JUST IN TIME Previews — Page 3

Went to see this last night, and had a great time. Groff is clearly enjoying himself so much, and we as the audience were eating it up - he's charming as hell, he's onstage for basically the entire first act... a born entertainer! If you are a fan of his, I'd strongly advise a trip to CITS.

The show itself is fine, nothing mind-blowing - not sure how well it would work without Groff. Gracie Lawrence has a nice voice, but needs to get a little more comfortable as an actor. Erika Henningsen was a more well-rounded performer, and has good stage presence. Michele Pawk made me cry one little tear, she was lovely.

I don't disagree that the book, particularly the second act, could use some work, but as I was unfamiliar with Bobby Darin outside of a few songs before I saw this show, I have no specific complaints. It's a biomusical, certainly not my favorite genre, but the runtime felt pretty snappy and the show kept me engaged.

A woman who moved to a seat in front of me at intermission was clearly not engaged, though - she kept checking her (very bright) watch every three minutes, scrolled on her phone for a bit til her seatmate asked her to stop, left her phone on full brightness in her lap for a while, and then left five minutes before the end of the show. A real asshole, not sure why she didn't just leave at intermission since it clearly wasn't her thing.

The theater transformation is so impressive, I truly hope they get some love for it. I've been there for five other shows, and while I loved the use of the space for Oklahoma!, no one else used it quite as beautifully as this show. As far as seating, we were in seats G 102 and 104, off the aisle at the top of the semicircle, and had a fantastic view of the whole stage. The table seating looked a bit awkward as far as having to move around to see - if I were getting a table, I'd go with one of the ones on the sides rather than the center. The mini banquettes looked ideal, though, as those folks were right in the midst of things with a better view - wish they'd been on sale when I bought tickets.

Saw it yesterday. Groff is great- and the show was entertaining and well done. However, the seating arrangement is the worst I have seen EVER since going to BWAY shows in the sixties. For some unknown reason---the stage- which is in the center of the theater- has tables all throughout it--so the action, many times- takes place in between a throng of tables- making people in the front rows have to view the show through a mob scene. If the stage area was cleaned out- throw those damn tables and chairs out-- and the action was clearly seen from all vantage points- that would be a massive improvement. This staging is horrendous- and whoever thought having tables on a stage that makes viewing the show a real chore- that person should be fired, IMO- an awful idea which does not work. The show is good- clean up the stage area- have the performers act, sing and dance on a real stage that is easily seen by everyone in the theater- and that wold greatly improve this show. It still was enjoyable- Groff was excellent- and the story was good. I give it a Bplus---was it as great as Gypsy or Sunset Boulevard--or even Hell's Kitchen-- no--but it was still a good show and was quite entertaining. I hope it is a hit.

SteveSanders said: "I don't remember tables at Lady Day being a problem and am curious about the differences in setup/staging that apparently makes them an issue here. Anyone seen both who can comment?"

I sat at a table for both shows. Lady Day used high tables, spaced further apart. The floor area seemed larger and more spacious. JIT-the tables and low and closer together. The floor area felt smaller overall. The people in the front rows by the tables couldn’t see a thing. I overheard one man complaining several times.


Oh boy… this show. I sat at table 11. I am going to post spoilers for table 11. If you don’t want to know, skip the rest of this post.


Table 11 is the main table. A couple of scenes take place right at the table. They were sitting with us-so cool.

I adore JG. I was at the first matinee in a table seat. I love him. Keep that in mind. During the 2nd act, he climbs on the table and performs a song. The man is an ocean. His fluids were pouring all over me. Then the table started to spin! It was like sitting under a sprinkler! I have a thing about body fluids. I expected a little splash—his Groffsauce was all over me. It was in my hair, all over my sweater. It was disgusting. I am not being hyperbolic-it was pouring down. Also, the table seats are bolted to the floor. I couldn’t move. Several people approached me after the show about it.

Updated On: 4/6/25 at 10:47 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "“his Groffsauce was all over me”

If the marketing team doesn’t use this quote in bold letters all over social media, they need to be fired."

I’m not making this up… a woman approached me after the show about selling my sweater.

Groff is absolutely terrific in what’s ultimately a pretty generic and kind of uninteresting biomusical story. Really, there’s not much to Bobby Darin’s life that is screaming out for musical theatre treatment. But Groff elevates the material significantly and is working every fiber of his being in this show. It is a star vehicle and he makes the most of it all. I don’t think he’s offstage for more than two minutes total, combined, for the entire show. I might be rooting for him for the Tony again this year just because he’s so damn good and charismatic.

Aside from Groff, the production is working overtime to elevate its story. I appreciate how hard they’re trying to make it all more interesting for audiences than every other biomusical we’ve seen (starting off the show as Jonathan and then becoming Bobby, the unique staging, etc.). The second act is a bit of a slog compared to the first and I hope is where they work the most on tightening during the rest of previews.

The show requires an actor as Bobby Darin who you can get behind and root for during the entire performance. Groff makes it so easy to do so. I think it would be difficult to sit through in the hands of a less capable performer.

In terms of Tony nominations, Groff is certainly a lock for lead actor, though to be honest, I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if he was their one and only nom, given how competitive and stacked this season is.

