Mark Salling of ‘Glee’ gives us a soulful surprise song

While we wait three full weeks for a new episode of Glee — not to worry, coming next Wednesday is Episode 9: Wheels — it’s heartening to find on the new website of Mark Salling (Noah Puckerman, or “Puck”) a gem of a song which won’t be performed on the show but is, nonetheless, all about the show — and quite special.

Salling, who’s been devoted to music since an early age and self-released an album under the monicker Jericho last year, has written, performed and recorded a splendid little song which he doesn’t even seem to name, except by the title of the video clip on his website which provides it. So I’ll name it for him, until he comes up with one: Chilling on Glee. That’s part of the lyrics, after all, and in tone and theme, it’s also fitting.

The video shows Salling leading a young actor’s life in So Cal: rising before dawn to drive to work in the dark (while he sings–or lip-synchs–the narrative song), then intercuts with video footage from the set, showing cast and crew members whom he loves and names and considers “family.” (There’s a quick spoiler shot of Diana Agron wearing a pregnancy prosthetic, BTW.) At the end, he drives through the Paramount gates onto the lot at 5555 Melrose and goes to work–prepared to be there until going home after sunset, but he doesn’t mind. To him, Glee is more than a TV show, and I think all Gleeks share that sentiment.

With this, and after seeing Salling on the Wendy Williams show — where he politely called her “ma’am” but was treated quite shabbily, being nagged about his love life and even his ethnicity instead of being asked about his career and Glee itself — I realize that he’s just a nice Texas boy at heart and far from the character he’s created of a brusque, contemptuous jock.

That’s called acting. But Salling is also, quite clearly, a gifted singer/songwriter, and I urge you to check out Chilling on Glee — or “Glee Cast and Crew Homage,” as he labels it. I could do without the indulgence of letting the show’s “Jew-fro” actor make a lame joke at the end in an irrelevant, stitched-on segment, but that’s show-biz. Perhaps it just further goes to show Mark’s generous spirit.

At any rate, I’ve covered show biz for many years, have visited the Paramount lot many times, and know how it must feel to Mark to be a hard-working actor who’s grateful for finding a special home and is counting his blessings as he lives what he truly believes are golden days.

You’re right, Mark — and like you, I’m chilling on Glee. Now you’ve become a big part of the reason why.

(Glee fans: Check out my archived blogs on Glee at this link. Thanks!)

Big Man: Tall tales from Springsteen sax man Clarence Clemons

As longtime followers of  Bruce Springsteen know, he’s not the true star of his shows. No, that would be the Master of the Universe, the “Big Man” — or tenor sax player Clarence Clemons, whose larger-than-life persona and stirring sax bombast have been hailed by The Boss relentlessly as part of his brothers-in-arms swagger and legend-in-their-own-time mythology.

Clemons isn’t truly the star of their shows, of course, but in the Springsteen universe, he’s close. After all, who also appeared with the Boss on the gatefold album cover for Bruce’s breakout album, Born to Run? And largely about whom does Bruce tell such tall tales and rousing stories in intros to songs during his concerts?

Now it’s Clemons’ turn to return the favor, with the new book Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales (Grand Central Publishing, $26.99). Written with Don Reo and with a forward by Springsteen, Clemons’ book takes a cue from Springsteen’s intros to offer a wide array of vivid anecdotes, some of them unashamedly and admittedly embellished (thus, the Tall Tales subtitle), but all containing the essential truths of the Big Man’s life: It’s been a great one.

Though it touches on Clemons’ childhood, the book isn’t an autobiography so much as an entertainment, with yarns culled from his rich ramblings on the rock ‘n’ roll road. Some tales are told in third person, others by Clarence, others by Reo, his friend and a TV writer/producer.

Many are downright riveting and revelatory, including a chance encounter between Clarence and Robert De Niro, who makes a startling confession; Clarence’s calling a Beverly Hills pay phone to reach a girl and having a passing-by Groucho Marx answer; and Clarence explaining how Springsteen named his group the E Street Band. (Hint: It’s a good thing their always-late bandmate didn’t live on Mockingbird Avenue or Wendy Lane when the group sat out front in a car waiting to pick him up.)

All are breezy, cheeky, funny and right in line with the kind of story-weaving that Springsteen himself has incorporated into his shows — in both intros and narrative songs — since the ’70s. And after hearing Springsteen’s takes for so many years, it’s nice to hear the Big Man’s, too.

