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Life certainly imitates art as the “Merrily We Roll Along” trio Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez are just as close in real life as they are in the show. Radcliffe served as the ring bearer for Mendez’s wedding to fellow actor J. Alex Brinson on April 22 in New York, N.Y., while Groff was the officiant.
“It was really nerve-wracking because, until the day before [the wedding], I wasn’t the ring bearer, then Lindsay thought it would be funny because I’m the ring bearer in the show,” Radcliffe told Variety at the Drama League Awards. “I was like ‘Oh, man, now I’ve got responsibility at this wedding, and I have to not screw it up. I have to not drop the rings in Central Park and lose them,’ but it was all fine. It was good.”
“Merrily We Roll Along” is centered around the friendship between skillful playwright Charley (Radcliffe), gifted composer Franklin Shepard (Groff) and critic Mary Flynn (Mendez). The show is told in reverse, starting from adulthood and reverting back to their childhood days of dreams and ambition.
Radcliffe also spoke about the three all receiving Drama League Award and Tony nominations this year. “We’re so proud of the work that we’re doing in the show,” Radcliffe says. “I genuinely love Jonathan and Lindsay so much, and I love our show so much so to get nominated and be here with them today is really special.”
Mendez’s wedding, however, was not Groff’s first time officiating but his fifth. “Moments like this at award shows where you get to speak and congregate and honor something, they feel very loaded and very important, and to be officiating, Lindsay’s wedding as she’s embarking on this journey with her husband and Dan [Radcliffe] there as the ring bearer within this moment of ‘Merrily’ [We Roll Along] really was so special,” Groff says.
Jonathan Groff says he cried in the car on the way on his way to the ceremony while practicing his speech to accept the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater honor at the 90th Annual Drama League Awards. Groff’s first time at the award show was 17 years ago when he was recognized for his role as Melchior Gabor in “Spring Awakening.” All these years later, he’s being celebrated for his career-long work in theater and his current role as Franklin Shepard in “Merrily We Roll Along.”
“Musical theater was like oxygen for me as a teenager, growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a conservative community,” Groff says. “Positive, musical theater was my outlet and my passion, and so 20 years after moving to New York, to be here in this community celebrating together and to be on a show like ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ that’s all about dreams and reflecting is incredibly meaningful.”
Groff also says he “hopes” to reunite with his “Spring Awakening” co-star and best friend, Lea Michele on Broadway. “We don’t have anything right now, but I’m always looking.”
