Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Gaga Glee Glee

Is this the face of a Lady that does not know who she is? Pop sensation Lady Gaga mortgaged her quick rise to super-stardom on catchy tunes and far out costumes. And it paid off, in triplicate. You can hardly turn your radio on today without hearing a Gaga anthem playing somewhere on the dial.

So how does this icon relate to the cast of Glee? In the world of show choir, "theatricality" can make you or break you. Gaga is the consummate example of theatrical "thinking outside and over the top of the box" and the weekly assignment for the Glee Club when they find out that their nemesis, Vocal Adrenaline, has taken on The Gaga.

Musical highlights:
  • Rachel meets her real mother-Vocal Adrenaline's Director Shelby Corchrane after hearing her sing Barbara Striesand's "Funny Girl". Idina is pitch perfect as Fanny Brice, (and I now see why they had Idina sing the tribute to Barbara at the Kennedy Center Honors last year).
  • "Bad Romance" is performed by the girls of the Glee club, and Kurt, in their outrageous Gaga costumes. This is the best performance of the episode.
  • THANK GOD the guys decide that Gaga is not for them, so they pull out the all the stops with their version of "theatricality"; KISS. They perform, "Shout it out Loud" and rock it!
  • The boys sing "Beth" to Quinn's unborn baby, and Puck decides he would like to at least name the baby before Quinn gives the baby girl up for adoption.
  • Rachel and Shelby (Menzel and Michelle) turn "Poker Face" into a touching duet between mother and daughter. Certainly would not have been my choice for a sweet duet between mother and daughter, but the musical arrangement turns this into a ballad and with these two legendary Broadway veterans, nothing is not amazing once they get their hands on it. Although it was not my favorite musical number of the night, I will admit to goose bumps.

After Kurt and Tina are harrassed for wearing full-on Gaga to school by a couple of jocks, Finn is left to defend himself and the rest of the club from the haters. But not before the emotional pinnacle of the entire season this far.

Burt, Kurts dad, (Mike O'Malley) delivers, what I think may become one of the most important moments in TV history, when he defends his homosexual son. Finn makes a crucial error, using the word "faggy" to frustratingly describe the decor Kurt has chosen for new their shared room. What makes it so important are the words Burt uses to defend his son's lifestyle choices and he then chooses his boy over Finn and his new love, Finn's mom, by telling Finn he cannot stay in his house any longer. He unknowingly gives the world a text book example of tolerance and love.

So is that what Gaga's music is about? Tolerance? Love? Theatricality?

In last night's episode of Glee, although they tackled The Gaga, I don't really think the episode was about the music, as much as it was about people and the choices that they make.

Right or wrong, accepted or criticized, you can't be afraid to go Gaga once in a while. You may just find that the most unlikey person has got your back.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loved this episode, and Kurt's shoes were over the top insane. He werked it out!

Heff said...

Last night I heard "Shout It Out Loud" blarring from the livingroom, so I ran to see what station KISS was on. To my HORROR, I found my only son.....WATCHING GLEE !!!!

In a panic to stop the madness, I shoved my Axe Bass through the TV screen !

Abomination HALTED.

I needed a new TV anyway...

RW said...

I seriously need to catch up to the cultural icons. I'm starting to feel like a fossil. Oh wait... I AM a fossil...

BeckEye said...

Well, I must point out the one flaw in this episode: NO JESSE.

And that's not just my loins talking. Isn't it strange that he disappeared for an entire episode and no one - not even Rachel - bothered to mention that he wasn't around??? Especially in the middle of a storyline that he's very much a part of. I was expecting her to see him rehearsing with Vocal Adrenaline when she went to "spy" on them, but he wasn't even there. And I saw behind the scenes photos of him in the red lace outfit, so why did they dress him up if they were just gonna take him out of the episode?? Arrrgh.

That aside, I loved this ep. Kurt's dad is quickly becoming my favorite character.

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Mad...Ohhhyeeeahhh. McQueen RIP would be proud.

Heffy...you expect me to believe that you ACCIDENTALLY stumbled upon Glee last night??? You know you watch it, love it, and secretly fantasize about Sue Sylvester. AND you also hide Playbills in the basement and look at them like porn...like Pam Anderson's Playbill from her Vegas show. :) Your boy has taste.

RW..Fossil my a**. Hop on the Glee train. Occasionaly you get to see a theatrical interpretation of a rock classic that might cause you to come back. All the cool kids are doing it.

Becks...I told my daughter that this episode was NOT about the music or Lady Gaga. I agree with the Jesse point you make. I kept thinking he was going to pop out when VA was rehearsing, and yes, it was awkward and at times distracting. I still don't know who he is performing with at Regionals. Maybe the photos you saw are of a future story arc, where we find out Jesse is secretly rehearsing with VA-so he can dump New Directions at the last minute.
The plot thickens....

BeckEye said...

Well, in the preview for next week, there is a shot of Jesse rehearsing with VA and Rachel looking angsty and sad. So I guess he goes back to his old school next week. But it's still weird that no one mentioned that he wasn't there last night. Mr. Schue was like, "OK, we're all here," not caring that the new guy who was good enough to steal a bunch of Finn's solos was missing. At least 2 weeks ago they explained that he was on spring break.

Heff said...

YOU THINK I'M A CLOSET GLEE'FER ?!?

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Becks- Jesse is pure sexual tension..they are banking on the chemistry between Goff and Michelle's success in Spring Awakenings. He has a "Broadway" voice, which is powerful and great, but my boy Finn has the charisma and the rock voice to boot. His sexual tension with Rachel??? too soon to tell who has the edge. BUT, Jesse somehow has to be the bad guy for the season to work. Sorry.

Heff- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! A closet Glee'fer....hahahaaa, oh, you kill me Heff.
I love that!