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MickeyJoTheatre
how GLEE saved Broadway | the stars who found stage success in the decade since the hit TV show
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Mickey Jo Theatre
so, and I can't quite believe I am about to say this, here is what you missed on Glee. In 2009, a TV series originally conceived as a film by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, took the world by storm and became a cultural phenomenon. The music inclusive show told the story of the New Directions show choir at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, who, under the mentorship of Glee Club alumnus and dubious educator Will Schuster, went from a plucky group of losers and misfits to polished performers and contenders for national titles. Of course, beyond the trophies, the mashups and that one modulation they added into don't stop believing, the show was really about these young people becoming their more authentic selves, navigating relationships, identity crises and other high school issues, all the while performing diegetic and non diegetic covers of contemporary songs, classic show tunes and unexpected medleys. The show attained Emmy award wins, viewership in the millions, and created multiple breakout stars. And in terms of this specific musical theater adjacent sub genre, its success hasn't really been replicated in the years since now here is what you missed on Broadway. It's the 2000s and in the immediate years since all Broadway theaters were forced to close due to a world altering pandemic, the industry has been struggling with newfound financial challenges. Because while audiences have begun to return to the world's biggest theater district even amidst rising ticket prices, these shows have never been more expensive to produce, and it has never been more challenging for producers to recoup their investments or keep a show open long enough for that to happen. And with fewer new musicals in particular lasting more than a year or two, there are so many new shows to compete with each season, meaning the name of the game is capturing the attention of prospective audience members, and one of the biggest tools in order to achieve that is star casting, often referred to as stunt casting. One of the most persuasive examples of which is when talented individuals who ticket holders actually want to see singing and dancing on stage are also eager to perform in Broadway and Off Broadway shows. And it just so happens around a decade after it was last on our screens, many stars of Glee have now made their way to Broadway and Off Broadway or the West End. And also a couple of them had done theatre before. Today, with more of its stars on stage than perhaps ever before, we are going to talk about the enduring connection between Glee and and Broadway and whether Glee has saved Broadway. And just before we do, if you're meeting me for the very first time. Oh my God. Hey, my name's Mickey Jo. I'm obsessed with all things theatre. I'm a critic, I'm a content creator, and I'm going to tell you all about Broadway and Glee and as well as all of my thoughts and feelings, I would love to know yours. Let me know which Glee stars you have seen on stage and which Glee stars you would like to see on stage. And if you would like to hear more of my thoughts about Broadway and the theatre industry worldwide, make sure to subscribe right here on YouTube or follow me on podcast platforms. But in the meantime, let's talk about it. Has Glee Saved Broad. Okay, so for those of you that somehow missed the cultural phenomenon that was Glee, it pains me to say it, but perhaps some of you may actually have been too young, because it would seem that is now a possibility, even if in the rearview mirror, your recollection of the series is that it may have been a little cringe that the plot kind of derailed into the later seasons, which you may or may not have seen. Perhaps, like myself, you're a musical theater fan who thinks of the series as the reason why you know as many Katy Perry and Rihanna songs as you do, or we have to remember and what will be the guiding light in this conversation is the enormous cultural impact that Glee had and the way in which it certainly, towards the beginning, made stars out of its cast members, some of whom came from the musical theatre world to begin with. But not all of them, I hasten to point out, Glee, when it was initially cast, pulled a whole bunch of talented young people from a variety of different backgrounds, with only a few of them having already appeared on Broadway. And I'm going to tell you about all of the central cast members who have had significant stage careers, including the whole handful of the who are performing in New York right now. But to begin with, we're going to acknowledge those of them who already had Broadway credits, including two of the show's biggest stars, Matthew Morrison, who played Will Schuster, as well as Lea Michelle, who played Rachel Berry. How could we possibly forget two of the series most chaotic characters? In hindsight, Matthew was at the time of Glee, a real rising star who had managed to find success in both commercial vehicles as the original Link Larkin in Broadway's Hairspray, as well as more prestigious works like the Light in the Piazza or the revival of South Pacific that