Gleeseason debut has brief reminder of Monteith

THERE was a subtle, sad reminder of late Glee star Cory Monteith

fifth-season (pic) in the TV show’s debut episode.

with The hour began Thursday Lea Michele’s character, Rachel Berry, at a callback

audition for a Broadway production of Funny Girl. After she overhears the director and star (Peter

Facinelli, Ioan Gruffudd) suggest

she might be too green, a dejected Rachel walks through Manhattan singing the Beatles’ melancholy Yesterday. At one point, she pauses to gaze at a photo on her

cellphone: It’s a group shot of her

old high school Glee Club pals, among them Monteith’s Finn

Hudson. Monteith, 31, died

in July ofa drug and alcohol overdose. He and Michele’s real-life relationship was mirrored by their characters’ romance on the show. “Couldn’t have picked a more beautiful & perfect

song to start the year with,” Michele tweeted in August, as production on the Fox show got underway. The new season

of Glee is beginning with a two-episode salute to the Beatles’ songbook. A tribute to Monteith, a native of Canada, is planned for episode three, airing Oct 10, titled The Quarterback after

his character’s high school football role. – AP