In addition to getting to attend Idina Menzel’s Blogger Tweetup, we also got the chance to talk to her over the phone as she was busy promoting her new concert tour! We have been huge fans of Idina Menzel since long before Glee was on the air, so it was an amazing opportunity getting to speak with the Broadway legend. You definitely know her as Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry’s mother on Glee, but you may also know her from the Original Broadway Casts of Rent and Wicked. We chatted with her about being on Glee, her upcoming concert tour, being a mother and much more! If you’re a fan of Idina’s, you can go to IdinaMenzel.com/tours to see when she’ll be in your area. Enjoy the interview!

We at GleeFan.com have a few questions for you and also some that we’ve collected from Glee fans through Twitter and the like. To start if off, can you tell us about your upcoming concert tour? You’re about to be in DC with the National Symphony Orchestra, so what is that like?

I actually was there this past summer with Marvin Hamlisch at the Wolf Trap, so we hit it off, Marvin and I. He’s going to be conducting, and we also performed together at the White House for the president the same weekend. All these dates are myself with a symphony orchestra and it’s different for me then when I got out and promote my album with this my 5 or 6 piece rock band and I’m really enjoying be up there in front of these thrilling musicians and hearing the music taken onto a whole other level.

We understand that you’ll be singing two songs that you sang on Glee. Are you excited for that?

Yeah, I had a great time on Glee, and I just had a baby when I was filming those episodes and a couple months later, it was really fun for me to get back to work and be on such a groundbreaking hit show and to be singing and working with theater people. It was a really nice way of getting back into the swing of things after being pregnant and not doing much else professionally. So yeah, I’ve taken a couple of the songs and orchestrated them in this context, and they seem to go over really well and they sound beautiful.  I’m looking forward to doing it!

Could you tell us a little bit about how you got the role of Shelby Corcoran on Glee?

It was sort of a little bit of an enigma. My husband and I were huge fans and we’d Tivo it, so I told my manager that Id’ love to be on the show if it ever came up. My manager put it out there in the universe, and then I don’t know if it was the fans that made a connection between Lea and myself or Ryan Murphy, but it all worked out. That’s all I know.

Yeah, with the fans, we were all convinced that you would be the perfect person to bring on for the role of Rachel’s mom. There was a lot of early discussion just from the fans about how you should be on the show. Did you see any of this or think that it would actually happen?

I hate to sound like it wasn’t important to me, but ever since I’ve become a mother, things have changed. I’ve really been focused on diapers, late nights and my husband with the baby, and that’s kind of the beautiful thing about having children. It gives you a new perspective, and so I wasn’t hanging around waiting. It just came up and it was a terrific opportunity, and probably there are more wonderful things happening for me now since I had the baby because I’m not sitting around desperately waiting. I have a real purpose in my life, and that seems to open more doors. Does that make sense?

Yeah. One of the questions that we had was if being a mom had affected your career.

Well, I don’t know yet. I’ll have to look back in a couple of years to say. I know that it has affected me as a human being. I know that I feel more whole as a woman and what I can accomplish and who I am. I just feel like I have more purpose in this life than just being self-absorbed and worrying about the next audition or job. It just puts everything into perspective. Building a family with my husband and all that stuff has become really important, and what seems to be happening is that things are coming up when I’m not expecting them. The time in my life when I’d be so worried about what the next job was going to be or when the money would be coming in, those were the times when less opportunity came about. It’s the time when you’re most free and open that the best things seem to happen.

Do you think that being a mom in real life helped you play the character of Shelby or do you think that it made it harder for you since she had chosen to give up her kid?

That was a hard one for me to reconcile, Shelby’s actions, because for me, my daughter is my daughter. It doesn’t matter how old she is or what I’ve missed in her life. If you have the opportunity to reconcile with your daughter, I would do it. Whether or not I wanted a baby would have had nothing to do with it. It’s something that I as myself, Idina, never would have thought of doing, but as an actor you have to find a way of getting it to make sense to you, and hopefully we’ll find out more about that.

So do you think that you’ll be coming back later this season or possibly the next?

Yeah, I’m not sure. I hope so! We’ve talked about it, and we’ll see what happens, but I really hope so.

