Emmy Award-winner Jane Lynch (Glee, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and her longtime partner-in-crime, Kate Flannery (The Office), are back together on stage for The Trouble with Angels, a raucous blend of comedy, music, and unapologetic mischief. With powerhouse vocals, razor-sharp wit, and more than a few surprises, the duo proves that when these two “angels” unite, heaven can wait.
For Lynch, the show is a natural extension of a friendship and collaboration that has spanned decades. “Kate and I have been singing together for decades,” Lynch says. “We just put together another show with a bunch of music we love—mostly from around 1966. We’re both big fans of that movie with Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell. The show doesn’t really have much to do with the film, but we thought the title was perfect because we’re two Catholic girls who always seem to get into a little
trouble.”
That trouble, it turns out, is irresistible. The setlist draws from the rich sounds of the 1960s, a period Lynch calls “our favorite—and our band’s favorite—musical era.” The result is part cabaret, part stand-up, and entirely a love letter to the joy of live performance.
Lynch’s own journey to this stage is as colorful as her comedy. Born in Illinois, she cut her teeth on the Chicago stage with Second City and Steppenwolf Theatre, where her improvisational instincts and sharp timing were honed. After years in theater and smaller film parts, she broke through as the eccentric dog trainer Christy Cummings in Christopher Guest’s Best in Show. More scene-stealing turns in Guest’s A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration followed, cementing her as a master of deadpan wit.
Still, Lynch insists her partnership with Flannery is one of the most rewarding chapters of her career. “Oh, she’s the best. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’m so grateful I found her,” she says warmly. “We share a lot of the same loves, and we’re really fun on stage together—I think you could tell when you saw us. We complement each other so well. She’s a wonderful singer and can-do harmony beautifully. I sing a lot of harmony too, so we switch back and forth, which makes it feel like a love fest.”
Flannery’s fearless energy inspires Lynch. “She was incredible on Dancing with the Stars. Wow. She works so hard. She’s the type of person who dives into new challenges in a way I don’t always do.” Of course, fans still love Lynch for her turn as Sue Sylvester on Glee, the tracksuit-wearing tyrant of McKinley High. Would Sue have anything to say about today’s political climate? Lynch laughs. “I don’t think she pays attention. She lives in her own world. Sue is stuck in the movie of her own mind—I don’t think she notices what’s going on in reality.”
That blend of sharp satire and surreal detachment also fueled one of Lynch’s most iconic moments: her Emmy-winning Vogue remake. “That was pure joy to make,” she recalls. “It was Ryan Murphy’s baby. As soon as we got the order for Glee, he said, ‘We’re going to do a Madonna episode, and we’re going to remake the Vogue video.’”
Despite the highlights, Lynch resists singling out one memory. “I don’t think I have one favorite. There were lots of wonderful moments, but they all kind of blur into one big, beautiful experience when I look back. I loved doing that show, and I loved everybody in it.”
Offstage, Lynch has settled into married life—she and her wife tied the knot in 2021—and continues to host NBC’s hit game show The Weakest Link. “We just did a season that’s coming out in September, and we filmed a Glee episode. A lot of people, including Alex, came back for it, which was so much fun,” she says. “We shot 11 new episodes, all celebrity-themed. We did Housewives, a Glee cast episode, TV doctors, NFL players turned broadcasters—it was a blast.”
At 63, Lynch has little left to prove, but she still sees herself as part of a larger cultural shift. Asked about the meaning of the word queer, she offers a thoughtful answer: “I think it means not confining yourself to the mainstream cultural ideas of what it means to live a life on this planet. A lot of people can be queer without being gay.” In The Trouble with Angels, Lynch and Flannery embrace that freedom with joy, irreverence, and harmony—two friends, two voices, and one hell of a good time.
See Lynch (with Kate Flannery) in the The trouble with Angels at the Edmonds Center for the Arts (Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Avenue North, Edmonds, WA 98020) on Thursday, September 11th at 7:30pm. Please check out this link for tickets.
