Jonathan Groff marked his final performance as Bobby Darin in Just in Time with an emotional curtain call that doubled as a meaningful fundraiser. After nearly a year at the Circle in the Square Theatre — his run concluding on March 29 — Groff and his company used the moment to benefit Broadway Cares, inviting the audience to bid on show memorabilia and to participate in a cheeky onstage pledge drive.
The closing night blended celebrity presence, fan devotion, and a theatrical nod to posterity. Among the attendees were actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and Reynolds emerged as the high bidder on Groff’s signature Bobby Darin fedora, paying $25,000. The evening also produced a viral moment when Groff offered to be spanked onstage for every $5,000 raised, an incentive that resulted in five playful spanks and immediate social-media circulation.
Farewell performance and the auctioned fedora
The curtain call turned into an impromptu charity auction featuring items from the production. The most talked-about lot was Groff’s fedora, which drew a dramatic bid from Reynolds and sold for $25,000 — a figure that underscored both star-powered generosity and Broadway’s tradition of philanthropy. Fans in the room recorded the exchange as Groff dashed into the audience to personally hand the hat to Reynolds, creating one of the night’s most memorable images and fueling online clips shared widely by attendees.
Fundraising with a wink
Mixing humor and high stakes, Groff proposed a fundraising gimmick: one swat of his backside for every $5,000 raised. That pledge translated into five light-hearted spanks performed before the house — an act captured on video by audience members and quickly posted across platforms. The stunt combined the intimacy of the show’s supper-club staging with the energy of a live telethon, and it succeeded at raising both money and attention for Broadway Cares while giving the audience a moment that felt spontaneous and communal.
Casting transitions: who steps into Bobby Darin’s shoes
With Groff’s departure, the production has scheduled a sequence of short-term replacements to keep the run moving. Matthew Morrison, known for his television and stage work, is set for a limited three-week engagement, followed by Tony-nominee Jeremy Jordan, who will take over the role beginning on April 21. The rotating leads were publicized in advance to maintain box-office momentum and to offer audiences a chance to see different interpretations of the same role in a compact, club-style musical environment.
What the change means for audiences
The show’s format — an intimate, cabaret-like presentation of Bobby Darin’s catalog — makes each lead’s personal charisma a direct draw. The production’s staging and the custom of selecting audience members for onstage cameos have created devoted fans who travel for repeat performances. The handoff of Groff’s fedora became a symbolic passing of the baton, while the planned stints by Morrison and Jordan aim to sustain the show’s visibility and box-office appeal.
Groff’s next step: Shakespeare at Stratford
Beyond Broadway, Groff has accepted a major stage opportunity with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He will play Rosalind in an all-male production of As You Like It that arrives in Stratford-upon-Avon for a five-week run beginning on September 28. The casting choice echoes early modern performance practices and places Groff in a leading Shakespearean role that has a long performance lineage, previously interpreted by notable actresses through the decades.
Groff described his reaction to the invitation with candid enthusiasm in a press statement, recalling the email subject line that started with “Holy f**ing sh*t” as his immediate response. He noted that a prior visit to Stratford and exposure to gender-swapped productions inspired his desire to return to classical theater. This move represents a pivot from jukebox musical center stage to a classical theatrical challenge with the prestige of the RSC behind it.
Between the farewell-night fundraising antics and the announced Shakespeare engagement, Groff’s exit from Just in Time closes one chapter and opens another. The evening combined fanfare, charitable giving, celebrity participation, and a touch of theatrical playfulness — all underscored by Groff’s imminent transition to a demanding classical role. For audiences who witnessed his last performance on March 29, the night offered both a celebration of his time in the role and a teaser of the bold theatrical directions he intends to pursue.