Dear Tina,
First and foremost, happy birthday! I’m going to take that one step further and say happy 40th birthday. The only people who should be ashamed of their age are people who, in their many years on this planet, have accomplished nothing. You on the other hand have a family, a nice home (I presume, I swear I’ve never gone looking), and you are the creator of one of the most critically acclaimed television shows in the last decade. Plus, while I appreciate your humbleness, you did indeed have an impact on the 2008 presidential election. The last person to accomplish all that before the age 0f 40 was Josh Schwartz. No I kid. His only accomplishment was introducing us to Mischa Barton, and you certainly wouldn’t want that on your epitaph now would you?
I don’t know about you but I find that no better birthday present exists than an all new episode of Glee featuring the vocal and comedic talents of one Neil Patrick Harris. NPH joined the cast as Bryan Ryan, a former classmate and glee club mate of Will’s. If the flashback scene featuring a mullet and checkerboard sweater wasn’t enough, the line “What’s the matter Schuester? Cat got your talent?” was all the assurance I needed that NPH would make his time spent on Glee memorable. In addition, Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel returned and Ryan Murphy explored the hopes and dreams of this group that is way too cynical for their age.
Bryan Ryan is a member of the school board set on shutting down the glee club in response to his own post-glee experience that led him to a “urine stained mattress in the West Lima crack district.” This entire set-up, complete with a therapy group titled Glee Club Anonymous, seemed to parallel the plight of a closeted/unaware gay man involved in an organization that councils gay men to be straight. Funnily enough, NPH played that exact character in the season 2 episode of Will and Grace,”Girls, Interrupted.” Notably, John Michael Higgins appeared as Russel, one of the GCA members: “Whenever anything bad would happen I would say “Lets put on a show!'” After a meeting with Bryan and the glee club that ends on a sour note, Will makes it his mission to change Bryan’s opinion before the glee club is no longer. Hmm, Will proving someone wrong about the importance of glee club. So, something fresh. Great. When the two go to grab a drink, Will needles and pokes until he unearths what he suspected never left young Mr. Ryan — an unbridled passion for show choir. The two sing Elton John’s “Piano Man” where Will reminded us of his propensity toward gesticulation while singing and NPH reminded us why he should be put on retainer as host for all televised award shows. Will encourages Bryan to join him at the community theatre auditions for Les Miserables and rekindle his relationship with musical theatre. At the audition, Will tells Bryan that he will be singing “The Impossible Dream” to which Bryan replies “me too.” Will quickly replies, “But then I decided on Aerosmith’s Dream On…” Because when Man of La Mancha is taken, the next obvious choice for a Les Miserables audition is 1970s rock. Bryan suddenly has a change of heart as well and their hissy fit over who had the idea first leads to the two duet-battling it out to the rock anthem. Realistic was the audition outfit Will selected, an undershirt paired with a black vest. The only thing missing was a slightly off center fedora. Unrealistic was the setting. It’s community theatre. They should be auditioning in a room that also houses senior citizen bingo with fluorescent lighting.
Just when it seems Bryan Ryan is on board to not only save the glee club, but fund it as well, Sue Sylvester drops the news that Will was landed the lead role of Jean Valjean, and Bryan immediately renounces his support. In the end, Will makes the ultimate (or minor if you don’t understand what Les Miserables means to a musical theatre enthusiast) sacrifice and, after a roundabout lecture involving astronomy, offers his part to Bryan. You see Tina, it’s not just about success, it’s about creative outlets. I can personally vouch for this as I may not have survived two years living at home without my iPod and enough floor space in my room to recreate my favorite dances on So You Think You Can Dance?
