5 questions with 'Just in Time' star Nicholas Christopher

A 2026 Tony Award nominee for Chess, the acclaimed actor is stepping into the polished shoes of crooner Bobby Darin in the semi-immersive bio-musical.

Summary

• Nicholas Christopher currently stars as Bobby Darin in Just in Time on Broadway
• Christopher is a Tony nominee for Chess whose Broadway credits also include Sweeney Todd, Hamilton, and more
• Just in Time sets the story of Darin's life to his hit songs, and parts are tailored to each performer who plays him

Just in Time, the Broadway musical about crooner Bobby Darin's short but significant life and career, is kind of a show within a show. The lead actor introduces himself directly to the audience before transforming into the 20th-century singer. Everyone who's played the role — including original star Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Matthew Morrison, and now, Nicholas Christopher — has worked directly with the writers to imbue Just in Time with their own relationship to Darin, his music, and the art of performing.

This approach was inspired by Groff's personal fascination with Darin, but according to Christopher, "the interesting thing is that [the show] feels tailor-made to me," he said. "It's the same suit Jonathan wore, it's the same suit Jeremy wore and Matt Morrison wore, but now it fits my body a little bit better, fits my strengths.

"That's not a literal suit; that's a metaphorical suit," he clarified. "That'd be nasty, all the sweat."

Christopher has proven himself a versatile performer, breaking out as Josh Groban's Broadway understudy in Sweeney Todd. In just the past three years since, he's gone on to star as jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly's Last Jam, nerdy florist Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, and chess grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky in Chess, the role that earned him a Tony Award nomination earlier this year.

Christopher became the first Bermudian actor to get such a nomination, and he suggested that Just in Time's layered approach is part of what opens the door for any artist to play the Italian American Darin. The two men may not share a look, but they share a wide-ranging musical sensibility and a tireless drive. Darin, for one, had chronic heart problems that only motivated him to keep performing and challenging himself, if sometimes recklessly, until his untimely death at 37. The 36-year-old Christopher, whose professional career began at 19 with the In the Heights national tour, luckily doesn't have that ticking clock. But he nonetheless wants keep challenging himself, too.

"If I can surprise myself, that means I can surprise the audience as well," Christopher said.

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How has Just in Time been tailored to you?

We're changing arrangements a little bit. We're changing a little bit of the choreography here and there. The opening monologue, obviously, is my own, and the closing monologue is my own, because in the show I start off as myself and I tell the audience it's going to be okay; I'm not really playing Bobby Darin. We're celebrating Bobby Darin with this show. I'm really excited that everybody was so game to adjust the show to make it the best show we can.

What does it mean to you to be stepping into Bobby's shoes as a Bermudian man?

To be honest, I didn't really think about it until people started telling me about it. As actors, we're lucky enough to inhabit so many different lives. I mean, I played a Russian chess master a couple months ago, and anybody that knew me was like, "You're doing what?" And then I say, "Hey, I'm doing Just in Time," and they say, "You're doing what?" When I went into Little Shop, they said, "You're playing who?" I want that reaction to everything that I do because if I can surprise myself, that means I can surprise the audience as well.

Now, to put it plainly: Yeah, I'm half Black, I'm half white, and I'm playing an Italian guy from East Harlem. He sang jazz, R&B, rock and roll. Where my strengths in this story lie is through that musical storytelling. I'm excited to tackle that. I'm excited to do that and to be the the first one, I'm sure, of many to have a physically different background.

But I'm sure because of Bobby's sickness or whatever, he felt like the only one, right? There are certain lines in this show that get highlighted with me having my physical attributes that I'm sure Bobby felt in his life.

Have you been in touch with any of the previous Bobbys?

I got to see Jeremy in the show. Jonathan Groff is on the other side of the world, so I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him yet. Nobody's said anything in terms of having to uplift me or anything like that. But I love the fact that I get to watch Jeremy Jordan do his take, then I get to see Matthew Morrison do his take on the role, and I get to steal the good and leave what's authentic to them, and really put my own stamp on this one.

How are you preparing for the audience interaction involved in Just in Time?

I love being able to talk to people. My worst nightmare is doing the exact same performance night after night after night after night. The fact that my scene partner gets to change every night, that means I get to change every night, which means the show gets to change every night. I love that. I'm excited by it.

Has performing this role felt similar to — or especially different than — any of your past roles?

Challenge-wise, this show feels a lot like Jelly's Last Jam to me. Jelly's was much more of an emotionally heavier show. I was in tap shoes the whole time, so I was slipping and sliding on that stage. That was definitely a challenge. But having this gorgeous band on stage and the [small] amount of time off stage is similar to Jelly's Last Jam.

That's the closest, but it is so vastly different than anything I've ever done. If I tried to say, "Oh, this is sort of like this or sort of like that," it wouldn't fit, and it wouldn't be authentic.

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Bridget Gross contributed reporting to this story.

Photo credit: Nicholas Christopher and the cast of Just in Time on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)