Spoiler Alert* & 10 hours later…a lackluster performance that I can only hope looks better on the TV

So, I won two tickets to be in the audience for the Glee Finale taping on April 21, by immideently relpying to a tweet I saw . I was very excited, especially after a fabulous episode (The Power of Madonna) just aired and I was so hyped on it.
 

The call time was 2:30, and after scrambling around to see if the three other Glee fans in the world (my circle of friends) were able to go, I ended up dragged my less-than-enthusiastic boyfriend with promises of quick uplifting songs and $1 tacos after.
 

We got there at 2:35 and were greeted with an unfriendly, unmoving line wrapped around the city block. I was instantly discouraged, especially when the boy grunted in my ear “So, we are really going to stand in this long ass line?” All I could do was channel all my inner Glee love and distract both him and myself with 6 rounds of Yatzee. After over an hour of standing in line, we made it to the front, had our cell phones confiscated and entered the theater.
 

Things got instantly more exciting as we walked past the dressing room/coffee break area and saw Jane Lyntch (Sue Sylvester), Matthew Morrison (Will Shuster), and Jonathan Groff (Jeese St. James.) As we made our way into the theater, we were instructed to sit wherever we wanted (the theater was already pretty full, so we opted to get back row seats so we could talk and not disrupt anyone.)
 

40 minutes later, Vocal Adrenaline started filming their finale performance in the regional competition.


*Spolier Alert*  _{^{They did a very dancey, but amazing Bohemian Rhapsody. And yes, Jesse St. James is back with Vocal Adrenaline.}} *Spoiler Alert*

Watching them perform live was pretty cool, their dance moves were awesome and inventive. Those Vocal Adrenaline kids don’t do much singing, except for their star of course.
 

During takes, Matthew Morrison and Amber Riley (Mercedes) came out to answer questions. They were both really nice and welcoming to fans, signing autographs and just being very greatful for their fans, unlike some people I will tell you about later.
 

About 5 takes later, they started to break down the stage; in what we were hoping would be a New Directions performance. Vocal Adrenaline walked off the stage which gave us a glimmer of hope for a New Directions appearance.
 

Side Note: Lea Michele (Rachel) ran on stage and jumped on Jonathan Groff, in what could only be described as a straddled make out sesh. The crowd cheered for that…so it only confirmed what I had thought I saw. They were very very touchy and kissy from where I was sitting….Then they came up into the crowed to to a question and answer session. Not to mention, about four bodyguards.

Now, these two, Broadway superstars, were not phased and quite rude to the crowd, in comparison to the other cast members. Lea “wasn’t signing autographs” and would refuse to answer questions….when asked how long Jonathan and her had been together, she looked over at him longingly, her arm wrapped around him, and she says “we’ve known each other since winter of 2003..so about 9 years?” Um..Lea..thats not the question. Either this is a very incestual platonic relationship, or Jonathan Groff is not gay, as his Wikipedia article and the rest of America claims…

Anyway, after those two buzzkiller got off the stage, A number of other, much more engaging and excited cast members came up, including Cory Monteith (Finn), Mark Salling (Puck), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Heather Morris (Brittney), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Naya Rivera (Santana) and Kevin McHale (Artie). They were all fun and nice, willing to sign autographs and take photos too. Kurt even walked all the way to the top (sans body guard) and hugged a women from his hometown.

Between these interviews, crew members passed out glow sticks for the big finale audience participation part. We got short instructions (follow the person in front of you) and Vocal Adrenaline came back to once again perform the same song, this time being filmed from the back, to capture the glow sticks swaying in the crowd.
 

A few minutes (hours maybe) the curtain went down, and they filmed the introduction of the judges. The Judges were


*Spoiler Alert* _{^{Josh Grobin, Olivia Newton John, news Anchor Rod Remmington, and Sue Sylvester}} *Spoiler Alert*

 

And then…we filmed the announcement of the winner! Twice…once with New Directions looking quite disappointed, and one with them clearly winning and cheering and celebrating. They did not actually announce who won, BUT


*Spoiler Alert*^{_{Kevin McHale (Artie), who was in a wheelchair, jumps out of his chair, making me think that they did not win, since I doubt Artie would be that overwhelmed he got his legs working again.}}*Spoiler Alert*

And FINALLY, almost 10 HOURS LATER, New Directions took the stage! They did a quick walk though, and finally finally finally preformed the finale song...


*Spoiler Alert* _{^{a mashup of journey songs, ending with Don’t Stop Believing.}}*Spoiler Alert*

We left after the first performance of the song, since it was already 10 pm and I had lost all enthusiasm. In the end of it all, it is always cool to see something behind the scenes…though it took soooooo long. It was hard to hear what was going on, especially during the Q and A, and they seemed disorganized. They did have bananas oranges and apples for people to snack on during the 10 hours, which I thought was lovely and helpful to get through the suffering.
 

As for the performances, from up top, they seemed a little…low energy…especially compared to seeing them on TV, I know for sure they will look much better on screen.
 

All in all, im a little upset I wasted half a work day and all of my precious napping hours in the day to hear one song over and over again and spend the rest of the time whispering to my neighbors, “wait, what did he just say?”
 

Next time your invited to your favorite TV show taping, remember think of this – is the magic worth being exposed? For me, not at all. I’m upset that Lea Micheles is so snotty in real life, as am that they have a lot of smoke and mirrors to make the performances look as stellar as they do on screen.
 

PS - Good news for Santana, Puck, Kurt and Tina fans – they are continuing to get way more solos. Yay!