It鈥檚 been an exciting couple of weeks for Gleeks! While the fandom has yet to receive confirmation of the rumored Glee reboot, the popular series has found its new streaming homes on Disney+ and Hulu after leaving Netflix in late 2021. It鈥檚 been a long six months, but the 11-time Emmy-winning show from co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy arrives on the streamers June 1 in celebration of LGBTQIA+ Pride month.
First premiering on Fox in 2009, the pop culture monolith ran for six seasons until 2015. The show follows the New Directions, a high school glee club on their journey to show choir fame. The cast included Lea Michele and Jenna Ushkowitz, fresh off their runs in Broadway鈥檚 Spring Awakening, as well as Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, and Dianna Agron. Broadway alum Matthew Morrison, who had just appeared in South Pacific, led the New Directions as Mr. Schuester. Other over the course of its six-season run, including Idina Menzel, Kristen Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff, and Neil Patrick Harris.
For several players, however, their singing roles on Glee may have served as an audition for their future Broadway careers. Here is a list of six Broadway players who got their start on Glee, or the Glee-adjacent reality series The Glee Project.
Jane Lynch
While Jane Lynch made appearances in many popular television series such as The L Word, Criminal Minds, and Two and a Half Men prior to Glee, she first exercised her singing chops on the musical series as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. The fast-talking, insult-throwing tyrant went head-to-head with the show choir teens before eventually growing fond of student Kurt Hummel and his relationship with Blaine Anderson, and slyly rooting for the singing teens. Lynch received numerous awards for her portrayal, including a Primetime Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in Television, and a People鈥檚 Choice Award for Best TV Comedy Actress. During her time on Glee, the performer starred in the rotating cast of Nora Ephron鈥檚 Off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore. After the musical series concluded, she made her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie and can currently be seen on the Main Stem in Funny Girl as Fanny Brice鈥檚 mother.
What did Lynch sing on Glee? Popular covers include 鈥淰ogue鈥� by Madonna, 鈥淪uper Bass鈥� by Nicki Minaj, and 鈥淧hysical鈥� by Olivia Newton-John.
Darren Criss
When Darren Criss originated the role of Blaine Anderson, he was not a newbie to the musical theatre sphere. As a college student, he founded the theatre company StarKid Productions which rose to popularity in 2009 after their Harry Potter musical parody, A Very Potter Musical, reached virality and garnered a large fanbase. Joining the series in his breakthrough role as the Katy Perry-obsessed heartthrob in Season 2, the performer soon found himself making his Broadway debut in How to Success in Business Without Really Trying before going on to star as the title character of Hedwig in the Angry Inch on Broadway, and in Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Criss is currently appearing nightly in the all-star Broadway revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo.
What did Criss sing on Glee? Popular covers include 鈥淭eenage Dream鈥� by Katy Perry, 鈥淪omewhere Only We Know鈥� by Keane, and 鈥淪omething's Coming鈥� from West Side Story.
Melissa Benoist
Melissa Benoist joined the cast of Glee as a season regular in 2012 after many of the original characters graduated and went off to college. She played Marley Rose, one of the most memorable newbies given her challenging storylines revolving around poverty and disordered eating. Immediately following Glee, the actor landed the title role in the D.C. television series Supergirl. However, she took a summer off from filming the superhero drama to make her Broadway debut as the title character for a two-month, limited run in Broadway鈥檚 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
What did Benoist sing on Glee? Popular covers include 鈥淲recking Ball鈥� by Miley Cyrus, 鈥淟ook at Me, I鈥檓 Sandra Dee (Reprise)鈥� from Grease, and 鈥淏low Me (One Last Kiss)鈥� by Pink.
Lindsay Pearce
While not earning her claim-to-fame on Glee, Lindsay Pearce guest starred in two episodes after placing as runner-up on the Oxygen network reality competition The Glee Project鈥攁 series that set out to discover 骋濒别别鈥檚 next star. Pearce premiered in Season 3 as a former Gerber baby model and New Directions鈥� competitor, Harmony. Following her debut television appearance on the Glee-adjacent series, the performer began to book regional theatre roles including the title role in the Hollywood production of A Snow White Christmas alongside Neil Patrick Harris. She made her Broadway debut in 2020 as Elphaba in Wicked and is now with the national tour of Mean Girls the Musical as Janis Sarkisian.
What did Pearce sing on Glee? Popular covers include 鈥淎nything Goes/Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better) mash-up from Anything Goes and Annie Get Your Gun, and 鈥淏uenos Aires鈥� from Evita.
Alex Newell
Also a runner-up in The Glee Project Season 1, Alex Newell won a two-episode arc on the main series, as transgender teenager Unique Adams. The fan-favorite character quickly became a recurring role on Seasons 3 and 4 of the musical comedy, and he joined the main cast in Season 5. Newell made his Broadway debut in the 2017 Tony-winning revival of Once on this Island revival as Asaka, the Goddess of Earth.
What did Newell sing on Glee? Popular covers include 鈥淚f I Were a Boy鈥� by Beyonce and 鈥淚 Know Where I鈥檝e Been鈥� from Hairspray.
Ali Stroker
As a finalist of The Glee Project Season 2, Ali Stroker was awarded a guest appearance on the Fox television series in the Season 4 episode 鈥淚 Do鈥� as the niece of school counselor Emma Pillsbury (played by Jemma Mays). While only granted a small non-singing appearance on Glee, she starred in every episode of her reality show season and performed 15 musical numbers including solos 鈥淧opular鈥� from Wicked, 鈥淗ere鈥檚 to Us鈥� by Halestorm, and 鈥淭rue Colors鈥� by Cyndi Lauper. After her reality show appearance, she went on to star on Broadway in Deaf West鈥檚 Spring Awakening revival and as Ado Annie in the 2019 revival of Oklahoma!鈥攁 role which earned her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
