Let’s get this show on the road
Lea Michele tells MARION McMULLEN how touring with Glee co-star Darren Criss helps beat the loneliness of life on tour
YOU know you have a TV hit on your hands when guest stars of the calibre of Dame Helen Mirren, Whoopi Goldberg and Gwyneth Paltrow sign up to appear.
Glee followed the fortunes of an oddball assortment of music-loving students who join a high school glee club and the American series quickly became a global phenomenon.
Creator Ryan Murphy wrote the part of Rachel Berry with Lea Michele in mind and she sang On My Own, from Les Miserables, as her audition piece.
The musical has always been special to her because she began her Broadway career as a child actress playing the part of young Cosette.
“I started at a young age,” she smiles. “I went to see Phantom Of The Opera when I was seven years old and I loved the show so much a year on I was performing on Broadway myself.
“It was something I was always meant to do. From the time I was born I was always meant to be on stage.”
Lea appeared on stage in shows like Fiddler On The Roof and Spring Awakening... and then Glee came along.
“I don’t think anything prepares you for that level of success,” she admits.
“I come from a background of theatre and was working from an early age and I think that was a good preparation for everything.
“I’m so grateful for everything. It was just amazing and I met an amazing group of friends.”
In fact, she and Glee co-star Darren Criss have announced it’s time to RSVP for the William McKinley High School reunion as they prepare to head to the UK for their first co-headlining tour.
The concert specials launch on December 1 and see the duo playing
Brighton, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. They will hit the stage solo and together, performing a range of popular songs, and many of the fan favourites from Glee.
They broke the news on Ellen DeGeneres’ US talk show saying: “We’ve always had so much fun performing together for one-off gigs, so it’s high time we took that show on the road.
“We share so much musical history together between Glee, Broadway and our own solo projects, so it will be fun to put it all together for our fans in one big show.”
Darren, 31, recently won an Emmy for is role in TV drama The Assassination of Gianni Versace and Lea still remembers meeting him for the first time on Glee.
“I was just so impressed by how relaxed he was,” she laughs.
“He came into Glee half-way through the second season and he was such a great addition. He fitted right in and was so calm and not overwhelmed at all.
“We didn’t work together much at the beginning of the show, but when both our characters moved to New York we ended up spending a lot more time together then.”
Lea, who is renowned for her extensive vocal range, says the joint tour is the culmination of a long-held dream.
The 32-year exclaims: “It’s so, so exciting and it will be so great. This is an idea we have had for a really long time and we couldn’t wait to announce it on Ellen. We were thrilled.
“We had known about it for a couple of months beforehand, but the pieces for the tour came together very quickly.
“We had a long, long list of songs and Darren came up with so many good ideas. We will be playing some of our own music and we will be doing most of our duets from Glee as well as songs from outside the show.
“I think it’s a good mix. We will be switching it up to give a good experience each night and, well, we just have fun.
“I went on tour last year and it was amazing and very different, but it can be quite lonely day after day. It’s really good to be touring with a friend.”
The New Yorker has come through tough times following the shock death of her partner, Glee actor Cory Monteith, in 2013.
He was just 31, his official cause of death given as ‘mixed drug toxicity’ involving heroin and alcohol.
Lea says she has got through the bad times by “surrounding myself with great people and my family.”
In fact, she is already counting down to Christmas with the Micheles.
“I get to spend the holiday with family, which I’m so excited about and I get to spend some time on the East Coast. I just love being home. I love cooking a nice meal, having a delicious red wine, calling up my mum on the phone.
“I make most things in the kitchen, but I like a good bowl of pasta.”
So will Lea be fitting in some Christmas shopping when she arrives in the UK next month?
“I will,” she says, “and I’m going for a walk as soon as I get there. I find it helps with jetlag.” There won’t be much time for sightseeing though, as Lea says she will be saving her energy – and her voice – for the concerts.
“I’m very grateful that I have been able to do both TV and live shows in my career.
“There’s nothing like being on stage though. Nothing beats that’s feeling and that’s why I’m so excited for this tour.”
So are there any other musicals Lea still yearns to do?
“Too many to count,” she admits with a laugh. Get ready for the next curtain call.
Go to lmdctour.com for tour details.