Jonathan Groff finally reappeared and, despite their dance-argument to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” two weeks ago, he appears to have returned to his role as Rachel Barry’s number one fan. Say what you will about the gays Newsweek, but Jesse’s words of encouragement, “You singing “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” in front of a sold-out crowd isn’t a fantasy, it’s an inevitability.”, made me long for such a man who always says exactly what a woman wants to hear. Unfortunately for me and my childish optimism for what it must be like to have a gay-straight-on-TV boyfriend, there was a manipulative back story to Jesse’s inquiry into Rachel’s dreams. I was actually hoping the writers forgot that Jesse’s relationship with Rachel originally came about as a scheme concocted by competitor Vocal Adrenaline’s head coach, played by Idina Menzel. Well, they didn’t and no sooner does Jesse lead Rachel to admit how she longs for her mother, than he is over at her house planting a cassette tape in a box of archives from when Rachel was a baby. The tape was labeled “From Mother to Daughter.” Really, Rachel should have known better.
While this plot was unfolding, my first guess was that Idina was going to pretend to be Rachel’s mom in order to screw her emotionally, making her too fragile to compete in upcoming vocal competitions. Apparently that was too cruel, even for Ryan Murphy, and it turns out Idina actually is Rachel’s mom. This makes sense because it truly would have been absurd to hire a renowned Broadway star whose look is freakishly identical to your lead actress and not address it. Rachel is hesitant to play the faux message from the past for reasons you would expect from someone as self-conscious and self-obsessed as Rachel: “What if she’s terrible, or worse. What if she’s better than me?” Later, Jesse meets Idina in her car and explains Rachel’s hesitations. Here we learn that Idina’s intentions are not malicious but in fact rooted in deep regret and a hope to reconnect with the daughter she abandoned so many years ago. More importantly, we learn that Jesse is developing real feelings for Rachel. Phew. Eventually, the tape is played and we get our Les Miserables fix for the evening with an Idina-Rachel duet of “I Dreamed a Dream.” Certainly put Susan Boyle in her place, that’s for sure.
Missing from the episode in a large way were Finn, Quinn, Kurt, and Mercedes. Apparently this was caused by a story line involving Artie and Tina. Er, for the record, I’ll always prefer any combination of the former. I know Tina is a great musical talent (a member of the original Spring Awakening cast) but as an actress she falls flat and therefore should not be relied upon as a central character even in a “B” story. Tina discovers that Artie’s dream is to become a dancer and pushes him to do so despite the obvious obstacle that is his paralysis. The only good thing to come out of this story was the fantasy sequence, flash mob inspired, number “Safety Dance” in which Kevin McHale was finally able to show off his seasoned boy band moves.
Brittany Line of the Night:
UM SHE DIDN’T HAVE ANY! Terrible. Despite her phenomenal dancing in “Safety Dance”, the girl was not given so much as a facial expression the whole episode. So, pinch hitting for the blonde tonight is my other favorite blonde, NPH:
I’ve grown weary of your insults Will. They sting and make me want to punch your face.
Song of the Night:
I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables
Sorry, you give Idina a chance to sing and any other performance that may have been in competition for song of the night falls by the wayside. A friend of mine complained about Lea Michele interrupting said performance with her own vocal stylings but I quite enjoyed these dopplegangers combining their talent for an emotional and powerful ballad, ending in an awkward, seated embrace. Really Idina, you take my breath away. I hope an episode is coming where Rachel lashes out at you and you respond by singing “No Good Deed” from Wicked. Please?
Next week I don’t remember what they said was going to happen but I can tell you, even though most shows are wrapping up this week and next, that it will NOT be the season finale. No, we have three more show-stopping weeks before Glee leaves us for the summer. On an even brighter note, during the FOX upfronts it was announced that the 2010-2011 calendar will make room for Glee sans absurdly long hiatus. Yes.
Er, I just remembered. Next week is Lady Gaga week. Someone was wearing a bubble dress. YES.
30 Rock Quote of the Day:
Liz: I don’t know how, but you’re going to get me another sandwich. Or I’m gonna cut your face up so bad, you’ll have a chin! You’ll all have chins!
Dear Tina 