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Broadway star Morrison gets all keyed up for ‘Glee’

LOS ANGELES — Matthew Morrison has a nickname on the set of Fox’s new musical comedy series, “Glee.”

“‘Triple threat,’” says Morrison, dressed appropriately in jeans, shirt and sport coat for his role as a young, optimistic teacher. “But you have to say it with a high-pitched voice: ‘Triple threat,’” he says in a falsetto voice, laughing. “Yep. That’s what they call me around here.”

Those three talents — singing, dancing and acting — all are front and center in the edgy series from “Nip/Tuck”’s Ryan Murphy. It premiered last Tuesday at 9 p.m., then returns in fall.

In “Glee,” set in a high school in Lima, Ohio, Morrison’s Will Schuester, a Spanish teacher who can carry a tune, takes on the task of reassembling the glee club and restoring it to its former glory. He rounds up a mixed bag of high school stereotypes and, in the process, teaches them about music, themselves and, ultimately, life.

“I’d love to say that this is a huge acting stretch for me, (but) this is kind of me,” Morrison says. “I probably shouldn’t say that because I’m discrediting myself as an actor, but I feel like if I hadn’t gone to New York, (I) would have gone to Chico State in Northern California, and I probably would have done theater, come back to Southern California and taught at a performing arts high school.

“That would have been my path. If my life hadn’t gone that way, it would have gone this way,” he says, motioning around the desk-filled set that serves as his classroom.

But Morrison, 30, did travel from his Southern California home to New York, where he found success on Broadway. Most recently starring in the Lincoln Center revival of “South Pacific,” Morrison was nominated for a Tony for his role as Fabrizio in “The Light in the Piazza.”

His TV resume is far more limited — including guest roles on “Sex and the City,” “Numb3rs” and “Ghost Whisperer.”

The pilot features a mix of contemporary tunes, standards and vintage ‘80s rock, all sung by the cast.

Morrison shakes his head in disbelief that he could be seen in tens of millions of households. “I mean, wow,” he says. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

Are there other talents Morrison may be displaying when the show returns in September? “Well, I’m going to be doing a little Kanye West in an upcoming episode. I think that’s the only one I can give away. So yeah, I can rap a little, too.”