Let me start off by saying I am a huge fan of “Glee.” So, going to “Glee LIVE” at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles was pretty much a win-win situation for me.
But the show blew me away.
I came in with somewhat low expectations because I realize that on the show their voices are edited when they sing, so I wasn’t sure if they’d be lip-synching. TV is a magical, magical place where even the least talented can come off looking pretty good, so who knows that they would sound like LIVE right?
This show proved how talented this cast really is. Lea Michelle’s voice was clearly created by angels. She’s the vocal powerhouse of that cast, and comes off even better on stage. Her star power is nearly blinding. Chris Colfer also has the vocal chops to carry a show, and I can only hope he’ll have even more solos in the future.
The cast sang many songs from the earlier episodes of the show, including “Bust your windows” and, of course, “Somebody to Love.” We even got a visit from Vocal Adrenaline. From the above, slightly blurry photo, you can see we got a sneak-peek of the “Bad Romance” number and elaborate costumes before it airs this Tuesday. Pretty amazing.
But the real surprise of the show? The supporting characters. Heather Morris, who plays ditzy cheerleader Brittany, has more stage presence than most anyone else up there. I realized that in the show she’s only now becoming memorable, but in the LIVE versions, her talent is really on display. She’s an amazing dancer, with natural rhythm oozing for her every pore. She’s also a comedic talent, and I hope to see more of that in the TV version.
In the same way, Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike Chang on the show, has never really had a plot line, but on stage he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s an all-star dancer who should never be put in the background of anything. He’s in an extremely talented dancing crew called Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, who opened the show. If you’ve never heard of them, check out this website, although they are even better live.
There were only a couple of things missing to make this show perfect. Namely, Matthew Morrison. He visits on the video screen, but without any songs from the Broadway star, the show feels like it’s missing something really big.
And just a note for the stage crew, the break between the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers opener and the actual show was way too long.
But even that wait was really worth it for this outstanding show. Here are a couple more photos:
Rebecca M Ford 