Jonathan Groff kisses Bowen Yang’s hand, puts queer twist on Bobby Darin lyrics at 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Key Points

• Jonathan Groff performed “Beyond the Sea” from the stage musical Just in Time during the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

• Groff turned toward Bowen Yang, who was seated in the audience, and brought him out to dance.

• The actor ended the performance with a sweet kiss on the SNL star’s hand, amid changing lyrics to the song.

Jonathan Groff put a queer twist on Bobby Darin’s iconic song “Beyond the Sea” as he danced with Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang at the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The Just in Time Broadway star fronted a performance segment during NBC‘s live coverage of the annual parade on Thursday, during which he slightly shifted the legendary tune’s lyrics as he brought Yang out to dance with him amid the number.

“Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me, my lover stands on golden sands and watches the ships that go sailing,” Groff, who is gay and plays Darin in the musical production, sang before pausing to bring out Yang, who sat on risers nearby.

“Let’s hear it for Bowen Yang!” Groff said as Yang joined him, before he continued singing: “Somewhere beyond the sea, he’s there watching for me,” changing the pronouns of the original song from “she” to “he” as Yang joined him, and Groff kissed him on the hand before twirling the SNL actor around.

“If I could fly like birds on high and straight to his arms, I’d go sailing,” Groff continued, letting Yang sit back down as he continued with the performance, which also included numbers by Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland and Sadie Dickerson.

Earlier this year, Groff performed “Beyond the Sea” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he retained the song’s original lyrics, using “she” and “her” during the set.

The song, originally written by Charles Trenet in the 1940s, was popularized by Darin in 1959, with “Beyond the Sea” becoming one of Darin’s signature tunes after its rise in popularity.

After the performance, recently reunited Today cohosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb interviewed the Just in Time cast, who recently received a Grammy nomination for the show’s cast recording.

“It’s incredible, we all dreamed of being on the parade, we all watched the parade growing up,” Tony nominee Groff told Kotb and Guthrie. “So, to be part of the show and to be here this morning is incredible.”

Just in Time, a jukebox musical, follows the life of Darin, as told by Groff in 2025, before the Mindhunter actor then travels back to the 1950s and 1960s for the retelling of Darin’s life and career.

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Though his career included multiple albums and hit songs, including the No. 1 single “Mack the Knife,” Darin died in 1973 at age 37 after undergoing surgery to fix issues with his heart.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly