Throw in some Neil Diamond, a dash of Salt-n-Pepa and a helping of Heart and you’ve got the recipe for one of tastiest, talent-filled shows on TV.
There’s a lot to love about “Glee,” the story of fictional McKinley High School’s motley “New Directions” Glee Club, led by winsome director Will Schuester.
This ultra-hormonal “High School Musical,” created by Ryan Murphy, the mind behind the totally twisted “Nip/Tuck,” already has become a powerful voice in the television and recording worlds in its first season. Pregnant cheerleaders, sadistic coaches and closeted students abound, but the real star of the show is the music.
Every week, the show unleashes great, unexpected performances, ranging from a hilariously horny take on Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” to a soulful, impromptu rendition of “Gold Digger” that the “Gleeks” — as the show’s ardent followers are known — fanatically upload from iTunes as soon as they’re available. Just last week, the soundtrack to the first season was released. Plus, the sheet music for the arrangements used on “Glee” is on sale at www.halleonard.com.
Rock royalty is even taking notice: Her Madgesty is opening her catalogue to the show for a Madonna-themed episode next season.
Southern Indiana-based voice teacher Hannegan Roseberry is blown away by the “Glee” effect.
“My students come in every week, saying, ‘Did you upload all the new songs?’ ” she says. “As soon as the episode is over, they’re always online checking iTunes to see if the songs have been uploaded yet. Every teenager on the planet is going to download the music and download the originals to compare.”
The soundtrack brilliantly blends current hits, golden oldies, ’80s favorites and show tunes for optimum appeal.
“I like that it has songs from different generations,” says Joseph Trudeau, a student of Roseberry’s who attends Floyd Central High School. “My parents enjoy watching it and they’re in their 50s. It’s nice that there’s music that they understand and know.”
Trudeau and his friends have turned “Glee” into a weekly party. The kids gather in their pal Dallyn Brunck’s basement, and watch the show while eating Chinese take-out. After the credits roll, they head to Dairy Queen for ice cream.
“Normally by then we’ve already burnt the songs on to our CDs, so on the way to ice cream, we’ll be singing them in the car,” he says.
“Glee” is so thoroughly modern that music mash-ups come to vivid life on screen. In the episode “Boys Vs. Girls,” Schuester tasks the young singers with creating a mash-up and accompanying choreography. The boys deliver a rousing mix of Usher’s “Confessions” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” while the girls pump out a hyper-energetic hybrid of Beyonce’s “Halo” and Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.”
(Incidentally, all the singers were high on speed-filled antihistamines prescribed by the shoddy school nurse when they performed.)
“Girls Vs. Boys” resonated with local Gleek Cassie Gutman, 17, also a student at Floyd Central.
“Being in theater is so competitive in its nature and I really liked that aspect,” says Gutman, also a student of Roseberry’s, “ … and boys against girls: How can it get better than that?”
Gutman says she loved “Glee” at first sight and downloads the songs “within seconds” of them popping up on iTunes.
“It’s such a relief to see something on TV that’s just so happy and makes everybody want to sing along,” she says. She also gets a sense of authenticity from the show.
“Sometimes that’s what I feel like show-choir or theater really is: this group of misfits that comes together for something that they love,” she says.
New Directions is a diverse bunch, including wheelchair-bound Artie Abrams, punky Noah “Puck” Puckerman, and pregnant former cheerleader Quinn Fabray.
The quality of the cast is something local Gleeks also appreciate. Gutman says she was delighted to see and hear Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth during a recent guest appearance. Chenoweth sang a duet of Heart’s “Alone” with Schuester.
“She’s got such a wonderful voice and it was cool to hear her sing something other than opera or musical theater,” Gutman says
The regular cast is replete with real pros. Lea Michele — who plays nerdy, angel-voiced Rachel — was in the original cast of “Spring Awakening,” and Matthew Morrison, who plays Schuester, is also an accomplished stage singer.
“I am so in love with (Morrison). He was so good in “The Light in the Piazza” and everything he’s done,” says Sarah VogtÖ, 20, a theater major at University of Evansville. “I think that ‘Glee’ is fabulous … and for a theater major, it’s really good to see that people are cast for their abilities. The choral work on the show is so impressive. It’s just perfect. They’re doing a really good job of getting people excited about musical theater instead of thinking it’s for nerds and losers.”
Dallyn Brunck, 17, the host of the weekly “Glee” viewing parties, also was a big fan of Michele’s prior to the show, and finds her work on “Glee” “pretty phenomenal.” Bruck, a Floyd Central student, loves the show’s nods to musical theater.
“I like how they do show tunes in a new, cool way,” she says.
Chris Manion, 38, a member of Louisville’s Voices of Kentuckiana chorus, also is a proud Gleek.
“I like it that they’ve taken pop songs and made them into choral arrangements and they still sound good,” says the Audubon Park resident. “It’s very campy and a lot of fun. I like that they keep surprising me.”
