How ‘Glee’ Made Musical Theater Cool, tell me about this news in (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/theater/glee-musical-theater-broadway.html)

The specific URL provided cannot be accessed directly due to paywall and access restrictions on the site. However, the subject of how Glee made musical theater cool and bridged the gap with Broadway revolves around several central themes:

1. Mainstreaming Broadway Repertoire Before Glee premiered in 2009, high school choir and musical theater were widely stereotyped in popular culture as niche, dated, or uncool. By blending traditional show tunes (such as tracks from Funny Girl, Wicked, Rent, and West Side Story) with contemporary pop, rock, and hip-hop hits, the show introduced standard theatrical repertoire to a global generation of young viewers who had never attended a Broadway show.

2. A Gateway to Broadway Talent The series actively showcased veteran Broadway performers in major and guest roles. Stars like Lea Michele (Spring Awakening), Matthew Morrison (The Light in the Piazza), Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked), Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked), and Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) were put front and center on primetime network television, giving Broadway performers mainstream pop-star visibility.

3. Boosting Industry Attendance and Education The popularity of Glee spurred renewed public and financial interest in performing arts programs, high school theater departments, and collegiate show choirs. It also created a direct audience pipeline to New York theater, driving ticket sales for revivals and contemporary productions as teenage and young adult audiences sought out live stage performances.

4. Cultural Shift Toward Theatricality By treating passionate enthusiasm for performance, dramatic staging, and intricate vocal arrangements as a source of empowerment and community rather than embarrassment, Glee helped shift cultural attitudes, making involvement in musical theater widely accepted and celebrated among mainstream youth culture.