Glee-Cap Ep. 3: Confidence is Key
The third episode of Fox TV sensation Glee had fans twittering with excitement. Literally. (Glee was in the top trending spot on Twitter. Go Gleeks!) The legions of viewers tuning in on Wednesday night seem to be growing exponentially. And why not? The show is smart, hilarious (I can’t tell you how many times I did a double take wondering, “Did they really just do that?!”) and chock full of heavy-hitting Broadway talent. So, to quote Matthew Morrison’s Will Shuester, “Let’s take it from the top.
The episode begins as Terri and Will are having dinner with his parents—Tony winner Debra Monk and four-time Tony nominee Victor Garber (the casting of this show is amazing—there are more theater people in this episode than walking through Shubert Alley on a two-show day). Will blurts out that Terri’s expecting, though we know she is doing no such thing. This leads to a heart-to-heart between Will and his dad, who offers this bit of wisdom: “Being man is all about one thing: guts.” If you are looking for tonight’s theme, you got it. And if Glee were a drinking game, and we had to slam a shot every time someone used the word “confidence,” we’d all be smashed by the first commercial.
OK, confidence, having guts and flying your freak flag (cue any number of Broadway anthems from La Cage to Shrek) are the subjects at hand; but in order to build up confidence, first we have to see it falter. Hey, this is high school, so no problem there! It turns out the Glee Club members are not exactly digging Mr. Shue’s moves. They think they need more professional choreography. Ouch! Will reveals his self-doubt to Emma (Jayma Mays), the germaphobe guidance counselor crushing on him. Her offhanded remark doesn’t help, “Nothing is sexier in a man than confidence.” Thanks, Emma!
All of this soul-crushing, plus the unhelpful reminder from his students that he never pursued performing after high school, push Will to a crisis of faith. And is there any better antidote to low self-esteem than forming an over-the-hill “boy band” with your colleagues? Apparently not: Soon enough Will is neglecting the Glee Club in favor of rehearsing with his group (called the Acafellas, natch), which includes Tony winner John Lloyd Young’s comic take as a thumbless shop teacher suffering from an addiction to over-the-counter cough medicine. Cue the buzz saw.
Needless to say, the not so new kids on the block are making malevolent cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) gleeful (and she loathes that word) at the possibility that the Glee Club will fail. After all, she’s already infiltrated the club with a trio of her perfectly coiffed cheerios (do those girls ever wear anything other than their cheerleading uniforms?!), and now the Club has hired overpaid high school choreographer Dakota Stanley (who once understudied the Candelabra in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway).
The diminutive dictatorial dance director is not exactly a sensitive individual, however. He snaps that Rachel (Lea Michele) needs a nose job, Mercedes Jones (the wonderfully talented Amber Riley) should go on a diet consisting solely of coffee and dismisses wheelchair-bound club member Artie (Kevin McHale) for "not trying hard enough to walk." Right. So, after invoking the patron saint of all misfit musical talents—the one and only Barbra Streisand—the kids ditch the terrifying tyrant and get on with the business of welcoming back Mr. Shue and his crappy dance moves. ("Dude, my bowels have better moves than you," quips Puck, the hunky, mohawk-wearing footballer played by Mark Sailing).
Throw in an electrifying rendition of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows” by Mercedes after her gaydar seriously lets her down, a heartfelt coming out from Kurt (the pitch-perfect Chris Colfer) and the image of Josh Groban (yes, the real Josh Groban!) telling a tipsy Debra Monk: "Throngs of screaming teenagers don’t do it for Josh Groban. Josh Groban loves a blowsy alcoholic." I love it when a heartthrob talks about himself in the third person, don’t you?
You know what else I love? That so many people are becoming obsessed with this musical social satire and its winking theater references. It gives me confidence.