Jonathan Groff Reflects on His Soap Stint at OLTL

Jonathan Groff may be best known for originating the role of Melchior Gabor in the Broadway production of "Spring Awakening." But soap fans will remember him from his brief stint at ONE LIFE TO LIVE that aired following a tragic event on a college campus in 2007. He explained in a recent interview with We Love Soaps.

We Love Soaps: I loved you in "Spring Awakening." I saw it twice. And you had a role on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. You came on, and your story suddenly changed. Can you tell us what happened?
Jonathan Groff: I played a character named Henry Mackler on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. The idea was that I was going to be a high school shooter. But then the Virginia Tech shooting happened right before it was about to air. We shot the whole thing. I was crying with a gun and the whole nine yards. Then they thought it was in bad taste. So they cut it and killed me in a car.

We Love Soaps: Would you ever consider doing another soap after that whole experience?
Jonathan Groff: Absolutely. I had a blast. The people were really nice and hard working and talented.

We Love Soaps: What did you learn from doing soaps versus doing Broadway?
Jonathan Groff: I gained a lot of respect for soap actors. In Broadway you get to rehearse a lot. But on soaps you show up it the morning, sometimes just getting your script that morning, and you have to deliver a performance. I was totally blown away by the skills of the actors on the soaps, how they were able to read something and then immediately make it as though it was just coming out of them. It was so impressive.