ElephantLoveMedley said: "Groff is absolutely terrific in what’s ultimately a pretty generic and kind of uninteresting biomusical story. Really, there’s not much to Bobby Darin’s life that is screaming out for musical theatre treatment. But Groff elevates the material significantly and is working every fiber of his being in this show. It is a star vehicleand he makes the most of it all. I don’t think he’s offstage for more than two minutes total, combined, for the entire show. I might be rooting for him for the Tony again this year just because he’s so damn good and charismatic.

Aside from Groff, the production is working overtime to elevate its story. I appreciate how hard they’re trying to make it all more interesting for audiences than every other biomusical we’ve seen (starting off the show as Jonathan and then becoming Bobby, the unique staging, etc.). The second act is a bit of a slog compared to the first and I hope iswhere they work the most on tightening during the rest of previews.

The show requires an actor as Bobby Darin who you can get behind and root for during the entire performance. Groff makes it so easy to do so. I think it would be difficult to sit through in the hands of a less capable performer.

In terms of Tony nominations, Groff is certainly a lock for lead actor, though to be honest, I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if he was their one and only nom, given how competitive and stackedthis season is."

I said this earlier, but worth repeating after your post...Bobby Darin's life was fascinating. One excellent film by and with Kevin Spacey, one documentary, a number of books and people on YouTube still discovering him and his music. Very much doubt that will be the case with Groff. If they couldn't pay true homage to the man's life (as Spacey did with the film), they should have just done a concert...in a nightclub setting, which is what I think the intention was in the first place. Beautiful would have been a good model - Carole King's life and her music were both on stage. In general, people are there to hear Groff sing Darin, not to learn anything about the man who died 52 years ago and is still a legend.

Jordan Catalano said: "How much money did you make?"

Ha! Ha! It’s still available if you’re interested.

MezzA101 said: "6 Songs From ‘Just in Time’ That Capture Bobby Darin’s Versatility

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/theater/just-in-time-broadway-bobby-darin.html?unlocked_article_code=1.904.okaL.If-CRlkxNizg&smid=nytcore-android-share"

Damn! I had NO idea that last song was Bobby Darin! He really was a damn chameleon.

BOTH

Some performers sweat, spray- whatever- more than others- and a few do it to an extreme. It is not a choice--it is what happens when a performer goes full throttle - and if a performer has this tendency- as Groff has- that is just the way it is. He is a fantastic performer- and is getting more and more acclaim and recognition with each project. If people do not like the spraying, etc.- they should either sit further back- or just not go to his shows. There are plenty of other people wanting to fill those seats- and I hope momentum builds for his career- as he is a very talented and seemingly good hearted, hard working actor- singer- dancer and all-around performer.

Updated On: 4/7/25 at 04:25 PM

JSquared2 said: "GirlFromOz68 said: "

Lea, Dan and Lindsay - despite the fact that they all love Jonathan - have all said how disgusting his bodily fluids are when they up close with him, both the sweating and the spitting. I know people laugh about it but you'd think he could try and do something about it for the sake of hiscostars. If it was anybody else I suspect they wouldn't get as big a pass about it as he does.

Why would Lea DeLaria, Dan Rather and Lindsay Graham care about his bodily fluids??

Also what would you suggest he "do" about it??

"

oh ho, so clever, you know exactly who I mean.

Also, for the sweating at least, there are things that can be done medically but clearly people think he shouldn't have to be bothered about the effect he has on others because they all think he's cute. now swap him with his best friend and every person and their mother would have an opinion on the matter because people are giant hypocrites.

look i like Jonathan, he's talented, but i know people ( not me) who would struggle in that situation ( and it don't mean audience members i mean co stars) because of their own medical conditions. That's all I'm saying. If Jonathan has tried to do something about it and nothing can be done, fine, but like I said, if it wasn't Jonathan in this situation I don't think people would be as defensive about what I said, or think it was a joke like they do.

Updated On: 4/7/25 at 04:57 PM

I wanted to love it - but it is very cruise ship.

Bringing to back to the show…

Good Lord. Not since GATSBY have I seen a show that was so flashy and yet so absolutely hollow and emotionally empty.

First of all, if you are using the first 20 minutes of the show to set up this whole “Jonathan Groff as a character” premise, and then abandon it after, it needs to go. You can’t play both sides here and expect us to not be confused by the concept. If it was just Groff doing a tribute concert/moment in time play like Lady Day, it would’ve landed a lot better. Instead we get this speedy Wikipedia-style “and then I sang this…” journey through his life, part of which I nodded off because it was so dramatically inert that I couldn’t stay engaged. The intermittent bursts of light representing his heart failing were the only things that brought me back in.You also have a very talented supporting cast wasted on what feel like stock characters.


By the end, when it switched back to Groff-as-character again, I didn’t come away feeling like I knew anything substantial about Darin or why he needed to be the subject of a musical. He’s working his butt off, but the book fails him on what is otherwise an underbaked vanity project. The nightclub style set with multiple stages was fine and flashy, but also brought Gatsby back to mind.

This is a show strictly for baby boomers and Groff fans. All others might prefer to go splish-splash in the bath with a toaster.