The Theater Kid Trope and How Glee’s Rachel Made it Toxic 

So we put teenagers in a highly competitive environment, tell them that maybe one in the group can make it in their dream profession, apply adult's physical standards and work ethics on them, criticize the living hell out of them in front of their peers weekly during their most vulnerable years, put them on a literal stage without so much as professional mental coaching, and then vilify them for being competitive and no team players? Yeah, sounds about right.

For me the problem with Glee is that it never gave its charecters ability to grow up, change their behavior or own up their behavior.

I could NEVER stand Rachel. No matter how insufferable she was, she got everything handed to her. And while Lea Michele IS very talented, by the way they'd go on about her, you'd swear that she was the ONLY cast member who had any genuine talent!

Just remember, Sharpay isn't the antagonist because she's a theatre kid or because she's girly, she's the antagonist because she's a jerk. She had already been the lead in 17 shows and she couldn't handle the possibility of losing 1. She was also a bully and resorted to harassement and sabotage in every film. People who try to claim Sharpay is the 'victim' are often theatre kids who don't want to admit they can be toxic.

Do viewers not realize that Glee was always over the top? In the first episode the teacher sneaks into the locker room, records a football player singing in the shower, and blackmails him to join the glee club.

I think what also isn't discussed is that a lot of the time this Rachel Berry behavior is BRED. I have been in so many toxic theater programs that encouraged this cattiness or just mentally abused you to the point of begging for attention and adoration from those who already caused you harm which can create monsters. There is no self-care involved in theater education, especially at the middle school to even college level. I am glad that shows like HSMTMTS and even Smash for portraying more self aware "theater kids" and for TikTok showing theater kids being supported and encouraged without the diva behavior.

the thing about glee is that every character (at least in the first seasons) was a walking stereotype and it was meant to be that way to make fun of different tropes in a satirical way. see rachel being the self centered theater star, kurt being the flamboyant gay kid, mercedes being the black diva, santana being the sassy latina, britanny being the dumb blonde and so on. obviously that satire got lost at some point between the later seasons and the show lost its magic but it originally started with that premise, that's why rachel's character just feels like a joke, because it's meant to be one

"I AM LIKE TINKERBELL, FINN. . .I NEED APPLAUSE TO LIVE" looooool I swear, that was the most self aware thing Rachel ever said.

Honestly, Sharpay is kinda groundbreaking for portraying the theatre geek as the most popular person at school, and shes more leaning towards the queen bee troupe then the theatre kid troupe. And in Sharpay’s defense, most of her “mean” actions aren’t really driven by theatre or preserving her status, but her obsession with Troy.

This is a very American-centric POV where school cliques like the jocks vs the nerds and outcasts etc are more pronounced. Growing up in an Aussie high school, at least not in mine, it was never considered uncool to sign up for the school musical. In fact, lots of kids did...but mostly cos it was considered badass to be able to get out of lots of classes to instead reherse for the show. Plus many of the so called "cool kids" would also sign up for the band or the tech and support crew roles making it a true ensemble of all different types of kids. It was actually quite the bonding experience and most kids, again, at least in my school, all thought it was a positive thing not worthy of being mocked.

Maybe she is toxic. But she’s an accurate representation of a lot of theater kids I met when I was in high school

The fact is though theatre (and acting in gneeral) is elitist. Singing lessons and dancing lessons aren't cheap.neither is drama school. Neither is having to depend on mammy and daddy to cover your rent when you haven't worked in months. Watch an awards show and see how many actors of working class backgrounds win an award guarantee they'll be in the minority. And I say all that as someone who adores musical theatre.

I swear Rachel having a ballad every single episode is annoying, sometimes it pays off (such as the deal with her mom, or you know about Finn) and sometimes is just ridiculous as she sining a song about how sad and miserable she is because Finn got mad at her.

My niece is a theater kid and she absolutely had one of these girls in her group. She left the group and joined one with a much more inclusive attitude and is much happier.

If you're going to do a Squid Game video (and you definitely are), you should do one about artificial fairness in death games. The creators keeps banging the drum about how the game is meant to be fair for all players, but it's clear that things are incredible unfair, and it's meant to be that way.

I dont think Glee can be used as a serious subject for discourse and discussion based on its absurdity. You're making a point that rachel is a stereotypical theatre kid, but rachel is just a badly written character based off the writers hatred/love for the actress playing her, depending on the day and who was writing. Nothing is fixed in Glee, its moot.

Wait - *GLEE* made the Theatre Kid trope toxic? Spoken like people who were never in show choir… I didn’t need TV to tell me theater kids are toxic; four years of chorus, band, and school musicals taught me plenty.

Something I learned as an adult is that theatre becomes toxic when you approach it like a competition instead of a passion and as soon as I stopped persuing it as a career and just enjoyed it as a hobby I actually had so much more fun with it.

Do you know what kind of story I would love to see with the theater kid? A theater kid whose goal is NOT to be the lead role. Think about it. They love performing, they love singing and dancing BUT HATE being the center of attention, therefore, they feel more comfortable working with a group rather than in the spotlight by themselves.

The biggest crime glee committed was making Kurt Rachel’s best friend rather than Mercedes’ like he should’ve been

I am SO glad I participated in theater at a small school. There was no hard feelings or cut throat competition around auditions, EVERYONE was required to participate in tech crew, and tech crew wasn't left in the dust. The theater kids were as far away from the Sharpays and Rachels as possible. If anything our theater kids were more like Rebecca Bunch. An intense love of theater, participation, and singing off key didn't land you in a pit of disrespect from the director or other actors

People seem to forget that Glee was and always has been a satire, first and foremost. It and HSM didn't create the annoying theatre kid trope, it only embodied and exaggerated the trope so it could make their characters more interesting and flawed: Rachel's egotistical and entitled attitude is meant to be entertaining, not taken seriously, and I'm 100% sure if she was originally nice and friendly, ppl would've complained that she's too boring instead-

As a Theater Kid, I was super excited about Glee, and wanted to be like Rachel. I soon realized that I was more of a Mercedes or even Tina. I realized that my rival was the true Rachel, and that I couldn’t win against her.

