"She's one of my favorite people," he explained
Credit: Andy Henderson
NEED TO KNOW
- Matthew Morrison is back on Broadway in Just in Time after Jonathan Groff left the starring role
- While stepping out to the opening night of Dog Day Afternoon, Morrison revealed which of his former Glee costars he would want to star alongside in a Broadway play
- “I would love to make that happen,” he exclusively told PEOPLE
Matthew Morrison, who is making his return to the Broadway stage after more than a decade, says he'd love to tread the boards with an old friend from his Glee days.
Morrison, 47, was a special guest at the opening night of Dog Day Afternoon on Monday, March 30. While on the red carpet, the Glee alum revealed to PEOPLE which former Glee costar he would most like to perform alongside in a stage show.
The actor, who played teacher Will Schuester in the Fox series, picked Jane Lynch, who appeared as Will's archnemesis, cheer coach Sue Sylvester.
However, off-screen, the two have no bad blood and are actually incredibly close.
"She's one of my favorite people, and we just have a great friendship," Morrison told PEOPLE. "She's done Broadway as well, so she's not a stranger to it, so it'd be so much fun to do it together."
Credit: FOX Image Collection/Getty
"I would love to make that happen," he added.
Lynch, 65, made her Broadway debut in 2012 as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Then, in 2022, she starred with another Glee costar, Lea Michele, as her character Fanny Brice's mother, Mrs. Rosie Brice, in the revival of Funny Girl.
Lynch told Playbill at the time that her "favorite thing" about live performing is that "you're a part of a group and you kind of forget your own individual identity and work for this group on putting on the show."
"I hope so, yeah," the actress added about an eventual return to the Broadway stage. "I would love to. It’s the actor's life for me, man. I love being onstage."
Since Glee ended in 2015, Morrison and Lynch have reunited a few times. The same year the show wrapped, she went to support him in his Broadway performance as J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland.
Morrison also praised Lynch and her humor in a 2024 episode of Glee cast members Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale's That's What You Really Missed podcast.
Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
"I did laugh all the time," he said. "I ruined so many takes because I could not hold it together."
"She was a godsend," Morrison continued of Lynch. "We became really, really close on that show. We don't talk as much, but we still communicate every now and then, and I just love that woman. For me, as you guys looked at me as the adult and that figure, she was that for me. She was that person I was like, 'Oh, I need to look up to her, and see what she's doing.' I loved working with her."
Now, after Jonathan Groff, who was also another Glee star, left his Tony-nominated role as Bobby Darin in Just in Time, Morrison stepped in to replace him in the musical at the Circle in the Square Theatre.
Credit: Matthew Murphy
Morrison previously debuted on Broadway in Footloose in 1998, followed by roles in Hairspray and South Pacific, as well as a Tony-nominated run in 2005’s The Light in the Piazza.
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“Our show is made to fit like a glove around all kinds of virtuoso performers. I’m thrilled to get back in there and tailor the material so it’s personal to Matthew Morrison, his journey, his many talents, and to welcome him back home to Broadway where he belongs,” the show's co-book writer Isaac Oliver said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Morrison is starring in Just in Time until April 19.
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