I’m writing because, as you and I both know, your final performance as King George in Hamilton has come and gone--and I’m still in a sort of mourning about it. Before Hamilton, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a major Broadway fan. Don’t get me wrong; I never disliked musicals. I liked them, of course. It’s just that, before Hamilton, I couldn’t name a single Broadway star. You were the first Broadway name I ever learned.

I remember hearing “You’ll Be Back” my first time through the cast album and immediately having to check out just exactly who this Jonathan Groff guy was. I kid you not! I knew your name before I knew the name of anyone else in the entire Hamilton cast. I could listen to you sing for days on end--and I have.

So, obviously your voice played an enormous role, but I personally think it was your humor that really sealed the deal and made you a perfect King George. After all, every voice in Hamilton is phenomenal, but it was the attitude in your performance that made me type your name in that search bar. I mean, I could actually hear the sass in your singing and I laughed out loud when you--or King George, rather--threatened to remind the colonies of your love. And let’s not forget that Beyoncé herself gave your King George strut her stamp of approval. If you don’t take my word for it, take Beyoncé’s.

As I became more and more familiar with the show, I only got to know your unabashed sense of humor better. And I loved every minute of it. Every video of you and Lin made my day. The Ham4Ham you did with Lea Michele made me want to become a morning person (now, that’s an achievement). Basically, everything you did made me feel better off for having seen it or known about it.

And look, I’ll say it flat out--you are so kind. I’ve yet to see the show due to the incredible scarcity of tickets (can I say, for this reason, that this show is actually too good?), but I did make it to the stage door on the night of your final performance. You came out to meet fans and I was one of them. Now, I’ve heard your voice in countless videos and interviews, and I thought it was the most easygoing, sweetest-sounding voice I’d ever heard--until I heard it in real life. And that’s not to say it let me down. No, it beat itself out. All my expectations were met and more. I don’t know if it was the smile on your face, or the gentle look of your eyes, or the pure reality of it, or just the fact that you were truly as kind as could be, but I think it was some combination of the four. You took your time with each and every fan there to see you. You signed everything that came your way and took every photo that was asked of you. You even hugged the guy standing next to me because he made you a mug (this was such a pure human interaction, I can’t stop smiling just writing this). You made each and every person there feel special on the night of your final Hamilton performance.

Although it wasn’t until Hamilton that I became a fan of yours, I can say with certainty that the end of your reign won’t be the end of my adoration for you. Thank you for being an instrumental part of my favorite musical of all time, and thank you for being the wonderful person you are. I hope you know how much you mean to me and all your other fans.

You Can Send a Fully Armed Battalion to Me Any Day,