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Jonathan Groff Says Meryl Streep Sent Backstage Video of Him to Barbra Streisand: 'I Died a Thousand Gay Deaths'

The Broadway star said he got the surprise of a lifetime after a recent show

<p>Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty; Stefanie Keenan/WireImage</p> Jonathan Groff, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty; Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Jonathan Groff, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand

Jonathan Groff has a soft spot for Barbra Streisand.

During a visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, the Merrily We Roll Along star, 39, told the host about an epic moment that happened in his dressing room thanks to Meryl Streep.

Setting the scene, Groff explained that on April 5, 1961, Funny Girl star Streisand, now 81, made her television debut on The Tonight Show, which was being shot at the Hudson Theater at the time, which is also where his Broadway play is currently being shown.

“If you can’t tell, I’m obsessed with Barbra Streisand,” he began. “So I made this sign in my dressing room.”

Related: Lea Michele Reveals She Got a Letter from Barbra Streisand — and Called Jonathan Groff Right After!

<p>The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/Youtube</p> Jonathan Groff's neon sign

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/Youtube

Jonathan Groff's neon sign

Before finishing, Fallon, 49, interjected, showing a photo of the neon sign, asking if guests would come to Groff’s dressing room to have drinks. “BARbra,” the actor said, reading the sign in the photo.

Groff continued, “In honor of Barbra Streisand, that’s how she spells her name, that I turned my dressing room into a bar.”

<p>Kevin Mazur/Getty</p> Barbra Streisand, July 2023

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Barbra Streisand, July 2023

He then went down a list of other entertainers who have visited his digs, adding that “Glenn Close sent a bottle of champagne back.”

Fallon asked if Streisand had a chance to visit yet, and while she had not, Groff still had a pretty unique experience involving the EGOT winner.

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“Meryl Streep came, blessed us with her presence at the show. So Meryl came into the dressing room, she came into BARbra, and I was like, ‘Meryl’s in BARbra. I can’t believe this is happening,’” the actor said.

Related: Meryl Streep and Martin Short Surprise Broadway Cast of Merrily We Roll Along Following Romance Denial

He told Fallon that the Devil Wears Prada alum, 74, took out her cell phone and requested that he sit on a sofa that was positioned underneath the neon sign. The Hamilton actor said he obliged for what he assumed was just a photo.

<p>Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty</p> Jonathan Groff visits The Tonight Show, April 2024

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Jonathan Groff visits The Tonight Show, April 2024

“And then she was like, ‘Okay, all right Barbra, so this is Jonathan Groff and he’s in Merrily We Roll Along, and this is the sign that he’s made, and here we are in his dressing room,’ ” he said while imitating how Streep panned her camera phone across the room. “And I was like—,” Groff said, falling to the floor.

“Barbra Streisand knows who you are!” Fallon stood up and yelled.

As Groff got back into his seat, he confessed, “I died a thousand gay deaths.”

“That is fantastic,” Fallon replied.

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