he had been starring in just beforehand. And the casting team, in order to find their Will Schuster, had been specifically looking at Broadway performers. But Matthew Morrison's skill set has always transcended that a little bit. There was a time in the very early 2000s when he was ready to step away from a stage career because of the possibility of being part of a breakout boy band. In any case, Glee Happens showcases his performance skills to the world, and while he doesn't immediately head back the Broadway stage, he eventually returns as JM Barrie in Finding Neverland, a casting move not without its controversy, with fan favorite leading man Jeremy Jordan having originated the role out of town, a role that it would seem was always held for Matthew Morrison once the show arrived on Broadway. The show itself was not particularly successful, and Matthew Morrison wasn't enduringly praised for his performance. And by this time, and certainly in the years that would follow, a strange phenomenon was beginning to occur on social media, where Matthew Morrison, in no small part due to the antics of the character he played on Glee, Will Schuster was beginning to experience a sort of inexplicable Internet backlash in the midst of this. He played the Grinch in a live for television version of that musical. But a substantial, successful Broadway return has eluded him until very recently, because just a few days ago he took over from another Glee alumnus who we will talk about Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff in the Broadway production Just in Time. And although Matthew Morrison's stint in the show is very short, ironically enough he is going to be replaced by Jeremy Jordan in just a few weeks. This does feel like a return to form for the actor, and something that, after years of departure, is quite successfully on Brand for him. This particular role allows him to exude charm and showmanship, but also chat with an audience, which is something he's been doing plenty of in very talked about cabaret appearances for years now. And though presumably he'll be doing more crooning than rapping, he'll also get to dance. And make no mistake, the hype around Matthew Morrison's brief Broadway stint in Just In Time is completely linked to his time on Glee. But I wouldn't go as far as to say that he is the biggest breakout star from Glee. That title is reserved for one Lea Michele. And when it comes to Lea and the character she played, Rachel Berry, she may have a complicated reputation, but boy, can she sing. And that is something that viewers of Glee realized very quickly. It's something Broadway audiences already knew because she was at the beginning no stranger to the stage. In fact, her career had begun very early as a child performer playing young cassette in Les Miserables on Broadway, as well as the original young girl in Ragtime. This is my father. He speaks for both of us, you know her work. Her breakout role, however, as far as musical theatre was concerned, came in the mid-2000s when she played Vendler in the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening. And it's impossible to talk about Lea Michel right now without also talking about that show's star who played Melchior and Jonathan Groff, the two of them having become at this point in their lives and careers, best friends who would go on to work together on Glee. She would be more consistently in the series, but he would emerge a little into the first season as the frontman of rival show choir Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St. James and to sidestep for just a moment, Jonathan Groff isn't necessarily a particularly effective part of this case study, because he was not solely known for Glee. He'd already made a big arrival into the industry with Spring Awakening as the star of that show. But what I think that TV series did afford him was a connection with Ryan Murphy that would lead to further screen projects. And he's always bounced between significant vehicles as a voice actor in the Frozen films, as a member of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, he was in the TV series looking. Jonathan's had a fascinating career, which has certainly, in comparison to other cast members from Glee, always remained very closely connected to the world of musical theatre. He has not strayed from the stage for a very significant portion of time. Most recently, he has been back to back on Broadway, starring as Franklin shepherd in a revival of Merrily We Roll along, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a musical, following it up with a hugely beloved and charming performance, originating the role of Bobby Darin in Just In Time. But in all of those, and especially in his most recent appearances, he has become a star name. But it hasn't felt like Glee's Jonathan Groff. It's felt like Jonathan Groff, who you know from a whole bunch of places, including but not limited to riding his bicycle down 7th Av venue, but back to Leah. And the curious thing here is, given the character she got to portray, given the material that she got to perform more musical theater for her than anyone else on the show, more solo songs for her than anyone else on the show, she didn't go straight into a Broadway vehicle immediately afterwards. She spent the years post Glee forging more of a screen career