Other than Glee, do you have any upcoming projects? I understand that you’re working on another album…

I just started getting back in the studio because I’ve really been inspired by these concerts that I’ve been doing. I sort of revisiting some of the old standards and getting to arrange them with these symphonies, so I’m going to focus on that sound in the studio even with the more original material as well. I’m always developing something theatrically, which is very important to me – that I do something original, and those things take years to come to fruition, but they’re the most rewarding and they seem to work the best for me. I feel like I want to help nurture those composers and writers that are doing originals and be a part of that experience.

Now we have a few questions collected from the Glee fans, who are obviously your fans as well. One we got a few times was: what is your most memorable fan interaction – either touching or crazy.

Oh my gosh. I thought of touching first because just a couple weeks ago, I was in Cincinnati and I met a young girl after the show who was blind. She was with her grandfather and he said that when she was born, she had a tumor on her optic nerve. They didn’t give her much time to live, and here she is standing before my, 16 years old, inspired by the music. That was just too much for me to handle, just being in front of her, and we connected, so I’ve been in touch with her since. That was pretty powerful.

Wow, that’s amazing. Another question I got was if you’re going to have an international tour. Of course everyone’s asking, “Will you come to [whatever country they’re from]?”

Yeah, we’re waiting for some offers. We’re hoping to get to Europe and to Canada for sure. I’d love to go to Asia and I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people from Argentina and Brazil that want me to come. I’m not sure if that’s Wicked or what’s been down there that they know me from.

Yeah, we had a lot of people asking questions from South America. I think I remember a couple of them were from Venezuela as well.

[Laughs] Ok!

So, thinking back to when you were younger, did you always know that you wanted to be a professional singer or on Broadway?

Yeah, I always wanted to be a singer. As long as I can remember, that’s what I’ve wanted and what I’ve loved. My aspirations changed colors a little bit here and there as I got older, as to whether it was Broadway or a songwriter and rock star, but I always wanted to perform.

Here’s a fun one: have you ever Googled yourself or looked yourself up on YouTube?

Yes, I have, but it’s usually not a very fun experience for me.

Uh-oh.

Yeah, because no matter how many wonderful things you do, there’s always someone there to put you in your place. So I try not to do that anymore.

Yeah, as soon as you offer people anonymity, the claws come out.

Exactly. It can be a very evil place, the internet…

Last fan question, if you could sing a duet with anyone in the world, who would it be and what song would you sing?

Oh no, this will take me a sec… It would be Bono and the song would be… Oh, I know, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Well, thank you so much for talking to us!

Thank you! I really appreciate the support!

We can’t wait to hear more from you and hopefully see you on Glee again soon!

We cannot thank Idina enough for taking the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoyed the interview! If you get the chance, see Idina Menzel Live! in concert at a city near you!

A recent photo shoot with GQ magazine has stirred up controversy for the racy attire and poses Glee cast members Dianna Agron, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith adorn for the shoot. Major media including Arts Beat for The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Broadway.com have all written on the photos and the controversy that has followed.

The Parents Television Council released a statement slamming ‘Glee‘ producers from Tim Winter, the council’s president stating, “It is disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on ‘Glee‘ in this way. It borders on pedophilia. By authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions on the show’s direction. And it isn’t good for families.”

In the wake of a media news storm, Dianna posted a response on her blog about the recent experience:

In the land of Madonna, Britney, Miley, Gossip Girl, other public figures and shows that have pushed the envelope and challenged the levels of comfort in their viewers and fans…we are not the first. Now, in perpetuating the type of images that evoke these kind of emotions, I am sorry. If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. And if your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?

For GQ, they asked us to play very heightened versions of our school characters. A ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ version. At the time, it wasn’t my favorite idea, but I did not walk away. I must say, I am trying to live my life with a sharpie marker approach. You can’t erase the strokes you’ve made, but each step is much bolder and more deliberate. I’m moving forward from this one, and after today, putting it to rest. I am only myself, I can only be me. These aren’t photos I am going to frame and put on my desk, but hey, nor are any of the photos I take for magazines. Those are all characters we’ve played for this crazy job, one that I love and am so fortunate to have, each and every day. If you asked me for my dream photo shoot, I’d be in a treehouse, in a wild costume, war-paint and I’d be playing with my pet dragon. Until then…..

Can somebody please put Dianna in charge of a photo shoot? It would be epic.

