'Glee' back with new twists, turns and tunes

Nice-guy choral director Will Schuester may be heading for a gunfight at the OK Corral with his chief nemesis, but his real-life alter ego, Matthew Morrison, is nothing short of "Glee"-full as his show - the surprise hit of the 2009-10 TV season - returns to Fox with new episodes Tuesday, April 13.

"Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is coming back from 'browning up a bit in Boca' to unleash holy hell on me," Morrison 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 changed too much.'"

Maybe not on the show, but for its cast? Wow. Lynch already has rocketed from "actor's actor" status to an authentic TV cult comedy icon, while Lea Michele (Rachel), who earned raves for "Spring Awakening" on Broadway, is gaining new success on the small screen.

And Chris Colfer, who had virtually no professional TV experience before the show, is still in pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming mode as he builds a major following as gay student Kurt Hummel, a role "Glee" executive producer Ryan Murphy created just for him.

The show was created in part and written by Mount Prospect native Ian Brennan, who based "Glee" on his days in the show choir at Prospect High School in the mid-'90s.

And life has a way of imitating art on the set of "Glee," where this dramedy about talented teen geeks (the show's fans call themselves "Gleeks") being mentored by an understanding grown-up was reflected early on by the relationship between the young cast members and Morrison, a Tony Award nominee for his work in Broadway's "The Light in the 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 individual 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 sing and dance spectacularly must have been startled by a key moment earlier this season, as nice-guy Will discovered that wife, Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) was faking a pregnancy to manipulate him. The harrowing kitchen faceoff between the two was devastating, leading to the (apparent) rupture of their marriage.

"As an actor, you live for a scene like that, and especially since I had been happy-go-lucky Will Schuester for most of the season," Morrison says. "It was such a great moment that flexed a different muscle. I wanted to approach that scene like a theater piece. In television, you usually rehearse right before you actually shoot. I asked the director of that episode if Jessalyn and I could maybe rehearse a couple of days out before that. They let us do it, which was crazy given the schedule we're on, and it really felt 'theatrical' to me. I was so happy with how it all turned out."

Success breeds success, and "Glee" currently is a magnet for some of Broadway's best performers. Jonathan Groff, Michele's Tony-nominated "Spring Awakening" co-star, joins the show for several of these new episodes, while Kristin Chenoweth reprises her hilarious yet poignant guest role as boozy April Rhodes, and her "Wicked" co-star Idina Menzel shows up as the director of a rival show choir - sheer catnip for Colfer, who freely admits to having a "Wicked" shrine in his bedroom. And for Morrison, who counts most of these guest stars as pals from New York.

"When these people show up, it's really like we're just playing and having fun," he says. "I'm very happy that it's happening to me now, when I'm in my 30s, because I think I can appreciate it more and take it for what it is. This career that I have been trying to have has had a lot of ups and downs, but I know that I am riding an amazing high right now and trying to take advantage of every opportunity that it brings."

"Glee"Returns to Fox at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 13False19501350The New Directions show choir won sectionals, but what will that mean when "Glee" returns to Fox on Tuesday, April 13? False