with limited success, eventually contending with the reality of her on set reputation catching up to her a little bit. And this, I think is very fascinating to look back on because it felt as though in the early years of Glee, she could have had a Funny Girl revival built around her on Broadway effortlessly, even with Barbra Streisand allegedly nixing various productions that were meant to make their way to New York. Eventually, when the time came that a Funny Girl revival finally was making its way to Broadway, Leah's brand had been a little tarnished by a handful of accusations, and it was Beanie Feldstein who was playing the role of Fanny Brice. However, as you will undoubtedly recall, there was some backlash to Beanie's casting. She and the show were not reviewed well, and with the show in a challenging financial position in trying times, the producers were left with one very clear, incredibly marketable choice. And in a win win situation for both her and the production, Lea Michele joined the cast playing the role of Fanny Brice, a role audiences had wanted to see her play for years since season one of Glee when she sang Don't Rain on My Parade, a so well received she reprised it on the Tony Awards. This was a major homecoming. Leah was back on Broadway and it proved to be a substantial and meaningful relationship because only a couple of seasons later she is on Broadway again, this time in a production that she opened a revival of the musical Chess, making her another of the Glee stars you can see in New York right now. And I hasten to point out a lot of the enthusiasm at the box office for Chess right now. It's because of Glee's Lea Michele. Now there is another day one Glee cast member who had been performing on stage and prior to appearing in the TV show It is another Spring Awakening alumnus Jenna Ushkowitz, who had also as a child performed in the King and I. And in addition to appearing on a Glee recap podcast with co star and friend Kevin McHale, Jenna has in the years since the series appeared on Broadway as a replacement dawn in the musical Waitress. However, it may also surprise you to learn that of everyone on this list, she is among the most successful in terms of Tony Award wins. Jenna Ushkowitz is a multi Tony Award winner As a result of her producing work, she has been a producer of multiple Broadway plays and musicals and won the Tony Award for a revival of the musical Once on this island, which included among its cast members Alex Newell, also of the Glee. So chalk one up, or should I say two for Tina Cohen. Chan,
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Mickey Jo Theatre
Now you may be wondering, in addition to Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison and until very recently, recently Jonathan Groff, who the other Glee stars are who are currently performing on the New York stage? And I'm going to tell you about those, but there are a handful of other acknowledgments I want to make. First of all, for the multiple cast members of Glee who have passed away in the years since the series, at least some of whom I'm sure would have gone on to inevitably give fantastic stage performances, which sadly, now we will never have the chance to enjoy next There are many actors from the series who have only one stage credit in the years post Glee, including Diana Agron, who was in a play about Alexander McQueen in London at the St James Theatre since renamed the Other palace, or Melissa Benoist, who replaced in the role of Carole King in the musical Beautiful on Broadway. You may also be wondering why I'm not mentioning bigger Broadway stars like Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who made guest appearances on Glee. And that's because I've never really thought of their brands on Broadway being particularly linked to their Glee success. Don't get me wrong, it's a big component of helping them become the household names that they now are across the US and around the world. But you're never going to see them build as Glee's Kristin Chenoweth or Glee's Adia Menzel. That's gonna be Wicked for all time. And after reflecting a few moments ago on careers we will never get to see, we should also acknowledge that Blake Jenner was set to play the role of Franklin Shepard, the role played recently on stage by Jonathan Groff in a film adaptation of Merrily We Roll along, to be filmed over many questionable years that until he was recast in the role after allegations about his own behavior came to light. It's quite interesting how interconnected the web of all of these careers post Glee have been, as well as the sort of undercurrent of darkness that lingers beneath some of them. One of the more interesting careers to consider is that of Chris Colfer, who was another early breakout star of the season who has, in spite of his talent, not appeared on stage in the years since. And back during season one, it felt inevitable that we would get some kind of a Lea Michele vehicle, some kind of an Amber Riley vehicle. Don't worry, she's coming up next, as well as some kind of a Chris Colfer vehicle. But curiously, even though he sees a lot of shows in New York, often when I'm in the audience, weirdly enough. And even though he has close connections to Broadway, he has not yet made his way onto that particular stage. Do we think he will at some point? Is there a role you would like to see Chris Colfer play? Let me know in the comments down below. Meanwhile, we have some other cast members to discuss. And before we talk about Olivier Award winner Amber Riley, here are the others you can currently see in New York. One of them is Heather Morris, who has just recently joined the cast of Costen Mayer's show 11 to Midnight off Broadway. 