Sources: Glee‘ Gone Wild, ‘Glee‘ cast members react to GQ kerfuffle, Parents group says racy ‘Glee‘ GQ spread ‘borders on pedophilia’

As the coach to Vocal Adrenaline and Rachel’s mom, Shelby Corcoran, played by film and stage veteran Idina Menzel, is a little harsh and not exactly what you would call warm and fuzzy, quite the opposite of Idina herself. As she prepares for another stint of her tour with symphonies across the US, Idina flew in to New York City for a ‘tweet up’ where she revealed what it took to take off the green make up, how she balances work and motherhood, that she is “dying to get back to musical theater,” and, of course, lots on Glee.

Having seen her in concert twice, I can assure that her concerts are an amazing evening of music ranging from her Broadway hits to some songs from her CD “I Stand,” and, of course, some additions from her Glee repertoire. Becoming somewhat comedic, Idina says singing “Poker Face” with an orchestra gives it a whole new vibe. Check out the schedule and be sure not to miss her if she is coming to a city near you. And for fans in the UK, plans are in the work to hopefully bring the tour across the pond soon!

It was, in part, the fans Idina said that got her onto Glee initially and also guided her story line to include being Rachel’s mom. She said she didn’t think that was what Ryan Murphy first had planned for the Shelby, that she was just the coach, but he “wanted to make the fans happy,” so he wrapped the two story lines together. As for whether Idina will be back for season two, she hopes to be!

Although she admits she is dying to get back into musical theater, Idina jokes, “I just don’t think I am the revival girl,” but she is working on a couple of projects in the beginning stages. Idina said, “I’ve made my career on originating roles and those kind of things take a lot of nurturing and years and they don’t come often.” Having originated two roles, Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked, she is looking for another opportunity to work on a project from its early stages, like with Jonathan Larson and Stephen Schwartz, which is a process she really enjoys. “I’ve done it twice and they have both been such magical and life changing experiences for me I wonder I’m I going to have another one like that? But you can’t think like that, you just have to keep doing the stuff that you love,” Idina said.

With an amazing episode of duets on Glee, Idina said if she could record duets with anyone it would include Bono, Jeff Buckley (if he were still alive), Annie Lenox, Barbara Streisand, Michael Buble, Christina Aguilera and of course Taye Diggs.

And what about Wicked the movie? Idina said that both she and Kristin Chenoweth have been told they would be “too long in the tooth” to play the roles they originated on Broadway, although she joked she might could play the witches mom. She thought this was absurd until she was asked to play Rachel’s mom on Glee! Her idea, “I tell the producers just do it like Avatar. I’ll be this amazing, gorgeous, exotic green women and it can be the essence of me and my voice and my movement… just less crows feet.” But don’t get too excited, the movie is still a ways away but fans might expect to see it in 3D and talks have begun with Ryan Murphy, among others, to possible direct the film.

Watch the entire interview with Idina to find out what she thinks of her character Shelby, what she watched this week instead of Private Practice and where she keeps her Tony.

For me what I love about New York is that when you are lonely or when you’re feeling depressed you can get out and walk it off and see other people that might feel the same way. In California, in L.A. you are stuck in a car all by yourself …the last thing I need to do is sit in a car by myself listening to sad music, in traffic… you know you go on an audition or important meeting you obsess. Here (NYC) that happens but then you get out and walk and see people from all walks of life and you get perspective, you don’t see a big billboard of the show you didn’t get.

For me as an artists I feel like I am always trying to be as authentic and as transparent as possible; and, if you can’t see my soul whether I am in green make up or on stage doing an original song your not going to get goose bumps or feel that connection to me so it is always the same adrenaline, the same nerves because it is me up there.

On top of all the buzz about Glee’s upcoming Rocky Horror Glee Show episode, Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele will also be participating in a star-studded rock-of-all-ages tribute and Costume Ball, Thursday, October 28th at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute will star Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Billy Idol, Evan Rachel Wood, Mario Lopez, Jason Segel, Ricki Lake, and more in a one-night-only live event! The evening will benefit the Painted Turtle, one of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps.

Since opening in 2004, the Painted Turtle has provided children throughout California who suffer from chronic and life-threatening illnesses the opportunity to rediscover the ordinary joys of being a child through a year-round camp and hospital outreach programs. To date, over 12,864 children and their families have been served by over 5,631 doctors, nurses and program volunteers. No child or family pays to attend camp. For more information about the Painted Turtle please visit www.thepaintedturtle.org.

