Love Musical Theatre? Here’s Why You’ll Love 'Community'!
Raise your hand if you have a comfort TV show! No, I don’t mean comfort food or a security blanket. I mean a TV show that you watch over and over until you’ve memorized every line. A show that you listen to as you fall asleep and let play in the background while you make your bed or do your laundry. A show that has sustained you through the hellscape that is the year 2020.
My comfort show is Community. Found on both Netflix and Hulu, I credit this clever sitcom with keeping me sane through quarantine. The safety of the study group and the silliness of Greendale Community College is all I need to serenade me to sleep each night. I can now proudly add, “Can identify an episode of Community within the first 5 seconds of watching” to the Special Skills section of my resume.
And I’ve realized something after watching (and listening to) this show for the past 7 months. It is not only brilliant, hilarious, and a fantastic way to enjoy the overwhelming talent of Donald Glover. It is also an amazing show for fans of musical theatre.
First, let me give you some context. Jeff Winger is a smooth-talking lawyer who suddenly finds himself out of a job and banned from practicing law when a coworker proves that he faked having a bachelor's degree. Forced to attend a cartoonishly silly community college, Jeff and a group of misfits form a Spanish study group and eventually become an unlikely family. What follows is fantastic character development, ridiculous adventures, and a surprising amount of heart mixed in with the hilarity.
And most importantly for our purposes today? There’s a whole lot of singing. If you love showtunes, clever references to pop culture, and amazing comedic timing, here are the 4 episodes that I believe will turn you into a Community fan.
Season 2 Episode 11:
Let’s go in chronological order, starting with “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”! This episode is the epitome of what Community does best: an homage to a well-known genre of pop culture media. In this case, it’s a tribute to the claymation Christmas movies you may have watched growing up. Think Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, that stop motion animated holiday special where that elf wants to become a dentist.
This episode of Community gives us an entire half hour of claymation complete with an adventure to find the meaning of Christmas and a whole slew of catchy tunes. The songs embrace the genre, move us forward in the story, and give us that perfect balance of humor and heart.
Season 3 Episode 1:
“Biology 101” is our next musical experience! Though it isn’t a fully musical episode, this one gives us a classic opening number featuring sparkling costumes, a big, elaborate dance sequence in the school’s cafeteria, and an introduction to the beautiful voice of Yvette Nicole Brown (I know I’m giving Community a lot of compliments in this piece, but I do have to say that I will always resent the fact that they never gave her a solo number!).
The song, “We’re Gonna Finally Be Fine” is the perfect way to jump into the third season and gives us that classic blend of enthusiasm and sarcasm that Community does so well. I promise you, this song will get stuck in your head.
Season 3 Episode 10:
Okay here’s the big one. “Regional Holiday Music” is not only the best musical episode they’ve ever done, but may even be my favorite musical episode of any show that I’ve ever seen.
A spoof of Glee, this episode is led by the hilarious Taran Killam in a sweater vest. Known for Saturday Night Live and for his time as King George III in Hamilton, he plays the director of the Greendale Community College glee club. Using cheesy musical numbers specifically tailored towards each main character, he convinces the study group to join the glee club to save the Christmas pageant.
Of course, I won’t spoil the episode, but let’s just say that Taran Killam’s character isn’t as nice and gleeful as he pretends to be, and the glee club is a lot closer to a cult than a fun singing group… Either way, this episode has amazing songs, dance sequences, comedy, and gives Donald Glover the chance to show off his Childish Gambino rapping skills. They give him an entire song!
Featuring songs such as, “Baby Boomer Santa” and “Christmas Infiltration”, this is the right way to celebrate the holiday season. Just look up, “Teach Me How to Understand Christmas” and I promise you’ll be hooked.
Season 4 Episode 9:
Last but certainly not least is an episode with another fabulous guest star. Sara Bareilles joins us for a hot air balloon adventure with a twist… In this episode, all of the main characters are puppets! This strange take on Sesame Street and Avenue Q follows the study group as they are roped into puppet therapy to get to the bottom of an awkward silence that they can’t seem to shake.
Featuring multiple puppet numbers that are both funny and surprisingly catchy, this episode gives us the chance to hear Sara Bareilles sing, along with another batch of entirely original songs. Yes, there are shows like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Galavant that are entirely musical (and fantastic), but what other regular sitcom has that many original songs? Not that many!
So join me as I binge Community for the millionth time and I promise you won’t regret it. Soon, you’ll be laughing along to the Dean’s elaborate costumes, the puns of Ben Chang, a man with star-shaped sideburns, and the phrase, “Pop pop!”