Bruce Glikas/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty Jonathan Groffis so committed to his craft, he takes the titleSpring Awakeningliterally. Kelly Clarksontestified to that fact on Tuesday's episode ofThe Kelly Clarkson Show, in which she regaled the Broadway star with a visceral memory of her time seeing him in the acclaimed musical. "I saw you in that, and there's something — I didn't know there was a name for it — but I was second row, so you probably know where I'm headed," she began, eliciting a knowing giggle from Groff. "I was in the second row and I was like, 'What?'" Clarkson continued, pantomiming a failed effort to dodge incoming rockets of spit. "There's a term, and it's called the 'Groff sauce,'" theMindhunterstar informed her. Clarkson told Groff that it "wasn't just your spit, it was your sweat. I was like, 'Oh, my god.' Then I felt like an inferior performer, because I was like, 'I have never worked that hard. I have never ever worked that hard.'" Groff conceded, "I am a spitter. I'm a huge spitter, and it's just what happens to me when I perform.... It's like everything goes. I just get really into it." Clarkson assured a bashful Groff that "after a while, you get used to it," but he pressed on. "I have seen audience members take their programs and do this," he said, holding up his hands as if he was raising a shield. Groff has been notorious for his overactive salivary glands —a quality he shareswithAmy Poehler— since he landed his breakout role in the coming-of-age tragedy byDuncan SheikandSteven Saterin 2006. But it was a quirk largely held dear by Broadway die-hards. As Groff's star has risen with starring roles onDavid Fincher'sMindhunterand inLin-Manuel Miranda'sHamilton, however, the secret's out. Groff's spitwent viralwhen he took over the role of King George III fromBrian d'Arcy Jameswhen the latter musical moved from off to on Broadway in 2015. Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Theo Wargo/Getty Groff and his costars in the 2023 Broadway revival ofMerrily We Roll Along,Daniel RadcliffeandLindsay Mendez,discussed this very subjectin during an interview at 92Y. "I can't believe how patient these two are with the amount of fluid that's coming at them, and it's real love, and not a day goes by where I'm not grateful for that," Groff said. "Because it's disgusting." Reflecting on hisSpring Awakeningdays, Groff echoed Clarkson's observation that his on-stage excretions aren't limited only to spit. "At the end of Act I ofSpring Awakening, when I would be in the hayloft withLea Michele, some days I would be sweating so much, and we were simulating sex," he recalled. "I would be on top of her in the hayloft, and the water would be coming down my face, and then go to like a low faucet where it's just dripping in a straight line onto her body...and she would go, 'Oh my God, get off of me!'" Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
