Jane Lynch and Carol Burnett Will Sing a Little Bernstein on "Glee"

By Thomas Peter
25 Oct 2010

Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett

Jane Lynch has revealed that she will be singing "Ohio," from the Broadway musical Wonderful Town, in a duet with stage and screen legend Carol Burnett when Burnett guest stars on a November episode of "Glee," according to tvguide.com.

Burnett will play Doris Sylvester, the mother of Lynch's character, vicious cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Lynch told tvguide.com that Sue's parents left their daughter in Ohio with her disabled sister Jean to go off hunting Nazis. "I guess all the Nazis have been caught, so Mother comes back — but there's still a lot of resentment. We're going to see another level of Sue's vulnerability," Lynch said. "This has a lot to do with why Sue is so mean."

Lynch said of the prospect of working with Burnett, "I'm a little nervous, but I can't wait to get in scenes with her...It's like playing tennis with a master."

The actress also revealed that Doris will be coming back to town because Sue has announced plans for a wedding, in order to compete with Kurt's (Chris Colfer) over-the-top preparations for his dad's wedding to Finn's mom. Sue's prospective spouse is still a mystery.

The song "Ohio" (with its familiar refrain, "Why, oh, why, oh, why-oh/Why did I ever leave Ohio?") was written by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green for the 1953 musical Wonderful Town, where it is sung by sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, Midwestern transplants, on their first night in New York City. The pair were played by Rosalind Russell and Edith Adams in the original production, and Donna Murphy (and later Brooke Shields) and Jennifer Westfeldt in the 2003 revival.

"Glee" airs Tuesdays at 8 PM ET on Fox.