Two of the costume shirts worn in “Duets” are now for sale from BUSOG clothing! Check out the info below on the company that designed these shirts, and even order one for yourself to dress like the cast of Glee!

Panda Sal (mascot of BUSOG clothing) made two appearances on yesterday’s episode of GLEE, the “Duets” episode.The first was the black all over Panda Sal shirt worn by Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.)in the opening scene.This was one of our original shirts from last year and is being reborn.Second appearance was on the shirt Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) was wearing in the scenewhere Santana asks her to be her duet partner in the hallway. This shirt was exclusively designedfor the show.Both shirts are now available for pre-order at BUSOG’s online shop (busogmeansfull.com) Also check out the exclusive “Have You Seen Panda Sal” shirt, designed in tribute to Glee, also available for pre-order.

Source: Panda Sal On Fox’s Glee “Duets” – BUSOG

Click for full size:

Check it out at busogmeansfull.com!

Mr. Schue is going solo!

In 2011 fans of high school Spanish teacher and chorus director extraordinaire Mr. Schuester will be able to hear a new sound from Matthew Morrison as he releases his debut solo album. Almost complete, Matthew fits in recording for the album on the weekends when Glee isn’t filming. And is Glee getting in the way of the albums’ production one might ask…no Matthew says, working on Glee only helps promote the album! Tentatively the album is set to release in February and Matthew hopes to tour following its release.

In an interview with EW.com Elton John revealed that he will be collaborating with Matthew on his album. The two have already meet and recording is planned for when Elton John is in L.A. this month. Although there are no plans are in place yet, Elton John is not opposed to lending his music to Glee.

“I’m about three-quarters of the way done with the album,” he says. “During our hiatus was the big chunk of putting it together — it’s full-time ‘Glee‘ right now. I’m trying to do it on the weekends.”

Morrison says the album’s sound is eclectic, with “a lot of stuff that you would find on the adult contemporary charts, but stuff that I hope you’ll hear in the club and you can dance to.”

Could an all-Elton episode of Glee—or even an appearance on the show—be that far off? It’s not in the works…yet. “I love Glee, but no, no, no,” the legendary singer said. “Of course, I’d be into that. It’s always great when someone covers your songs, no matter how good or bad the version is. You know, I started out as a songwriter, so I always get a kick out of that.”

Sources: ‘Glee’s’ Matthew Morrison Plans February Album Release
Elton John to work with Matthew Morrison on actor’s debut album

Calling all animal-loving Gleeks! What would you give to meet Sue Sylvester in the flesh?

Join us in Los Angeles at Race For The Rescues, a 5k/10k run benefitting 10 animal rescues in the area. The event takes place on October 24th, 2010 at the Rose Bowl. Jane Lynch will be co-hosting along with Carrie Ann Inaba and Danielle Fishel. You can join the race by visiting registering for team Gleek! The top individual fundraiser will win a meet and greet with Jane Lynch along with other cool prizes.

Not ready to jet to Los Angeles? Never fear. The Rescue Train is teaming up with GleeFan.com to hold an exclusive online raffle for some Glee-tastic prizes.

Prizes include all sorts of official Glee merch, including Glee Mugs, Glee Baseball Caps, a copy of “The Power of Madonna” signed by Jane Lynch, and more! Plus we will have a super secret Sue Slyvester prize to be announced later this week!

All raffle proceeds go directly to the Race for the Rescues!

How to enter the “Gleek for the Rescues” raffle:

Step 1:
• CLICK THIS LINK to get to our official team page and enter the amount of money you would like to donate.

$5=Five tickets

$100=TWO HUNDRED tickets!

You can buy as many tickets as you like to enter in the Raffle! The Raffle will close at 11:59 Pacific Time on October 23rd, 2010. Winners will be announced on GleeFan.com.

Step 2:
• Forward your donation confirmation email to us at: gleeksfortherescues(at)gmail.com with the subject line: RftR entry – Your Name/Reference ID.

Step 3:
• Spread the word. Get together a group of friends and head out to the Rose Bowl on October 24th. Or tweet about our raffle. Together, Gleeks can unite to give abandoned animals a family again.

