TELEVISION GUESTING ON ‘GLEE’ | TUESDAY, 8:28 PM | FOX By JOHN CROOK The fi rst three episodes of “Glee” are marked by three top-notch musical theater performers in guest-starring ice-guy choral director Will Schuester may be heading for a gunfight at the OK Corral with his chief nemesis, roles. but his real-life alter ego, Matthew Morrison, is nothing short of “Glee”-full as his show — the surprise hit of HIT MUSICAL the 2009-10 TV season — returns to Fox with new episodes on Tuesday. “Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is coming back from ‘browning up a bit in Boca’ to unleash . on me,” Mor- DRAMEDY MAKES rison says, “and (for the kids), it’s about dealing with that kind of fame, with the glee club winning (the sectionals competition before the show’s recent hiatus) and thinking that, ‘Oh, we’re suddenly going to be popular,’ and then to be slapped across the face and realize: ‘OK, we’re still in the glee club. Things haven’t WAY BACK TO FOX Nchanged too much.’” JONATHAN GROFF KRISTIN CHENOWETH IDINA MENZEL Maybe not on the show, but for its cast? Wow. WITH GUEST STARS WHO HE PLAYS: Jesse St. James, WHO SHE PLAYS: April Rhodes, WHO SHE PLAYS: Shelby Corco- the McKinley High School alumn ran, conniving director of the rival the lead singer of Vocal Adrena- Lynch already has rocketed from “actor’s actor” status in a recurring sing and dance spectacularly must have been startled by a key moment line, arch-nemeses of “Glee’s” New who also appeared last season and Vocal Adrenaline troupe. sang “Maybe This Time.” role on “Two and a Half Men” and the Starz sitcom “Party Down” to an earlier this season, as nice-guy Will discovered that wife, Terri (Jessalyn FROM BROADWAY Directions, and love interest for THEATER CRED: A Tony-winner authentic TV cult comedy icon, while Lea Michele (Rachel), who earned Gilsig), his high-school sweetheart, was faking a pregnancy to manipulate Rachel (Lea Michelle). THEATER CRED: Star of Broad- for “Wicked,” also in the original raves for “Spring Awakening” on Broadway, is gaining new success on the him. The harrowing kitchen face-off between the two was devastating, THEATER CRED: He was a Tony way’s “Wicked,” “The Apple Tree,” company of “Rent.” small screen. And Chris Colfer, who had virtually no professional TV ex- leading to the (apparent) rupture of their marriage. the current “Promises, Promises” perience before the show, is still in pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming mode “As an actor, you live for a scene like that, and especially since I had nominee for “Spring Awakenings” “GLEE” CONNECTION: Co-starred and more. as he builds a major following as gay student Kurt Hummel, a role “Glee” been happy-go-lucky Will Schuester for most of the season,” and also starred off-Broadway in with Chenoweth in “Wicked.” “Hair.” “GLEE” CONNECTION: executive producer Ryan Murphy created just for him. Morrison says. “It was such a great moment that flexed a different She starred “I was horrible in school, because I had all these daydreams about muscle. I wanted to approach that scene like a theater piece. In television, “GLEE” CONNECTION: Michele was with Idina Menzel in “Wicked.” something like this,” says Colfer, a 19-year-old native of Clovis, Calif. you usually rehearse right before you actually shoot. I asked the director Groff’s co-star, and love interest, in “Sometimes a town that has a million wonderful qualities can have its of that episode if Jessalyn and I could maybe rehearse a couple of days out “Spring Awakenings.” share of small-minded qualities, too. That started a lot of my hoping for before that. They let us do it, which was crazy given the schedule we’re on, an escape. and it really felt ‘theatrical’ to me. I was so happy with how it all turned “I had nothing but tough times in high school. But I was the kind of out.” kid, very much like Kurt, who was so driven and set in what I wanted to do Success breeds success, and “Glee” currently is a magnet for some of with my life and my future that I pretended that nothing they said both- Broadway’s best performers. Jonathan Groff, Michele’s Tony-nominated ered me.” “Spring Awakening” co-star, joins the show for several of these new epi- And life has a way of imitating art on the set of “Glee,” where this sodes, while Kristin Chenoweth reprises her hilarious yet poignant guest dramedy about talented teen geeks (the show’s fans call themselves role as boozy April Rhodes, and her “Wicked” co- star Idina Menzel shows “Gleeks”) being mentored by an understanding grown-up was reflected up as the director of a rival show choir. SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010 • THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS • early on by the relationship between the young cast members and Mor- PLAY rison, a Tony Award nominee for his work in Broadway’s “The Light in the John Crook writes for Zap2it. Piazza.” “At the beginning, I definitely was kind of the quiet, strong leader, but these kids have really come into their own.” Morrison says. “I don’t think the show would be what it is without each and every one of their individ- ual contributions. Everyone is so special now. Chris, especially, looked up to me a lot in the beginning, because he is such a musical theater fan and knew about my career and all the shows that I have done, so he was like a ‘superfan.’ But we see each other every day for so many hours, even on weekends when we do press events together, so we really have become a family, doing this amazing thing we love.” Fans who knew Morrison as a handsome guy who could PLAY SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010 • THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS • 18G 19G.