First and foremost, Glee makes you smile. Personally, I love to smile. Sure there are some sad and dramatic moments but when you end with a song and Jane Lynch is involved, you walk away feeling pretty good. These days I think everyone can use something to lift them up every now and again.
Speaking of the singing, this is the choir nerd coming out in me but it is seriously amazing. In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone (which I should have bought yesterday at the grocery store! Man!), executive producer Ryan Murphy said that Lea Michele, who plays Rachel, has the voice of a generation. He isn't kidding. Michele's voice can be compared to a modern day Barbra Streisand. The emotion she puts into each and every song she sings on the show stays with you long after the performance. She's been a Broadway sensation since she was eight years old and has a voice that she was simply born to share.
It isn't only Michele's voice that stands out, however. Every member of the cast has had some sort of professional experience singing. Matthew Morrison who plays Mr. Schuster has also been on Broadway for years and was nominated for a Tony. The girl who played Mercedes auditioned for American Idol. This isn't a show where a bunch of actors were cast to also be singers and dancers. Every single person on this show is a bonafide performer, an actual triple threat. They sing, dance and act equally as well - they are the complete package.
The songs they sing also speak to the audience, no matter which era of music you enjoy. Some of the songs the cast has covered includes Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", "Hello Goodbye" and "Imagine" by the Beatles, "Jump", "Proud Mary", "Lean on Me" and many more classics. The group has also sung songs from Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, and, most recently, The All-American Rejects just to throw a more modern twist in there. There have been Broadway songs as well with Lea Michele (Rachel) famously singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" from the movie "Funny Girl" in the Sectionals episode. There's something for everyone and every song resonates for the tone or theme of that particular episode. In fact, Murphy has said that after writing an episode, he picks a song to coincide with what's happening. And it's perfect every time.
Plus the content of the show is completely current and relevant. Sure it's about a glee club but more importantly it's first and foremost about the differences in everyone and embracing those differences. It's about the fact that jock or nerd, gay or straight, black or white, everyone has struggles, everyone has passions, everyone has dreams and goals and aspirations. The show also focuses on issues like teen pregnancy, divorce, love, and good old-fashioned competition. They're issues that viewers can relate to and have possibly even found themselves in and the actors do such an amazing job portraying what their characters are feeling that it makes it nearly impossible to not feel something as you're watching.
And if you think that the cast just isn't doing it for you, tune in for any number of amazing guest stars. Last season, we saw Josh Groban and the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth (star of "Wicked" on Broadway). This year, Idina Menzel who starred in "Rent" on Broadway plays the director of the rival show choir and is joined by Jonathan Groff, a Broadway sensation who played opposite Lea Michele in "Spring Awakening". We'll also see Neil Patrick Harris and who doesn't love themselves some NPH?
You guys, Glee is seriously legit. Forget about the stereotype of it as a "singing and dancing" show because it's a lot more than that.
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