Why I Loved Grey's Anatomy, The Musical

I realize I am a week late in this post, but Momma's been busy. I was a few days behind in watching Glee's Grey's Anatomy, but felt compelled to respond to some of the uproar. It is no surprise that I love most all things musical.  It's in my blood.  Here are the top three reasons I was thrilled they did it.
Number one reason, Sara Ramirez.  For those of you who don't know, she plays Callie Torres.  I have known of Sara since 1998. Husband worked with her back then in a regional theater production of Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm.  He would later make his Broadway debut in this production with her. When I first heard her sing I was mesmerized. My heart literally ached a little when I heard her voice.  Not only that, she was such a great actress.  Funny, poignant, and smart.  So a few days before the episode, Husband shared with me her new EP that he had just purchased on itunes.  No shock that I loved it, but most especially her cover of "The Story".  What a superb song.  So when Sara/Callie sang it at the end of the episode I was beside myself, in a good way.  Finally the rest of the world would get to experience this amazingly talented woman.  Buy it on itunes.  You won't be disappointed.
I heard that when she was in Spamalot on Broadway, for which she won the TONY for Best Actress, that the ABC execs came to her and said she could pick any show she wanted to be in and she chose Grey's.  I don't know if that's even true, but I like to hear stories like that.  A ridiculously talented theater girl gets appreciated by big TV guys.  Thank God she didn't choose a short-lived sitcom that I cannot even remember the name of now.
The second reason I loved this episode is because if I were bleeding on the hood of a car and having an outer body experience, this is how it would be for me.  When I was dancing 7 days a week as a kid/young adult, I used to dream in pirouettes.  Like I'd be doing insane numbers of pirouettes in the style of Baryshnikov in White Knights.  (Still one of my fave movie scenes.)  My older adult life has been more about music, singing it, writing it, listening to it.  Sometimes I can express myself so much better in a song.  So I could totally relate to her hallucinations.
Thirdly, while I am a Glee watcher, I'd much rather watch this kind of story line over teens, and adults for that matter, with out of control hormones week after week.  I am all for promoting and supporting the love of music and dance. Plus, I like anything that pulls for the underdog.  But I  even more appreciate the use of the musical format for more adult and thoughtful storytelling.
I will say this....I did wonder if Patrick Dempsey and others said, "Hell no!  I will not sing."  Or did they have to audition for their solos like back in high school glee club?  That made me giggle a bit to think of Sandra Oh singing "I Enjoy being A Girl" and Shonda Rhimes abruptly stopping her mid-song with a dismissive "Thank You". I also felt like some the actors were clearly not used to acting while singing.  But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I loved that they took a risk and tried something new. Something we all should do now and then.