Also, to Clarence, I’d just like to say: Thanks for your Jungleland sax solo. I love your boss — and he is the Boss — but that inspirational solo, whether in concert or on record, is a crowning achievement in your collective rock ‘n’ roll careers. Big Man, you’re the best.

Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Scrat finds love

For family entertainment, Fox’s Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs is an excellent ticket. Kids will love it for the usual reasons (slapstick action, amusing characters Scrat and Sid), while adults will get the sly uptakes on some lines and situations.

That said, this third film in the series is geared down a bit for the kiddies, with lots of baby action (cute little T Rex’s, anyone?) and pregnancy situations for babies-to-be (Ray Romano and Queen Latifah’s mastadons are expecting, as their diverse gang of critter friends migrate from polar regions to a hidden, lush kingdom overrun with dinos).

Not only that, but Scrat — the pathetic and frantic Looney Tunes-inspired squirrel — finds love. And the computer animation, as always, is superb.

The DVD and Blu-ray are loaded with extras, but the film by itself is worthwhile. Hey, I watched it twice, at home on DVD and on a recent Phoenix-to-Houston flight. They didn’t serve us acorns (sorry, Scrat), but we did get pretzels.

Will there be an Ice Age 4? Does Sid (John Leguizamo) have a lisp? Count on it. After all, there’s still plenty of prehistory to be told.

Glee cast to sing National Anthem Saturday on Fox: A slam dunk

OK, it’s Tuesday, so Glee is coming — or not. That’s right: Our favorite show is taking time off this week, and the next, so no Glee Wednesday night. In fact, there’s no new episode until Nov. 11’s Wheels.

But for those about to get the shakes through withdrawal, take heart. It turns out you can see the Glee cast perform music on Fox this week after all. No, it won’t be songs akin to No Air or Bust a Move, but it will be an excellent song which lends itself to a choral rendition, and also to the kind of stirring flourishes which have helped make Glee so great.

That song is the National Anthem, coming just before the first pitch of Game 3 of the 2009 World Series in Philadelphia Saturday night.

The pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m. CST. The game is scheduled to start at 6:57 p.m. CST.  Usually the anthem is performed just before the first pitch, so I’m thinking your best bet is to tune in at least by a quarter till the hour (6:45 p.m. CST) and wait for it, to ensure catching the Gleeks sing. Folks in other time zones, the math’s not that hard, and here in Central we do it all the time — pun intended.

After so many wretched performances of The Star Spangled Banner at so many sporting events over the years, just imagine how great this one is going to be. It’s going to set the bar so high that no Roseanne Barr ever will get a chance again. And it’ll be great exposure for Glee among those who still haven’t gotten hip to the show.

I’ve met so many — too many — of them, and they all sound alike. “Yes, I’ve heard Glee is great, but no, I haven’t watched it.” To which I say: “Well, now  you’re hearing Glee is great again — from me. So how long is it going to take you to wise up?” And for those haters who insist on raining on Glee’s parade, if you detest the show so much, then the intelligent thing to do is to disregard it, not rant obsessively about how much you hate it. Go your own merry (or cranky) way to watch whatever you want, and let us have our Glee in peace. And if that’s not an option for you, then perhaps folks like you, not those who make Glee, are the problem in this world.

Too, for those who bizarrely obsess over Glee’s songs being pre-recorded and then synched (uh, that’s the way they make movie musicals, ya know), keep in mind that this performance before the Phillies and Yankees play will be live and undoctored. That said, there’s nothing wrong with strong studio recordings, and that’s what Glee consistently delivers (though the mix for Keep Holding On sounds a bit shrill — my only quibble).

At any rate, take heart, fellow Gleeks, and tune in to Fox Saturday night for what promises to be a banner Star Spangled Banner. After all, in its eight episodes so far, Glee has shown it can make any anthem even more rousing and inspirational, from Somebody to Love to Keep Holding On.

The Star Spangled Banner? To mix sports metaphors, that’ll be a slam dunk.

From screen to stage, Mary Poppins flies high

Mary Poppins is undeniably Walt Disney’s crowning achievement on screen. The beloved 1964 fantasy blending live action and animation received 13 Oscar nominations and won for five, including Julie Andrews as best actress in the title role of an early 1900s nanny for a well-off but emotionally poor London family of four splintered by the banker father’s career myopia.