11 to Midnight is described as a theatrical dance experience and this makes lot of sense for Heather, who was originally brought into Glee not as an actor or even as a dancer, but first as a choreographer, one who had performed with Beyonce and could teach them the single ladies dance. She eventually became the hilarious character Brittany S. Pierce and remains a hugely talented dancer. And she's not the only Glee star off Broadway because over at New world stages, Kevin McHale is currently starring amongst a fantastic award nominated ensemble in the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, another show from the early 2000s which audiences were falling in love with around the same time as Spring Awakening, which is now enjoying a fantastic revival. And Kevin, who had not done theatre before Glee, has taken a very long time to make his way to the stage, but is so compellingly brilliant as specifically a musical theatre character actor. This is not his theatrical debut because he also appeared in the Frogs in London as Xanthius at Southwark Playhouse. He was excellent in that. He's wonderful in Spelling Bee. I'm very excited for, I think, the brilliant career he's going to have and the inevitable Broadway debut. Any day now you'll get ready for Tony award winner Kevin McHale, I promise you that's coming. But since I mentioned the Tony Awards, there are a couple of other Glee stars who have achieved that particular accolade, including another currently on Broadway, maybe Happy Endings leading man Darren Criss. He of course played the role of Blaine Anderson, frontman of yet another show choir, the Warblers. On Glee. He had something of a theatrical background beforehand with the hugely popular theater group Starkid, and has perhaps in the years cynically the most New York stage credits among any of these cast members, including but not limited to the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a role I believe he also played on tour the role of Seymour Krelbourne in Little Shop of Horrors Off Broadway at the west side Theatre, a role which in this production was originated by Jonathan Groff. It all comes back to Glee before finally his current role, for which he won a Tony Award as an actor and as a producer. The role of Oliver in maybe Happy Ending, still my favorite musical on Broadway. Oh, also, how to succeed in Business without really trying. That actually may have been one of the first instances of like Gleestar doing a Broadway show and really capitalizing on that TV success with another of the earliest examples of that. Actually, as I recall, being one of the least anticipated cast members to make their way into musical theatre. This because they didn't do all that much singing or dancing on the show. I am talking about one of the series most iconic characters, Sue Sylvester, played by Jane lynch, who, as it turns out, when she isn't bullying teenagers in a red track suit or performing the works of the formerly successful music artist Nicki Minaj, is actually a capable singer herself and played the role of Ms. Hannigan in a Broadway revival of Annie, replacing Katie Finneran, but originated the role of Mrs. Brice in that same revival of Funny Girl starring Beanie Feldstein we were talking about just a moment ago. She actually left the show prior to Lea Michelle taking over. They had no crossover in the production whatsoever. Perhaps deliberately, we will never know, thanks to some very carefully worded PR statements. In any case, it seems quite likely we could see another Broadway appearance from Jane lynch in the future. Now, had I made this video back in January, I might have been able to tell you about another current Broadway appearance by Alex Newell in Chicago. Alex has since left that production, but will inevitably be back on a New York stage very, very soon. Alex played the role of Unique in Glee and gave multiple breakout vocal performances, the likes of which they have gone on to give on Broadway, including in the musical Shucked, for which they won a Tony Award. Alex has also been seen, as I mentioned, in Chicago in the Broadway revival of Once on this island, and in more encores, presentations and concert performances than you can shake a stick at at always giving diva energy and fantastic vocals. And while we're on the subject of fantastic vocals, a performer whose Broadway debut we have been anticipating, but which we may never see, Amber Riley. Now, like I said, Amber Circus Season one of Glee was another talent whose stage career we were immediately anticipating once she sang, and I am telling you, I'm not going from Dreamgirls, everybody wanted her to play that role and do that. Show producer Sonja Friedman, who also cast Lea Michele in Funny Girl, when asked to reflect on that particular casting moment when Amber eventually did play the role of Effie White in Dreamgirls in the West End, said that it was one of those things that you couldn't really replicate. It was a