RainbowYou won’t believe who he played in this very special production of The Wizard of Oz.
By
Ruthie Fierberg
October 19, 2017
Hamilton and Spring Awakening star Jonathan Groff recently stopped by Live With Kelly and Ryan, following last week's debut of his new Netflix series Mindhunter.
But the daytime talk show hosts wanted to know how the two-time Tony nominee got his start acting. Turns out, growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the first musical Groff ever did was a homegrown performance of The Wizard of Oz in his father’s barn. “My dad trains and races horses for a living so he has a horse farm and our favorite first production of The Wizard of Oz,” said Groff. Looking at a picture of the classic quartet, Groff is dressed as Dorothy. “My brother was the Tin Man and [friends] Afton and Justin were the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow. All credit to my mom [for those costumes].”
Groff made his Broadway debut in In My Life before his Tony-nominated performances in Spring Awakening and as King George in Hamilton. This past summer, he performed in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of Sondheim on Sondheim and also starred in the first podcast musical 36 Questions.
Wicked, injecting a new backstory onto the classic tale The Wizard of Oz, debuted on Broadway in 2003 and continues to be an audience favorite at the Gershwin Theatre.
By Margaret Hall | January 6, 2026
