A RETURN TO HIS ROOTS by joel martens OH, MR. SCHUESTER.How many of you can remember that distressingly handsome teacher back in Junior or
Senior High School who was the object of a first crush? If memory serves, the one that made me go a little weak- in-the-knees was the boyish gym teacher who arrived during junior high it’s funny how those memories never dissipate, isn’t it? Though many of us were perhapsstill ina little denial back then, the buzz began there. Matthew Morrison is certainly that for many. And that is probably the understatement of the century. We’re
talking about crushing on a global-level scale for this handsome and oh-so-gracious guy because of the phenom- enon that is Glee—the popular show that showcases Morrison’s and many of his “students’” talent, skyrocketing most of them into fame’s stratosphere. I had the honor of meeting him briefly a few years back at a gala for The L.A. Center and can attest to his gracious-
ness. And in a funny twist, during my research I realized I had seen him at Lincoln Center in New York inThe Light in The Piazza playing the role of Fabrizio years back. Such a small world.
I STARTED OUR CONVERSATION BY MENTIONING THAT FLUKE: That’s too funny. I love that about theatre, those types of coin-
cidences. When you’re still kind of unknown, you can kind of get away with a lot and do a lot of work. People are kind of surprised to find out that it was you in the pieces that they have seen. I can’t do that anymore, I don’t think! It must be a bit like old home week for you being back in Orange County. Yes and I’m really looking forward to that concert. It will be
filled with lots of friends and family. All my peers from back in the day, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Do you get back often? I don’t go back to Orange County too often, though my dad
still lives there so I go occasionally to have dinner with him. The only other times I go there are to work with the Orange County School of the Arts I attended. I do a lot of work with the kids there. It was one of the biggest things in my life, being able to go to
that school, it really set me up to be able to do the things I do and be where I am today. I feel like I have to give back to the kids there when I can. It was just high school, a sort of after-school program when I was there. Now it’s a full-fledged charter school; with a junior and senior high school program. Is the concert reflective of the material from your album Back Where It All Began? Yes, a lot of it is coming from there. I have been doing similar concerts all over the world with different symphony orchestras
38 RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2014 | FEBRUARY 2014
and it’s been an amazing journey. A little tiring, but only because of my schedule. I work all week long on Glee and then I run off on the weekends and do these shows. For instance, tomorrow I leave for Phoenix, which is easier than others because it’s rela- tively close. But then Monday morning I’m on set with Glee at 7 a.m. Being on stage and performing in front of a live audience for
me is something that is just so exhilarating because that’s my true passion. It’s something that I have missed doing for the past six years since being on this television show. That isn’t to say that it hasn’t been an amazing ride being onGlee, but in my heart I am a stage guy. Tell me a little about what your show entails, what we can expect to see? My idol has always been Gene Kelly and I don’t think that
anyone is really doing a great song and dance show these days. That’s the show that I’ve put together, paired with these great classic Broadway showtunes that we’ve all grown up listening to. Each of the songs have a special meaning to me in some way and I’ve woven a story together with some of my favorites. Things like“On the Street Where You Live,” which is a song I have sung for just about every audition that I’ve ever had—even for Glee. We do others like “Send In The Clowns” and also do this really coolWest Side Storymedley that’s kind of inspired by something Sammy Davis, Jr. did. I love performing with a 60-piece orchestra behind me, it’s
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