Jane Lynch Talks Returning to the Musical Theatre Scene with Post-GLEE Tour, SEE JANE SING

GLEE fans said goodbye to the show and thus their favorite hard-balled, antagonistic cheerleading coach on Friday night. But Jane Lynch's next chapter is just beginning.

The "Sue Sylvester" actress is taking her own variety show on the road, entitled SEE JANE SING, as her latest foray into the musical theatre world.

"It's an hour of fast, fun music with hopefully a bunch of hilarious patter in between songs," says the Emmy Award-winner. "My friend Kate Flannery joins me for a bulk of it and we do some numbers together, and my friend Tim Davis, who is a wonderful crooner, opens for us and he also joins us and does some three-part harmony. I have a terrific quintet behind me, just an amazing band."

Lynch is no stranger to the musical theatre scene, having appeared as Miss Hannigan in ANNIE on Broadway in 2013.

"It's a bunch of songs that I just like," Lynch says of her song choices. "In fact, I say at the beginning of the show, "Join me on a musical journey through a world of songs that have very little to do with one another." My friends would all tell me, "You know, once you make the list you'll see a theme emerge," and no theme emerged. So, I said, 'Well, we'll make this a non-themed show.' The energy is really high and we have a great time."

Most of Lynch's recent performing opportunities have only been on television, and while she has loved GLEE, she says she has missed live audiences. "I do revel in it. I love the interaction with the audience. I love how they're like another component of the experience, and you don't have that with television and film," she says."

"The live stuff, it surprised me how much I missed it because I hadn't really missed it. When I [did Annie,] I had such a blast. I love theater, I love theater people, I love putting on my own makeup, I love the schedule, I love everything about it. And now I'm having the exact same fun doing this cabaret show all over the country."

GLEE said a final farewell on Friaday at 8 pm on FOX, and The musical comedy follows a group of ambitious and talented young adults in search of strength, acceptance and, ultimately, their voice.

Over the last five years, the series has followed a dynamic group of high school students from the halls of McKinley to the mean streets of New York City, as they embarked on LIFE AFTER high school. This season, after her humiliating failure as a TV actress, New Directions' original star, RACHEL BERRY (Golden Globe Award nominee Lea Michele), comes home to Lima to figure out what she wants to do next. Upon discovering that SUE SYLVESTER (Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch) has banished the arts at McKinley, Rachel takes it upon herself to reinstate and lead the GLEEclub. Meanwhile, BLAINE ANDERSON (Darren Criss), SAM EVANS (Chord Overstreet) and WILL SCHUESTER (Matthew Morrison) have all found surprising new gigs in Ohio. Throughout the season, other alumnae also will return to McKinley.

Since its debut, GLEE has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, received prestigious honors, including a Golden Globe Award and a Peabody Award, and singlehandedly made GLEE clubs cool again. The series boasts critical acclaim, a die-hard fan base, two Grammy Award nominations, two Platinum and five Gold albums, more than 53 million songs and more than 13 million albums sold worldwide, two sold-out concert tours, a 3-D movie, four Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes, including the award for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical. The series reached its milestone 100th episode this past season with a memorable rendition of the hit that put the show on the map, "Don't Stop Believin'."

Source: THR

Photos Courtesy of Lyric Opera of Chicago