In addition to this raffle, @GleekShelly has teamed up with @therescuetrain to bring you a special Gleeks for the Rescue Twitter contest! Details will be announced later this week via tweets, so make sure you’re following both accounts if you aren’t already.

Jane Lynch is going to be hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, so she stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to chat about SNL, Glee, and more! Watch Jimmy’s interview with her below and then check out a few promos that she shot with SNL‘s Fred Armisen. Be sure you catch her on the SNL stage this Saturday night, October 9th, along with musical guest Bruno Mars.

Starry Constellation Magazine got the chance to interview Glee‘s Jayma Mays yet again, and they had a lot to chat about! Jayma spilled on what she thought of how they approached such a touchy topic as religion in the upcoming episode “Grilled Cheesus,” who she loves working with and even her favorite pamphlets in Emma’s office! We included an excerpt of the interview where she talks about the future of Wemma (Will + Emma), but make sure to check out the full interview on StarryMag.com for a whole lot more.

Q. There are so many fans of the characters Will and Emma as a couple, where do you see the longevity of their relationship?

A. That’s a very good question and a question that I don’t really know how to answer just yet. I really feel like the character Dr. Carl Howell, which is the hardest name in the world to say and I always have to say it very slowly, I do feel like he is helping Emma in a way. He is a very spontaneous character, a very lively character, and a character that clearly has no issues with OCD or is not afraid of germs. I do think he’s going to push her a bit get over some of those fears that she has, where I see them at is a good thing. Now I also know Emma still has a heart for Will, and will always have a heart for Will, but perhaps it’s just that the timing is really off. I don’t know how to answer the longevity thing. I think for right now it makes sense that they are together.

Q. You mentioned the changes and spontaneity that Dr. Carl Howell is helping Emma with, do think she’s ready to adapt to this?

A. Yeah well see what’s so great about the way they write for Emma is that things happen slowly for her, like progressively, slowly but surely. I do think for her I love seeing this arc, I love seeing this change, and I like the fact that it’s taking time. I think we know that Emma wants to get better and be okay with germs and to feel like she can have things out of order a little bit. I think naturally it makes sense that it takes some time for that to happen and for that to evolve. I appreciate that they are kind of taking their time with that but pushing it as well.

Q. A lot of people want to see Will and Emma together, with all the drama that occurred last season, it’s easy to see why there may need to be a short separation for the two.

A. Yeah, I think so, and I think that’s good for Will and Emma. Clearly you want to see those two characters together, I think that you can tell that they are very suited for each other the way that they are written. Because of the drama in the first season and because of his wife and then the separation and the baby and find out it was a fake baby and all of this stuff, Matt’s character Will Schuester is going through a lot as well. I actually appreciate the fact that they kind of are allowing us to just be friends for a while, but you can tell that they still have a connection, but I think in any relationship when you go through all of that you need a little time before you jump in head first. I think that they way that they are writing this out is probably really good and really clever and you gotta keep them apart because if they’re together than what are we going to root for? These writers are good and they know what they’re doing and I trust them and I’m happy.

Read the rest of the interview: Jayma Mays – Starry Constellation Magazine

The Glee cast recently hosted a benefit for the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, and in light of the recent suicides from LGBTQ youth, Cory Monteith and Matthew Morrison were asked to voice their concerns. See what they had to say in this video from Entertainment Tonight.

“I’m sure that’s something that [Ryan Murphy] wants to talk about,” Matthew Morrison told us on Sunday, answering how “Glee” would respond to the problem of gay bullying in schools across the U.S. Murphy is the show’s executive producer.

The RTC has dedicated itself to advancing the care of rape victims as well as preventing the occurrence of sexual assault, and Cory Monteith told us that he was glad to be a part of the fundraiser: “It’s really important for a show like ‘Glee,’ with all the exposure that it’s getting, to start to bring important causes like this out in the open,” Monteith told us.

“It’s shedding a light on a subject that a lot of people keep in the closet,” said Morrison.

 
While it appears from the video that Chris Colfer was absent at the event, when asked via Twitter if he would be making an It Gets Better Project video, he responded saying that one was in the works. Later, he tweeted: “Just shot an #ItGetsBetter PSA with @TrevorProject! It’s so important we make it known there is love and understanding out there!” When the video goes online, we’ll be sure to post it.