But even if Mary Poppins is one of your favorite films — and for many, it is — there’s also no denying the greatness of its stage version, which is both faithful to the film (and P.L. Travers’ stories) and far different from it.

That version is showing for three weeks at Houston’s Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, in a splendid touring production starring the show’s stalwart stars from Broadway, Ashley Brown as take-charge Mary and Gavin Lee as helpful chimney sweep Bert.

It’s a sensational show, substituting the creativity of live-on-stage theatrical magic for the animation and SPFX of the film, while reworking the story with new characters, new character arcs, new twists and — most importantly — new revisions of the song score. That means dropping such numbers as I Love to Laugh, Sister Suffragette and Stay Awake while adding grand new ones such as Cherry Tree Lane, The Perfect Nanny, Practically Perfect, Precision and Order and Anything Can Happen.

The touring production in Houston is spot-on throughout, with minor exceptions. The old Bird Woman, for instance, is almost frightening in her in-your-face command to “feed the birds,” whereas the film’s original was sweet and plaintive, in keeping with the tender song of that name. And it’s hard for Step in Time to have the same boisterous derring-do on a flat stage as in the film (shot on mock rooftops on a sound stage and dressed up with effects to look quite thrilling). But Bert’s gravity-defying walk around the proscenium’s frame makes up for it.

Besides, that’s mere quibbling for a show that’s practically perfect in every way. You’re not going to see better stars than these two originals, with Lee (who originated the role in London) giving Bert such nice-guy charm and smile-flashing brilliance, and with Brown turning Mary into a more vain, theatrical, fiercely self-assured and downright funny nanny than Julie Andrews could with the film’s version.

On stage, Mary trades warm motherliness  for inspiring indomitability. She’s not just cheeky — she’s vividly hard-charging, and I love her. This is one character rewrite  which really works.

Megan Osterhaus also shines as this show’s more grounded and warm Mrs. Banks, a sometimes melancholy woman who gave up an acting career to be wife and mother, and who projects so much love to her husband and children. And Ellen Harvey is an outrageous comic delight as the devilish Miss Andrew, a brief substitute for Mary Poppins, with her wicked repressiveness and fiercely operatic bursts of bombast.

Even without a ticket, you can savor some of this show via the latest Mary Poppins DVD. Its two-disc 45th anniversary edition includes a complete stage performance of Step in Time and a 48-minute documentary on the making of the stage show, including interviews with Brown and Lee, the two stars you can now see in Houston.

So step lively and step in time to see the show during its Houston engagement — running through Nov. 8 — or elsewhere on the road across America. You may fall in love with Mary Poppins all over again, and in new and most delightful ways.

Glee Blog for Episode 8 Mash-up: I could have watched all night

Is it just me, or does Glee just keep getting better? No soaring anthems or emotional ballads? No problem. This week’s break-dancing, jiving, hip-hoppy show — albeit laced with a couple of soft standards and a swing number — was a lively lift, as the high school hallway Slushee wars caught our beloved Gleeks by surprise, but did not daunt them.

If the episode proved one thing, it’s that Sue was right: High school kids are divided into cliques, if not a rigid caste system, and with the glee club siphoning off some footballers, something had to give.

It was nice to forgo almost all pregnancy talk this week and focus on Glee’s tangled romantic relationships, with Rachel even briefly making out with Puck and Emma donning gorgeous wedding gowns (especially the second one) not for preposterous groom Ken or for herself, but for Will, to dazzle him during rehearsals for her wedding dance.

It also was great hearing two new cast members get their first big musical solos, from Emma’s I Could Have Danced All Night in Will’s willing arms to Puck’s improbable Sweet Caroline which, lord help me, sounded pretty good. (I was prepared to hate this song from Neil Diamond’s early schmaltzy phase.) And Will, of course, got to strut his white-boy rapping and dancing stuff again, and quite nicely, not to mention dancing with Emma and even Sue.

Of course, the show ended with the somber note that Glee is taking time off. After eight consecutive weeks of shows, seven of them new, it’s waiting until Nov. 11, I understand, for another new one. But this week’s Mash-up is worth watching again and again, and I plan to do so.

