Show Up and Sing, Matthew Morrison's Glee Medley at 54 Below
Video from his cabaret run surfaces ahead of a three-week return to Broadway as Bobby Darin
54 Below is the Midtown cabaret room where Broadway singers go to do a set. On Friday BroadwayWorld posted video highlights of Matthew Morrison's cabaret show there, called Show Up. The club's own listing gives the run as July 9 to 11, with the July 11 show livestreamed.
Morrison is best known as Will Schuester on Glee. He sang a medley of songs from the series, BroadwayWorld says, including "Thong Song," "Tell Me Something Good" and "Don't Stop Believing." He also sang Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" and "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
A Car Wash for the Soul
Morrison has described the show as "a car wash for your soul," according to BroadwayWorld. It is built around the idea of sparking "inquiry, curiosity, and wonder" in the audience rather than just entertaining it. The show tours around the country.
In a July interview with BroadwayWorld, ahead of his run at the club, Morrison called Show Up a world where music and dance become more than just entertainment. BroadwayWorld's Friday post does not say which night the highlights come from.
In that interview Morrison said he stumbled into theater. At 10 years old he was sent to Arizona for the summer, and an aunt and uncle volunteered him and a cousin for a local community theater production. He told BroadwayWorld he was probably looking for a sense of belonging at that age, and that theater gave it to him. He said stepping on stage for the first time felt like home.
Back to Circle in the Square
Morrison's other New York project is a return to the stage as Bobby Darin. Broadway News reports he begins performances on October 20 at the Circle in the Square Theatre in Just In Time, for a limited three-week encore. He starred in the show earlier this year for a three-week run.
Jeremy Jordan plays his final performance as Darin on October 18, Broadway News adds. Broadway.com reports Morrison completes his encore on November 8. Nicholas Christopher, a Tony nominee for Chess, takes over the role on November 10.
Morrison's Broadway credits, as Broadway News lists them, include Finding Neverland, South Pacific, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, The Light in the Piazza (for which he received a Tony nomination), Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show and Footloose. He played Will Schuester on Glee from 2009 to 2015.
The Room Itself
A cabaret room is a different kind of night out from a Broadway house. The songs come with stories, and the singer stands close to the tables. Brian Newman and Angie Pontani work in a similar spirit elsewhere in the city after dark.
For Morrison the plan is simple enough. The summer cabaret is on tape now, and he returns to the Broadway stage on October 20. In the meantime, the songs from Glee are part of the story.
