‘Glee’ Recap: Rachel Freaks Out On ‘Funny Girl’ Opening Night
It’s opening night for ‘Funny Girl,’ which means Rachel should be pushing everyone around and heading to the stage, right? Well, that is if she can get out of bed.
Rachel (Lea Michele) has officially made it to Broadway . . . but will she be able to make it up to the big stage? After reading a ton of negative reviews, she was terrified to take the stage — that is until her frenemy came in and said the right thing. And no, we’re not talking about Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) who was spending her time in NYC finding love!
Rachel Freaks Over Opening Night
All Rachel needed to do was just get herself in that wig. With Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and Sue heading in to show their support, along with some of the original Glee club, Rachel finally got herself out of bed — and no it wasn’t the flowers that were sent by Barbra Streisand (AKA Tina), but it was her frenemy Santana (Naya Rivera) who said exactly what Rachel needed to hear — even Barbra got negative reviews! Yes, she returned from Lesbo Island for an important message:
“You suck at so many things, but not this,” she said in true Santana form, adding, “I can’t stand you 90 percent of the time, but even I know that if you drag your flat little ass out on that stage tonight, you’re gonna murder that crowd.”
Right before taking the stage, she got the pep talk she needed from Schu — who reminded her that his dream was coming true, too, by seeing her. She shared with him that she got a seat for Finn (Cory Monteith) because she had always promised him she would get him one for her opening night. She even had on her Finn necklace! Unfortunately, Mr. Schu couldn’t stay for the show — leave it up to Emma (Jayma Mays) to go into labor right before the curtain opened! So, back to Ohio he went. In my opinion, the dressing room scene may have been one of the most adorable and genuine on Glee in quite some time.
It’s Showtime (Or Sue’s Date Night)
Midway through the show, while Rachel was killing it, Sue got up to leave since (naturally) she was sick of it, and spotted a man she saw before the show (Chris Parnell). The two ended up spending a night on the town and actually had a lot in common. We’ve got to say it was nice to see a happier side of Sue, even though she put Rachel’s future in jeopardy by storming out midway through the show — while sitting next to the critic from the New York Times.
You could see the anger in Rachel’s face, but she just used it to do better and left the crowd in awe after Act I, even getting the praise from her director. However, the real test would be the ending — the last song, “Who Are You Now?,” that she was nervous about getting through because it reminded her of Finn. However, when the time came, she flashed back at him looking at her — standing there in the hallway at McKinley wearing that letterman jacket and flashing that killer smile — and the tears were streaming down her face while she completely nailed those notes.
Reviews Are Out — ‘Best Thing Since Sliced Bread . . . Or Toast?’
Instead of heading out to the cast’s opening night party, Rachel wanted to go out with just her friends — so they headed to a gay bar for an amazing, relaxed, fun night of dancing (and singing an awesome version of “Pumpin Blood”). They returned to the apartment half an hour before the reviews hit the papers, to find Sue with her new fling and find out that they had sex all over their apartment. GROSS.
Rachel, for maybe the first time ever, stood up to Sue. She told her (in one of her best and most powerful speeches ever) to get out after letting her know sternly that she would never feel the love that she felt from all of her friends that night. So, out they went. Fun fact — Lea Michele did that without it being in the script.
It was finally time for the reviews and the group headed down to pick up the paper — and it was full of raving remarks about Rachel and how brilliant she was.
The most touching part of the review was the critic admitting that he cried at the end during her song to Finn. “I don’t know where inside that small frame did she find the emotion she delivered with that song, but she melted the icy heart inside me,” he wrote, adding that he’d be “going back for a second bowl of Rachel Berry.”
The moment couldn’t get better — well until Mr. Schuester called announcing that he made it back in time for the birth of his new baby boy, named Daniel Finn Shuester.
The emotions ran high this week but it was by far one of the most genuine episodes in a long time for Glee. Are you happy that Rachel completely nailed it on Broadway, HollywoodLifers? Did you like the episode as much as I did? Were you shocked that Rachel did so well? Let me know!
— Emily Longeretta
Follow @EmilyLongeretta
More ‘Glee’ Coverage:
- ‘Glee’ Recap: Mercedes Contemplates Losing Her Virginity To Sam
- ‘Glee’ Recap: Rachel Must Choose Between College & Broadway
- ‘Glee’ Recap: Blaine Finds Out The Truth About Kurt & Elliot