As for all of the big Glee news of late, in case you’ve missed it:

While the cast won’t appear in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, thanks to churlish NBC, they’ll get an even better gig: performing the Star Spangled Banner at Game 3 of the World Series on Halloween night in Philadephia.

Also, Glee gets the cover of Entertainment Weekly this week.

Also, Joss Whedon is going to direct an episode of Glee’s “back nine” shows for spring.

Also, Glee got the rights to create an episode with all Madonna songs. (I vote for Like a Prayer, whose fervent choral vocals are right up Glee’s alley.)

Also, Glee’s music on iTunes is selling phenomenally well, perhaps offsetting some of the series’ high production costs. And of course, the first soundtrack album of songs is right around the corner, Nov. 3.

Also, American Idol runnerup Adam Lambert–currently cavorting with nude femme models in an absurd photo spread–is reportedly up for a Glee guest spot next spring, when Idol will be Glee’s lead-in.

And, of course, the cast may be sent out on a concert tour, also around that time.

Is Glee taking over the world? No, not yet. It’s fourth in its time slot against some heavy competition. But it fares well in the 18-49 demographic, and it has momentum — not to mention an especially devoted fan base. (To all you backlashers: Get a life and find something to champion, not tear down.)

So there you have it: Glee is going strong creatively, commercially and every which way you can mash-up our pop culture. Now let’s savor those eight shows on DVR or old-school half-inch tape over the next three weeks, and then: On to Sectionals!

Glee Episode 7–Throwdown: Preggers all over again

So much for theories. Quinn’s still preggers — and looks like she’ll stay that way — as Glee inches forward through Maternity World. Instead of the abortion (or miscarriage) I secretly hoped for (hey — it’s a fictional show, no harm done), the big revelation of Episode 7: Throwdown turned out to be Sue’s learning — and revealing — to the Gleeks whom she briefly co-directed with an outraged Will (sparking the most anger in this show’s brief history to date) that Quinn — can you believe it? — is pregnant!

Well, of course the Gleeks believed it, because they already knew it, from Puck’s revelation in the previous show. And if one kid knew it, then the whole school would, and you just know that. So why the big drama and Quinn’s tears over Sue spilling beans which already have piled high enough to power a school cafeteria’s worth of breakfast burritos?

Besides, being secretive when it’s inevitable that people will find out you’re pregnant seems pretty pointless, doesn’t it? I mean, this was going to come out anyway, so why does its revelation in Throwdown play as if it’s so earth-shattering? Because the show needed a big dramatic scene, perhaps? Well, it got one, but it wasn’t so big.

In fact, why are we still talking pregnancy, fake or real, on a show that’s got so much more going for it other than baby talk? Moving on.

The music was far better than I’d expected — and I’m talking about the two relatively throw-away numbers compared to the soaring and emotional anthems No Air and Keep Holding On. Those two lesser numbers which turned out to be quite good — via lots of spirited dancing and exuberant singing — were the Supremes’ old You Keep Me Hangin’ On, which sounded as much on speed as last week’s mashups, and Mercedes’ lead for Hate On Me, though I dislike Amber Riley being typecast for sassy, finger-wagging revenge songs.

Directing this week, Ryan Murphy brought a special blend of teeth-gnashing angst and pulling-together zest for his lovable Gleeks, and I didn’t even notice till later that there was no Ken or Emma, even though they’d been central of late. Hey — it’s a big cast.

But Ryan, please. Wrap up the pregnancy subplots and the kids — and I — will  be happier.

Don’t get more wrong. Glee is still great. In fact, Glee is the best music show on television — perhaps ever. And I do love these characters and this superbly chosen cast. But literally and creatively, it’s time to let the show emerge from the womb and let its characters grow and breath. There’s just no air in there. Open things up.

Glee Episode 7 Throwdown: Quinn quits motherhood?

I’m not in the habit of predicting events in scripted TV shows, but here’s one guess for tonight’s Glee episode, Throwdown: Quinn will get an abortion.

The girl has no one supporting her. She’s kept her pregnancy largely a secret (until now, when news spreads), and those who know won’t help. Terri callously told her to bring the baby to life on her own, with no financial help from the child’s future stepmother (Terri); Finn, who thinks he’s the papa, and whom Quinn adores, is more attracted to Rachel; Puck, the true daddy, is not Quinn’s cup of tea and seems indifferent to her pregnancy; and Quinn is smart enough to know she’s costing herself dearly for this one indiscretion.

