The FULL Experience

The concert was Saturday night, and the VIP festivities were to begin at 6:00 PM. We spent the earlier part of the day checking my twitter account in the hotel business center in an effort to figure out what the cast members were up to and fantasizing about what wonders the evening might hold. Since this was the first show, there were no spoilers floating around. We really had no idea what to expect. Both the anticipation AND the speculation were delicious!

Following a light meal at the Hard Rock Café and an emergency trip back to the hotel for band-aids (my cute new wedges didn’t feel so cute once the blisters started forming), we arrived at the Dodge Theater. We waited in line for a bit with a few hundred other Gleeks…luckily it wasn’t a super hot day and we were in the shade. We finally got in, reported to the VIP table, and headed in to the pre-show party.

They had a photo booth and food, and everyone just sort of milled around. I was all excited because they were giving out free Dove hair care samples and Pepsi. Yeah, it doesn’t take much to get me going! At one point, Cory and Amber came out. I think the original plan was that they were going to just stroll through and say howdy, but of course they were instantly mobbed and couldn’t really stroll anywhere. We were pretty close, but didn’t actually get to meet them before they had to go back for warm-ups. Rats! We got a few good pictures, though (at least of Cory…Amber’s short and I’m short, so I couldn’t see her at all). They seemed lovely, and Cory is darling in person. He has such a nice smile and a palpable enthusiasm about him, although he did look a tad weary.

Once they left, our goody bags and tickets were distributed. We got a sweet tote bag, water bottle, and shirt. I also bought a program. Later, I would suffer an acute attack of cheapskate regret…I wish I had also picked up the pin set, but oh well.

The program was pretty good, but didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know. Plus, according to whoever wrote the trivia portion, the square root of 4 is unicorns. Obviously, the writer was just picking things off the top of his head—remembered the answer was something whimsical, took a shot in the dark, and totally missed. But, really? That’s like Glee 101 knowledge. At any rate, I digress.

They let us in to the auditorium before the general public arrived. Our seats were row 5, just to the right of center. This turned out to be right behind the four pit rows, with an aisle in front of us. This was advantageous, because, as previously mentioned, I am vertically challenged. So, even when people were on their feet, I had a fairly clear view of the stage.

The opening act was The LXD, and in summary, “WOW”. I’ve always been fascinated by dancers, and these are some of the best I’ve seen. They actually seem to defy the laws of physics and limits of the human body. Harry Shum Jr. did the cutest dance, and everyone went nuts.

After a brief intermission, the lights dimmed and Sue Sylvester and Will Schuester appeared on the overhead screen. They did a little exchange, Sue insulted our intelligence, people dressed as Cheerios came around passing out barf bags, and then FINALLY the show began. I won’t give a blow-by-blow account here, as by now everyone has seen video and heard what went on, so I’ll just touch on a few of the highlights.

The opening number was DSB. It was such a rush when the curtain opened and the original six glee clubbers were all standing there in the semi-darkness. I loved how they each got a personal moment to shine as the spotlight hit them one by one. The sweetest was Chris—the light came on and he did his patented Kurt pose: hand on hip, look aloof, sweep through the bangs, but then everyone started screaming and for just a beat the character slipped. He smiled so brilliantly and gave this shy little wave and it was just Chris. I actually teared up a little because he looked so perfectly happy and I was so very happy for him, and just thrilled and honored to be there at that moment in time.

The other major event occurred during DROMP. Lea emerged from the far side of the auditorium, just singing her little heart out, and made her way along the aisle right in front of us! It was totally surreal…how many times have I watched “Sectionals” and dreamed of being in that audience, watching her perform what I consider one of the greatest numbers in Glee history? And there she was! Singing right in front of me! Needless to say, there was squealing. So much squealing, in fact, that I almost didn’t notice the commotion going on behind me. When I finally tuned in and looked around, I saw that ALL of the glee boys (sans Artie) were coming down the center aisle toward the front of the theater. Further, they were headed in my direction! They walked right in front of us, hands up, issuing high-fives as they passed. The moment went by in a blur…I remember Harry being first in line, and I know I squeezed Chris’s hand (really, who could resist?). Cory and Mark were, as one would expect, completely stunning. Oddly, I have no recollection of Dijon, but I don’t know where else he would have been. No offense, Dijon—you are also very cute! After that, I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing, and I sort of looked at my hand in awe. It was my first contact with famous people EVER, and I had their sweat on my hand! I was in raptures of delight until Megan pointed out that much of that sweat was probably not actually theirs. Ewwww! Thanks for the buzz-kill, Meg!

Other highlights: Push It (just as heinously inappropriate as it was on the show, much to my naughty delight), Single Ladies during MLWSWY (that just never gets old), Defying Gravity (gorgeous…Chris sounded like an angel and Lea is so powerful), and Bad Romance. At that point, “Theatricality’ had not aired, so it was quite a sensation! It was actually really cool seeing it live because we could see what everyone was doing all the time instead of just close-ups of individuals and snippets of the group. Bless Chris for wearing those insane heels—poor guy must have drawn the short straw!

The whole show was completely brilliant and I still can’t believe I got to go. I am in complete awe of my “Glee Babies”! They work so hard and shine so brightly--what a joy to be there with them for those few hours. I’m so glad I have fun sisters who were willing to pick up and leave their families to indulge in a few days of reckless fan-girl abandon. We’re already planning on going again next year. Fingers crossed for a venue closer to home…road trip, anyone?