At the ripe young age of 23, Glee's Chris Colfer is already a multi-hyphenate: he's a Golden-Globe-winning-TV-star-turned-screenwriter-and-children's-book-author. And now he gets to add one more job to his ever-growing list of titles: television writer. Colfer got the rare chance to personally pen an episode of Glee , and it airs tonight.
Titled "Old Dogs, New Tricks," Colfer's episode is naturally focused largely on his own character, Kurt Hummel, although it sounds like the whole gang will be up to some hilarious shenanigans. Here's the episode description:
Rachel attempts to salvage her reputation among Broadway gossipers, by hiring Santana as her publicist and creating a charity for rescue animals. Meanwhile, Kurt nabs the lead role in a retirement home production of Peter Pan.
Also in the episode, Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana put on a musical gala called "Broadway Bitches," and Sam adopts a dog named McConaughey to prove to girlfriend Mercedes that he's responsible. (Obviously that will go really well.)
But clearly what we're most excited about is Kurt's plot! Poor little Porcelain often has to take a back seat to his splashier friends, whether it be roomie Rachel starring on Broadway, or bestie Mercedes recording an album, or fiancé Blaine winning the attention of elderly socialites. So it will be refreshing to see Kurt hog the spotlight for once. And it seems like Colfer has pulled out all the stops for his onscreen alter ego, casting him in a high-flying musical and lining up an impressive array of guest stars.
Colfer has populated the episode's focal retirement home with a bevy of respected character actors: Tim Conway (who starred in all 138 episodes of the 60's wartime comedy McHale's Navy), Billy Dee Williams (who most nerds will know as Star Wars' Lando Calrissian), and — most excitingly — June Squibb (who earned an Oscar nomination this year for Alexander Payne's Nebraska).
Check out the songs from tonight's episode (Maggie is the name of June Squibb's character):
- "I Melt With You" - Modern English - Mercedes, Rachel & Sam
- "Memory" - Cats - Kurt & Maggie
- "Werewolves of London" - Warren Zevon - Artie & Sam
- "Lucky Star" - Madonna - Kurt & Maggie
- "Take Me Home Tonight" - Eddie Money - Artie, Blaine, Kurt, Maggie, Mercedes, Rachel, Sam & Santana
What can we glean from this list? First of all, Chris Colfer is obviously a massive fan of '80s music. Secondly, we're a bit surprised not to see any songs from Peter Pan here, considering the episode revolves around a production of the musical — although our disappointment is mitigated by the inclusion of "Memory," one of the most classic showtunes ever written. And we're absolutely thrilled to see a big group number — something that's been sorely missing lately. We've loved everything about the show's transition to the Big Apple, except for the fact that the songs have been pretty much all solos and duets since the shift. We couldn't be more excited to hear all these stellar voices singing together again.
Will Kurt's performance as Peter Pan be a soaring success? Will Santana be able to successfully rehabilitate Rachel's image? Will McConaughey bring Sam and Mercedes closer together? ...Or tear them apart? We're not sure, but we can't wait to find out!
Image: FOX
