“Just In Time” is a Broadway musical that chronicles the life of singer Bobby Darin. It opened on April 26, 2025 with Jonathan Groff in the lead role. Jonathan conceived of the musical years ago before it finally hit the Great White Way.
His performance and the show were both celebrated, with fans shelling out hundreds of dollars to sit at the few tables set up on a part of the stage at the Circle in the Square Theatre. The theater was reconstructed for the set, which is made to look like an extravagant night club.
Jonathan made waves for involving the audience in the show, even dancing with a couple of audience members at different times. Indeed, I sat at one of the tables the first time i saw the show, and Jonathan sang part of “Dream Lover” to me, which I have to admit was nothing short of thrilling.
Jonathan remained in the show for nearly a year, and many of us thought it would close when he left. Instead, the producers replaced him – first with Matthew Morrison of “Glee” fame for a few weeks, followed by Jeremy Jordan, who is currently leading the show and has been extended through October 18, 2026.
I went back to see Jonathan in the show one more time before he left and recently went to see Jeremy. Both of these men are bona fide Broadway stars, but perhaps more people know Jonathan because of his role as King George in “Hamilton” and his extensive TV work. Theater buffs, however, are just as enamored with Jeremy, who broke out when he starred in “Newsies” on Broadway and is considered by many to have the best tenor voice on Broadway today.
So how do the two leading men compare? Honestly, it’s impossible to choose. Jonathan was transcendent in the role, but so is Jeremy. I will say that Jonathan brought a great deal of warmth to the stage, while Jeremy brings a certain ferocity and intensity to the role that surprised me. I’ve seen him on stage numerous times over the years, but this is a different side of him. His voice has always soared, but he gets to play with musical style as Bobby in a way that he isn’t usually afforded when singing traditional musical theater songs.
Both actors have brought a lot of humor to the role and are great fun to watch. Jeremy also dances with the audience, of course, and all three times I saw the show, the audience spent almost the entire two hours smiling. Even though Bobby Darin’s life was quite sad at times, the show overall is celebratory. The extended curtain call with a medley of several songs is the part of the show that people are allowed to video. So there are literally hundreds of recordings of it online.
The show includes big Bobby Darin hits, including “This Could Be the Start of Something Big,” “Just In Time,” “Beyond the Sea,” “First Real Love,” “Splish Splash,” “Lazy River,” “Dream Lover,” “Mack the Knife,” “Things,” “Once In a Lifetime,” and “That’s All.”
The two main women in Bobby’s life were singer Connie Francis and singer/actress Sandra Dee. Both are portrayed in the show, so we also get Connie’s “Who’s Sorry Now?”
The roles of Connie Francis, Sandra Dee, and Bobby’s family have seen a number of actors since the show opened in 2025. Olivia Holt is currently playing Connie, and Carrie St. Louis is currently playing Sandra Dee. Emily Berol from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and Broadway’s “Good Night, Oscar” with Sean Hayes has played Bobby’s sister, Nina, throughout the entire run.
Debbie Gravitte is currently playing Bobby’s mother, Polly. (Incidentally, Debbie’s son, Sam Gravitte, has been playing the Viggo Mortensen role in the new musical version of the film “A Walk On the Moon” at Off-Broadway’s Laura Pels Theatre.)
I also must call out the several dancers who have played the “Sirens” over the course of the show’s run, as well as Joe Barbara, Lance Roberts, and Caesar Samayoa, who have been in the show since it started. They play a variety of roles and add a great deal of humor and energy to the stage. They have all been a pleasure to watch.
The show was brilliantly directed by Alex Timbers with a solid book by Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver. Incidentally, I have interviewed Warren Leight, who has been a long-time writer and showrunner for “Law & Order: SVU.”
I love the “Just In Time” choreography by Shannon Lewis, as well as the rich and fantastic musical arrangements by Andrew Resnick with orchestrations by Andrew and Michael Thurber. The gorgeous art deco-inspired scenic design is by Derek McLane, and the costumes by Catherine Zuber and lighting by Justin Townsend are also stellar. Sound design by Peter Hylenski is impeccable, and a shoutout to makeup design by Suki Tsujimoto and wig & hair design by Tom Watson.
While there is only one cast album for “Just In Time” starring Jonathan, Jeremy has been so iconic in the role that the producers have chosen to digitally release several professional recordings of him singing songs from the show, and I have included some of these in this post. It’s worth listening to both actors and also catching videos of Matthew Morrison in the role, as well as long-time understudy, Matt Magnusson. He has developed his own fan base of people who watch for the times he will be performing so that they can specifically see him.
In case you didn’t know, Bobby Darin had recurrent rheumatic fever as a child that weakened his heart. Doctors told him he wouldn’t live past the age of 16, but he did. Still, he often had to be administered oxygen throughout his life. He had open-heart surgery more than once and died at the age of 37 in 1973 following one of those surgeries.
For even more comparison, here’s a video of the great Bobby Darin himself. After all, he should have the last word, shouldn’t he? And if you’re in New York, I consider “Just In Time” a must see.
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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