This week’s episode of The Glee Project was all about theatricality. Not melodrama, mind you. Theatricality. Defined as: "suggestive of the theater or acting; artificial, pompous, spectacular or extravagantly histrionic." Sounds about right, but according to this week’s special guest judge, Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked), theatricality isn’t all about being over the top; it’s about evoking raw emotion and being fearless. You can think of it like this: bad theatricality is like a 3D movie — there’s no real substance, but it’s right in your face and you can’t escape it — whereas good theatricality is like a great actor who can convey a sense of insurmountable grief without shedding a tear or even raising his voice.
This was the challenge facing the 11 remaining Glee contenders this week, and their first chance to shine was during the Homework Challenge when each sang a line from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” (Talk about melodramatic.) A few stood out, but most didn’t and the winner was obvious. Alex, a diva in his own right who can hit a high note without even batting an eyelash, won the one-on-one lesson on theatricality with Menzel and a featured role in this week’s music video, for Twisted Sister’s “We’re not Gonna Take It.”
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2011.