Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Nothing stands between them — not even underwear. Best friends Lea MicheleAnd Jonathan GroffWe met in Broadway while we were playing lovers Spring Awakening, and the new HBO documentary Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known reveals that they didn’t just expose themselves on stage.
Michele, 35, and Groff (37), played Melchior, and Wendla. They had a sex scene in the rock musical, but the GleeBackstage, alums were able to get up close and personal with them.
“At one point, I literally showed him my whole vagina,” Michele recalled in the documentary. “He was like: ‘I’ve never seen a woman’s vagina before. Would you show me?’ And I was like, ‘Sure.’ And I took a desk lamp … and showed him. That’s how close we are.”
Groff is gay openly and Michele taught him the lesson. The doc detailed this story as they reunited along with the rest of the Tony Award-winning musical’s original cast for a 15th anniversary concert.
Michele explained that she was open about the bizarre backstage moment because it made her feel so comfortable with the producers. “Honestly, the great thing about this documentary is it’s a wonderful microscope into who we are as individuals, and not just who people think we might be,” she told Entertainment WeeklyInterview published Monday, April 25, 2005. “Radical Media and the incredible production team behind this documentary, we felt so safe and comfortable with them.”
The “Christmas in the City” singer added: “It was so wonderful to talk about this material as an adult and get asked real serious questions. Not like, ‘What’s it like to have sex with Jonathan Groff every night?’ So I just felt really comfortable with them. I was able to tell you a story about the intimate conversations that Jonathan Groff and I had behind closed doors. That’s only one of them. There’s a lot of other things.”
Groff giggled as he added, “There’s a lot more than that story, for sure.”
Michele laughed, concluding, “That was like a Thursday.”
The MindhunterAn alum managed to control his laughter well enough to tell Vulture‘s “Stage Whisperer” newsletter on Monday that Michele’s private parts are “beautiful.” She quipped, “Thank you so much for saying that, because you didn’t say it in the documentary!”
According to the BFFs comedy was needed backstage. Spring AwakeningDark subject matter such as rape and abortion is dealt with. The cast was exhausted by the eight shows that dealt with difficult topics.
“Playing these characters was really weighing on us emotionally, and for myself my well-being a bit. I was really ready to step out of that world,” Michele explained in an interview with BillboardMonday. “I remember walking off stage, literally covered in blood, sweat and tears, and I looked at Jonathan and said, ‘I want to be in a show that’s the happiest show in the world. I want to do musical numbers that include fireworks and tap-dancing. Kristin Chernoweth.’”
Do you sound familiar? She added, “I guess put it out there and it’ll come to fruition – because three years later I ended up on a show called Glee – but I truly knew I needed to do something a little lighter.”
Michele portrayed Rachel Berry six seasons on GleeGroff often spotted him opposite, who was occasionally referred to as Jesse St. James.
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve KnownPremieres on HBO Tuesday May 3rd at 9 p.m. ET.
