Gleeks meet the cast of Glee after Phoenix concert
By Megan Wadding

Members of a local Glee fan club got something to sing about when they met the show’s cast after the Glee Live! concert in Phoenix.

Phoenix’s Glee Dream Team, the “Gleeks,” attended the concert on May 15 at the Dodge Theatre.

Bobby Hess said that after the show he and other Gleeks put messages on Facebook to get reports of cast member sightings and found that they were staying at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Hess deployed team members, decked out in their Gleek T-shirts, to hotel entrances to catch the actors entering the building.

Eventually the Gleeks sat in the hotel’s lobby and Glee creator Ryan Murphy walked in and introduced himself. He and other crew members had noticed the group’s T-shirt and they asked the fans what they thought of the concert and the TV show.

“Within 20 minutes each one of the cast members came into the hotel restaurant and we met them all,” said Natalie Cianciola, of the Dream Team.

Hess said the group explained the Gleeks club and asked the actors to sign copies of an Echo Magazine that had featured an article about the club. The fans also left the hotel with photos with actors Chris Colfer (Kurt), Cory Monteith (Finn), Mark Salling (Puck), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) and Naya Rivera (Santana).

Gleeks said they hung out with the cast and crew until around 1 a.m.

“It was by far the best night of my life,” Cianciola said.

Hess said the Glee concert was the best show he had ever attended. Cianciola called the show “absolutely amazing … The energy throughout Dodge Theatre was so exciting. As soon as the curtain opened everyone went crazy.”

Hess said he took multiple orders for the Gleek T-shirts worn by group members.