chance that would only come along once or twice in a lifetime, and it was hugely excited. The production was actually the first time Dreamgirls had ever been seen in the West End, years after it first played on Broadway, and Amber won an Olivier Award for her performance. However, though she would be seen on various stages in the years since, she has never made her Broadway debut and very recently she made some comments on social media about the demands of Broadway performance and how grueling it actually is, and that there is a very good reason why you are unlikely to see her on Broadway because it's simply incredibly challenging and not particularly friendly to vocalists looking to really nurture and safeguard their instruments. Instrument I was reminded when she said this about comments that the actress Emma Stone made not too long ago about loving Broadway but feeling as though she couldn't necessarily go back because it was so hard for her, and that from a standpoint of stamina and, you know, doing a show eight times a week rather than Amber's position as a vocalist, which I hadn't really considered, and truly she is one of the most formidable vocalists in the world right now. So for her to make these comments about the toll that a Broadway performance takes on the Voice ought to be for the industry incredibly eye opening, and it has already sparked some fascinating conversations. What I find interesting, though, is if she were to eventually make her way to Broadway and she has been attached to some allegedly pre Broadway productions like the musical the Preacher's Wife, the arrival of Amber Riley on Broadway would still be heralded as Glee's Amber Riley, finally making her Broadway debut, even after after so many years and various other projects. But after that inexhaustive recap of all of these post Glee stage careers, let's continue to ask the question, what has Glee done to save
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Mickey Jo Theatre
Broadway. So it's all very well for me to tell you that all of these Glees stars eventually made their way to the stage or back to the stage. This as much as anything else could be an indication of the fact that they couldn't find that much success on screen, though some of them have Harry Shum Jr. Continuing to work in television. I think ultimately this is a case of Broadway needing these particular stars as much as they came to need Broadway or Off Broadway as the case may be. And the thing is, as I mentioned earlier, the best possible example of star casting, stunt casting, whatever you want to call it, is going to be bringing in talented musical theatre ready individuals with a background in musical theatre to do musical theatre. Because make no mistake, they aren't the only star names on Broadway. And while there hasn't been a musical adjacent cultural phenomenon on TV in the years since Glee, not to the same extent, some of the most culturally impactful television in the years since has been reality text television. And we're starting to see more reality stars appearing on stage like Whitney Levitt setting box office records in Chicago. But her replacing in a role that has already been played by various different real Housewives is a very different thing to a brand new vocal heavy musical revival being built around Lea Michele or Matthew Morrison going into a show which is as much about the actual actor in the production as it is about the performer who they are playing. And it might seem obvious, but the winning factor here is that Glee not only cast some Performers with a background in musical theatre, but also was a showcase of singing, dancing, acting, talent. In other words, the stars that it found showcased and exported were always going to be stage ready. And we've seen alumni of a couple of other TV shows take to the stage. We've seen people from high school, the. The series. We've seen people from Descendants, I believe, heading into shows, but not in quite the same way and not necessarily drawing in the same kind of audiences. There's also something to be said for the exact timing of this and how the key demographic who were really into Glee and who were maybe into the concert tour that happened subsequently, are now a decade later of the age where they have Broadway ticket buying money. And while it's easy to be cynical about it, star casting has always existed on stage in some form or another. But now that one of the key Broadway demographics graphics is Millennials, it's going to feel like we're seeing more and more representation from our own youth. And, you know, there are different tiers as well when we talk about success in stunt casting and the extent to which that overlaps with an individual's personal brand. Lea Michele doing Funny Girl is top tier. Perfect intersection. Amber Riley doing Dream Girls top tier. And what I wonder, as we look back over the series is whether or not there are other moments with sort of untested, untapped potential. What we have yet to see in a really substantial way, is multiple Glee alumni being cast alongside each other on stage. It feels like, you know, we might get more Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele projects, but that's as much about their spring awakening past as it is the Glee of it all. Will we get, for example, a project reuniting Kevin McHale and