That’s why I’m guessing she gets an abortion, which she tearfully reveals to Finn (and, thus, everyone in glee), who then comforts her with an embrace and by saying everything will be all right, before the stirring, moving (and already previewed) Keep Holding On performance, in which Finn holds hands simultaneously with Quinn and Rachel.

If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I’m not declaring this to be true, just offering a theory.

Meanwhile, there’s lots of good news about Glee, including the fact that its songs continue to sell extremely well as downloads (over 1 million and counting), and with an album due Nov. 3, the music’s commercial clout may even spark a spring concert tour by the cast. As for NBC axing their  Macy’s Thanksgiving parade appearance: what turkeys.

Keep holding on — this show is going to go the distance.

Accept ‘The Proposal’ for a fine DVD date

You’ve heard of “date movies,” of course. The all-time champeen was Titanic, in terms of sheer box office. Chicks love such movies and take boyfriends or husbands who, if they’re lucky, will love them too.

This week’s DVD releases bring Disney/Touchstone’s The Proposal, a recent theatrical hit that’s also a fine date flick, provided your date involves popping popcorn at home and snuggling up on the couch for a fun romantic comedy.

There’s not much mush, but there is ample frothy humor, as workaholic book publisher boss Sandra Bullock learns she’ll be deported back to her homeland of Canada — unlesssssssss . . .

That “unless” means convincing her overworked, underappreciated and forever put-upon assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her so she can remain in America. Not that the marriage will be the real thing other than legally. They have nothing going personally when the ruse comes down. But before you know it they’re off to his home in Alaska (the irony being it seems as foreign to the USA as bordering Canada) for a gathering of his wealthy family, who are supposed to buy the lie. (The production never even shot in Alaska, BTW, but in scenic Rhode Island and Massachusetts.)

RR’s family is cut from the same cloth as too many movie clans who live in remote areas. They are uniformly eccentric, vivacious, pushy, eccentric, colorful, allegedly lovable and — did I mention eccentric? Betty White plays grandma — case closed. The family, in effect, plays the hackneyed and thankless “friend” role en masse, and they’re quite tiresome. This shouldn’t be about them. It’s about Bullock and Reynolds.

Though this is the former’s top-billed vehicle (she took the part when Julia Roberts wouldn’t take a “pay cut” from her mega millions), Reynolds steals the picture. He’s the most down to earth character on screen, and his self-effacing comic discomfiture is a hoot (as when the two “lovebirds” accidentally bump into each other — naked!). But Sandy, bless her, also is fun, and as usual she lights up a screen when she’s on it.

So there you have it: conventional yet comical, predictable yet charming, The Proposal is well worth accepting for a DVD date night with the squeeze of your choice. Just make sure it’s not Betty White. She’s just too eccentric.

A Glee DVD this year? Oh yes. Meet ‘Glee Season 1 Volume 1: The Road to Sectionals’

BIG news: Glee’s first season DVD, unlike those of many other shows, will not mean a wait of one year, till just before Season 2 starts. (And yes, Season 2 will come.  Anyone forget what Glee’s lead-in on Fox will be come January?) Instead, even though Glee has been picked up for a 22-show season, Fox is packaging its first 13 episodes, all to be shown by year’s end, as Glee Season 1 Volume 1: The Road to Sectionals, a four-disc set due Dec. 29.

Still unannounced is what extras the discs will get. But Fox says there will be extras, and why not? With such a rich trove of promos, previews, music videos, making-of bits and other things Glee (surely you surf YouTube etc. seeking Glee flotasm on the waves as often as I do), this could be major. (And how about a feature where you can play only the songs, either in telecast versions or when expanded, as with the fine music video of Maybe This Time, using different footage than the telecast’s? Just thinking.)

Anyway, here, again, is the important thing, the truly big news, even for those of us lucky enough to have the Wal-Mart Director’s Cut disc: No need to wait for a full-season DVD now that Glee is going for 22 shows. We’re getting 13 episodes in a couple of months. And before that is the soundtrack album, Nov. 3. Then there’ll be Glee Season 1 Volume 2 on DVD next year.

Until then  TV’s best show graces Wednesday nights. I tell ya, as far as entertainment goes, for Glee fans, life is good.