On Friday night, “Glee Live!” shed its plot lines from the “Glee” television program and flaunted its karaoke repertory and gusto of its young troupers as they kicked off a stand of three nights at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, completing a tour of four cities.
The Fox television series “Glee” is like a movie from John Hughes that has been transformed into a musical from a jukebox. It follows the small victories and long odds of a glee club that is an underdog called New Directions, comprised of a sexually assorted and ethnically diverse set of high school misfits. They dance and sing through pop hits which succinctly say, like greeting cards, what the feelings are of the characters. In the meantime they bond together as a group while learning how to stay proud of the fact that they are different. Each week this message is reiterated.
The performances of the cast of carefully selected dance-pop show tune, R&B and rock songs, are choreographed production numbers that verge on being music videos. They also enjoy lucrative second lives on the pop charts and often help spur sales for the original versions also. “Glee” is camp extravaganza while providing a therapeutic and marketing boost.
The star at the concert was “Glee” not the individual performers, the 20-something, clear-skinned actors playing teenagers. The songs were staged in reminiscence of the show: for “Jump” by Van Halen there were pajamas and mattresses; the exact Lady Gaga costumes from they May 25th ‘Bad Romance” episode. During the performance references to the cast members was not by their names but by their roles, with most of the solos quickly absorbed by the group.
When Lea Michele (in the role of Rachel) belted “Funny Girl’s” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in full Streisand dramatics, the parade was rained on when other cast members made their entrance from the aisle, which diverted the applause and squeals. In what served as a reminder to all that they could easily be replaced, the show included Vocal Adrenaline, the rival of New Directions, which also doubled on “Like a Prayer” as gospel singers.
Some cast members of “Glee” are singers that are fully developed, others are not. Lea Michele is a high-voiced, accomplished belter. Chris Colfer, the fashion-loving, gay Kurt, also has a pure and high voice that on the show has been underutilized. The Michele-Colfer duet of “Wicked’s” “Defying Gravity,” with its vow of “trust my instincts,” easily was the set’s best match up.
Cory Monteith, in the role of drummer and quarterback Finn, has a thin but eager voice. Mark Salling, in the role of bad boy Puck with a Mohawk haircut, displayed a capable baritone, along with Kevin McHale in the role of Artie, the wheelchair bound student. Naya Rivera, in the role of cheerleader Santana, revealed briefly an additional strong voice during her duet with Amber Riley who plays Mercedes. Riley sings high, climactic notes on a regular basis with R&B melismas. On “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, Jenna Ushkowitz in the role of Tina beamed through the self-respect anthem.
The lineup for the performance on Friday included a bonus. The two adult leads from the shows on tour have only appeared on video. However at Radio City Matthew Morrison, who plays Will Schuester the glee club teacher, and Jane Lynch, who plays Sue Sylvester, made their appearances on stage. Morrison sang and strummed a ukelele to the song “Over the Rainbow.”
The set list for the show was almost evenly split between songs about inner worth, such as “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and songs about romance such as “Faithfully” by Journey and “Push It” by Salt-n-Pepa. The band with the most song credits was Journey. “Any Way You Want It” was also performed by the cast.
No matter what the lyrics or subject was, there was no angst. Everything was delivered with big smiles and a group dance usually, with cast members arm waving, kicking or strutting. During a time when Broadway is being taken over by rock musicals, “Glee” insists from its world of happy endings that Broadway pizazz instead could swallow rock’s past.
