‘Glee’ sets an upbeat tone for Emmy

The Fox hit “Glee” didn’t break Emmy records despite its whopping 19 nominations, but the dramedy with music set the upbeat tone for Sunday night’s show with a flashy song-and-dance opening number.

FOR THE RECORD:
Emmy Awards: An article in the Aug. 30 Calendar section about “Glee’s” showing at the Emmy Awards referred to Jimmy Fallon’s parody of a Boys II Men song. The group is Boyz II Men. —

Cast members Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley and Jane Lynch trotted out some of the big voices and fleet feet that quickly made the series a pop culture touchstone when it debuted last year.

Emmy host Jimmy Fallon, with the “Glee” stars and an assortment of such TV royalty as Jon Hamm and Tina Fey, serenaded the crowd with classic Bruce Springsteen, whose anthemic ‘80s guitar rock would be right at home at McKinley High, “Glee’s” fictional base. And Fey and Fallon even got slushee baths, making them honorary “Glee” dweebs.

The lyrical Fallon picked up and ran with the musical theme, using his guitar and voice throughout the show as a way to get audience participation throughout the night, and belting out parody songs in the guise of Elton John, Boys II Men and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

“Glee” ended up winning two Emmys on Sunday night, bringing its total to four. Creator Ryan Murphy took home the prize for directing in a comedy and Lynch, who’d been the critics’ favorite in her category, snagged the trophy for best supporting actress in a comedy.

In the creative Emmys presented on Aug. 22, Neil Patrick Harris won actor in a guest role in a comedy series for going mano-a-mano over an Aerosmith tune with “Glee” star Matthew Morrison’s Will Schuester. The show also won for sound mixing.

Murphy, who said “Glee” shows the importance of arts education, dedicated his award “to all my teachers who taught me to sing and finger paint.”

Lynch, who said playing cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is “the role of a lifetime,” called her cast mates “young and wonderful and fresh faced, and when I’m not seething with jealousy I’m so proud of you.”

Beyond the hardware, “Glee” showed its muscle during the ad breaks. The series got a shout out in an Infiniti commercial starring the cast of NBC’s “Community.”

calendar@latimes.com