Oh, To Be Keanu Reeves Getting Straddled by Jonathan Groff

Given his delightful turn as Bobby Darin in Just In Time, it’s unfortunate that Jonathan Groff didn’t win a second Tony for Best Actor at Sunday’s award ceremony. And the fact that my prediction was partially incorrect? Well, all the more so. However, it was still a big night for my fellow Groff girlies for many reasons. Why? Well, his return as the King of England in the Hamilton medley, that suit, and, most importantly, the all-too-brief moment he straddled John Wick.

During Groff’s second performance of the evening, in which he sang a compilation of songs from Just In Time, he pulled an Ariana DeBose circa 2022 and hopped right onto Keanu Reeves‘ seat. No, literally. Somehow, Groff smoothly jumped up onto each one of his armrests (very smoothly, I might add) mid-song. Reeves, for his part, threw up two rock-and-roll hands. Watch it (repeatedly) here. Frankly, it was the best moment of the evening—except for each time one of my predictions was proven right. And Cole Escola‘s shade at Nicole Scherzinger‘s win.

Now, I know what you’re wondering: Why was Reeves there at all? Lucky for Broadway, he’ll soon star in an upcoming revival of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot alongside his Bill & Ted co-star, Alex Winter. And according to Winter, it was all Reeves’ idea. It’s a classic play, but as Winter told People on the red carpet, “I think every time the play is done, it’s different, because of who’s playing it. It’s very, very personal, and so we’re bringing ourselves to it.” Well, thank god for that!

Anyway, back to Groff. He’s an admittedly “wet” performer, and of that, I can personally attest. When I saw Just In Time a few weeks ago, I watched sweat quite literally pool from his body. They should’ve handed out slickers to the people seated nearest the stage, although I know a lot of people who’d pay good money to be in the splash zone—or straddle zone. So, good for Reeves that he got the experience free of charge!