LOS ANGELES ? Hollywood?s fabled Chateau Marmont became William McKinley High School, at least for a night, when the wildly popular TV series ?Glee? held its ?spring premiere soiree? there on Monday.

Attention, ?Gleeks,? this column contains some spoilers so be forewarned. One of the first to arrive was Cory Monteith, who plays jock Finn Hudson. Boyish-looking in person, Cory surprised us when we asked what his favorite number was so far in the show. He said they just did a KISS-themed episode and showed us the callus on his palm, a result of playing drums repeatedly for the numbers.

For Cory, the highlight of the ?Glee? cast?s Easter performance at the White House was that he got a hug from First Lady Michelle Obama. And yes, the chance to play with the First Dog, Bo, on the White House lawn.

The actor admitted that he didn?t even know Burt Bacharach and Hal David?s ?A House Is Not a Home? until he sang this pop gem in the show. Chris Colfer also delivers a magnificent version of this ballad in the ?Home? episode.

?I also didn?t even know who Dionne Warwick was,? Cory joked ?or at least we thought he was jesting ? about the singer whose version of ?A House ?? is one of the most popular.

Howard Bamboo

Ryan Murphy, the creator of ?Glee? which won the Golden Globe-Best Musical or Comedy TV Series last January, told us that Kent Avenido, the Fil-Am actor who plays Howard Bamboo and was in several earlier episodes, will be back in two episodes. We were glad to hear this update on Kent, who attended the Yale University School of Drama.

Ryan was chatting with Molly Shannon, who comes in as a badminton coach and H.E. teacher, the one who dares to stand up to Sue Sylvester, Jane Lynch?s wicked cheerleading coach. Molly laughed as she said that she would love to sing in the show, but doesn?t get to.

Mark Salling (Noah ?Puck? Puckerman) appeared genuinely surprised to hear that as a result of his memorable performance of ?Sweet Caroline,? an 11-year-old boy in my editor?s household in the Philippines, is suddenly singing that Neil Diamond classic. Mark put both hands on his chest as a gesture of how moved he was.

Both Chris and Kevin McHale said they are inspired by the feedback they get from viewers for their characters. Chris plays the gay Kurt Hummel while Kevin is Artie Abrams, a student in wheelchair who sings and dances with the glee club, New Directions.

Unforgettable moment

Chris? unforgettable moment during the White House visit was meeting ?Harry Potter? author JK Rowling, who was one of the VIP guests that day. The show?s youngest cast member demonstrated how he walked in awe around JK repeatedly, with his eyes widening. Then he exclaimed, ?Big fan!? and ran off. Chris said that he managed to calm down and eventually talk to the writer.

Chris volunteered that he was the one who suggested a Lady Gaga-inspired episode to Ryan. He got excited as he described his costume for a number in that telecast ? it includes a George Washington wig. ?I would have worn my Lady Gaga outfit but, oh my God, 10-inch heels?!? he said.

Pretty Jenna Ushkowitz said that her costume was Lady Gaga?s famous bubble dress. For this evening, Jenna traded her character Tina Cohen-Chang?s purple hair streaks and punk rocker clothes for a glam, young star look.

Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray) was a stunner in a cleavage-revealing gown at the packed party. Told how surprisingly taller she is in person, Dianna lifted her gown hemline to reveal the secret ?sky-high heels. The actress narrated how she and the rest of the gang broke in tears when they heard fellow cast member, Amber Riley, sing the US national anthem at the White House. Dianna disclosed that her character gives birth to a girl in the show?s season closer.

Male diva

Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, BFFs from their ?Spring Awakening? days on Broadway, arrived together. Jonathan enters the series as Jesse St. James, a member of the rival glee club, Vocal Adrenaline, who woos Lea?s Rachel Berry by singing Lionel Richie?s ?Hello.?

Rachel is swept by his singing and she joins him in a stirring duet of the pop radio staple. Jonathan, who was memorable as the white-horse riding Michael Lang in Ang Lee?s ?Taking Woodstock,? said that the cast welcomed him with open arms. Ryan was quoted as saying that Jonathan?s character is a ?miva? ? a male diva.

Lea, who was also in a gown with a plunging décolletage, fielded congratulations for her performance in the show. With her bangs and printed dress, she evoked a cool ?60s vibe.

Matthew Morrison, who is winning legions of fans as Will Schuester, the glee club coach, humbly acknowledged praises for his ?One Less Bell to Answer? duet with the always-terrific Kristin Chenoweth. The duo?s interpretation of the song, also composed by Bacharach and David, is another highlight of the ?Home? episode.

Jane Lynch could not say one of her character?s deliciously withering putdowns to us because she was impressed with our T-shirt that had an image of Sue Sylvester screaming, through her bullhorn, the words: ?Face it ? you want to be me!? She vogued with us instead for the camera. In case you have not heard, Jane sings ?Vogue,? cone bra and all, in the coming episode, ?The Power of Madonna.?

Speaking of the Material Girl, imagine three couples ? Cory and Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Lea and Jonathan, Matthew and Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury) ? singing ?Like a Virgin? in a montage. Guess which character is no longer like a virgin after this number?

Newton-John duet

Back to Jane, she gets to sing ?Let?s Get Physical? in a future episode with no less than Olivia Newton-John herself.
For our daughter Ella, who came with us with her friend, Alex Garcia, the high point of the evening was meeting her long-time favorite, Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran, the rival choir?s director). The Tony Award-winning actress for ?Wicked,? who came with her husband, actor Taye Diggs, wouldn?t reveal a song she belts in a coming episode, preferring to keep it a surprise. Incidentally, her ?Wicked? co-star, Kristin, literally ends the ?Home? episode on a high note with her rendition of, well, ?Home.?

Last to arrive was Amber, who said that everything about their White House visit was memorable, including meeting the Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha. Would you believe that Amber is an ?American Idol? reject?

Looking very preppy in bowtie and glasses was Harry Shum Jr., who portrays Mike Chang.

The ?Glee? mania will surely continue in the coming months with these must-see episodes and a two-week live concert tour in May. The cast has guested on Oprah Winfrey?s show, graced the cover of Rolling Stone and had 25 charted singles on the Billboard Top 100.

On our drive home, Ella thanked us profusely for bringing her along to the party. For once, she thought we were ?cool.?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.