Amber Riley and Jenna Uskowitz? Will we get Chris Colfer and Darren Criss once again playing queer characters in love on stage? You know, that would sell tickets at the box office and is a big stage return on the cards for any of the performers that I've already mentioned. Will we see another role for Jane Lynch? Will we see a role for Chris Colfer finally? Is there going to be something that could convince Amber Riley to eventually and finally make that Broadway debut? I personally think if a producer wanted to print money, then all they need do is convince Amber Riley and Alex Newell to split a full performance performance schedule of Dreamgirls, four shows a week each and have done with it. That's something everyone would have to buy a ticket for and twice. Of course, all that this really proves is that people are excited to See these cast members on stage. And for us to address whether Glee has saved Broadway, we would have to consider whether Broadway even needed saving and whether they have made more of a difference than other star names. And while the Whitney Levitt of it all is quite persuasive, I would encourage you to look at a show like Moulin Rouge, which has been pulling in performance rumors from various different places. A little Bob the Drag Queen here, a little Boy George over there, a big old Megan thee stallion in the middle. And while we see flashes of enthusiasm, it's hard to argue with the impact of Lea Michele going into Funny Girl or the initial weeks when Darren Kris was out of and then back into maybe Happy Ending. And another thought I have in all of this, as audience sensibilities over the years slowly shift, is that there is an increasing expectation of of real, genuine talent on stage and authenticity. By and large, we're not seeing the same kind of stunt casting that we saw a decade or even a couple of decades ago, when individuals with little to no theatrical performance background would be thrown into these productions simply to sell tickets without the real ability to deliver the material. And I think another thing audiences really crave now is a level of authenticity. And with Glee alumni, they know that what they're going to get get is at the very least a great performance. We already know they can sing, dance and act. We saw them do it on TV for years. And you need only look at grosses, average ticket prices and recoupment over the last couple of seasons to see that. Increasingly, Broadway is becoming quite dependent on star and celebrity casting. As such, limited run plays do great business by bringing in Hollywood names like Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, etc. But the musicals don't necessarily have the that same option. Not only are there fewer stars who can really deliver the material and deliver it well, but also there are fewer actors who want to put themselves in that position. And as Emma Stone and Amber Riley have told us, it's very hard to do. And it is at that exact moment that cast members from shows like Glee get a call. Because brilliant as this show is, maybe Happy Ending was in a very dangerous place for its earliest weeks on Broadway. And if it weren't for the appeal of Darren Criss as well as some exciting early word of movie mouth, I don't know whether they would have been able to turn that around. Meanwhile, we absolutely saw what happened with Funny Girl, but with Chess on Broadway as well. I'm not sure there would be as much enthusiasm as Fantastic as they are for just Aaron De Veit and Nicholas Christopher without a third star name attached. Leah, having really proved herself over at the August Wilson Theatre, became a persuasive box office draw when the revival opened. And meanwhile, even before Matthew Morrison began to splish Splash in Just In Time over at the Circle in the Square, there is no reason why that particular musical should have run for as long as as it has, other than the abundant charm of Jonathan Groff. In other words, yes, New York Theatre is very much in its Glee era, and I suspect we haven't seen the last of it. To find out where it may be heading next, you can subscribe right here on YouTube or follow me on podcast platforms, but for now, that is everything that I have to say about Glee on Broadway. Thank you so much for listening to this video essay. I hope that you enjoyed if you did. Feel free to share all of your thoughts and feelings in the comments section down below, as well as which of these Glee alumni performances you have seen on stage. Finally, if you would like to hear more of my Broadway thoughts, including reviews of this spring's openings that I will be seeing very soon in my upcoming trip to New York, make sure you're subscribed here or following on podcast platforms. And as always, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Minky Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Mickey Jo Theatre
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- [33:04]
Grow Therapy Announcer / Rachel Fisher
From movie, TV and music stars to athletes, as well as the wealthy and politically elite, we cover the seedier side of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
- [33:13]
Desi Jetekin
New episodes drop every Tuesday and you can check us out wherever you listen to podcasts,
- [33:20]
Acast Announcer
Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.