As a black girl who grew up watching Glee and has rewatch the series multiple times, I can tell you now that they barely handled important topics well. Particular Mercedes being black. At times they made her so much of a caricature of a black woman, that it made me uncomfortable even as a kid. They made her appear lazy, even though in previous episodes she worked as hard as the others. They made her mention weave and obsess over food, be loud and say slang that sounded out of place. She literally sung that terrible song. Oh Hell to the Naw or whatever. So no, Glee failed miserable at attempting to discuss race. They made Kurt a caricature at times which is odd seeing as the show was created by a gay man. I hated how instead of evolving a lot of the characters, they pushed them to the back for it to become the Rachel Berry show. That was Glee's ultimate downfall. Revolving everything around Rachel. If they would have gave everyone an equal amount of screen time, story involvement, and overall character development then this show would be twice as iconic. The only reason it is big is because most of the fans of the show if not all understood what is was like to be outcast or underdogs. We tried to see ourselves through the characters because what other show had people who looked like regular people on tv going through what some of us had been through in terms of the hell that is high school. They did it while singing. It was fun but it was also hurtful in a lot of areas. I was happy to see a bigger black girl like me at the time. But i hated how they treated her characters and other minorities.

Truthfully, glee was never a good show for representation of outcasts and minorities. It tried so hard to make us feel that being a performer was the lowest of the low. At McKinley High School it is worse to be in the glee-club than it is being science geek or a player for the unsuccessful sports teams. That is already pretty ridiculous to accept that everyone in the whole school target people for singing in a group environment, when no one had it out for any of the members when they were not part of the glee-club. Anyways, glee ended up feeling like Ryan Murphy's attempt to villainise the popular kids because he felt like an outsider in school - probably the same as most of the creators behind our teen-favourites. The difference for glee is just that is difficult to root for the protagonists since most of them are super annoying caricatures meant to represent one whole minority, but most characters get so little screen-time the audience isn't encouraged to care about them. When I was growing up watching the first season, I wanted more Tina because she was the goth girl and I liked the emo bands of the 00s, but they just gave up on her character and made her date the only other Asian character in the cast. It truly appears that though Murphy wanted to capture what it was like being young and needing a place to feel safe and included, but like with all of his projects, he bit off more than he could chew, and glee became a giant mess. But at least it is really fun to analyse the characters.

Hollywood hates anyone who is an expert at their craft. Have you been spending a good chunk of your time practicing and learning the skills needed to succeed at whatever? Well if this is a movie you’re screwed. Be prepared to lose to someone who just figured out they can do what you always wanted. If you bring this up. Congratulations you’re the villain.

The only thing more toxic than the “theater kid trope” is the entertainment industry, and the way we love to both worship and hate performers and artists. As you state in the video, almost no one makes a living as a performer, and yet the people who do are some of the richest and most influential people in society. What are young people supposed to think when they see that? Either they have an overinflated sense of their own talent and self-worth, or they give up without really trying, because everyone in their life is telling them that it’s too hard and they aren’t good enough to make it. Becoming obsessed with the craft and doing unethical things are understandable reactions to being constantly told that their goals are almost impossible to achieve. People who get some power in the industry exploit the people bellow them, because it’s so easy to replace performers who won’t go along, and because one good word or introduction can mean the difference between success and failure. Performers are conditioned to tolerate abuse. This is a result of the extreme imbalance of power, not bad apples, and you see it in professional sports too (especially in sports associated with women, like gymnastics). Some people may see Rachel as a villain, but I think the show encourages us to sympathize with her as well, even when she behaves badly. Yes, we accept her bad behavior more because she is talented. It’s not exactly fair, but it does emphasize that even the most talented performers are driven to such extremes in order to succeed. There is tragedy in that, more so than there would be with someone who wasn’t actually a good performer. Rachel is both victim and abuser in the show. It’s exaggerated, but not necessarily inaccurate. The kids who don’t intend to go into show business don’t have the same attitude towards it, and that also makes sense. Additionally, I think this video ignores how gendered this stereotype is. "Jocks" are often portrayed as status/praise-obsessed jerks and villains too, but few people have a problem with this portrayal because we accept that it's more natural/acceptable for men to be overly ambitious and aggressive. We are much more uncomfortable with women (and "effeminate" men) who take up too much space/attention/praise in the world. Female entertainers are historically associated with prostitution and acting as mistresses to powerful men. Their role was to be half artist, half sex object. In one sense they were glamorous and desirable-the embodiment of female allure-and in another they were ridiculed and reviled. The legacy of these attitudes endures and drives some of the love/hate relationship the public has with entertainers. The young women in these shows see actresses as embodiments of female beauty, power, and appeal. Top performers are showered with adoration and praise, but also deeply resented for the pressures and insecurities they invoke in others. You can see this as a sort of toxic femininity, where you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, and that battle initially plays out between Quinn and Rachel over Finn’s attention. The show could definitely be more nuanced, but I don’t think that it particularly demonizes Rachel or people who love theater.

Rachel Berry may have been annoying, but Glee's commitment to have all teenagers be extremely flawed and terrible sometimes still makes for a million times more interesting characters than todays protagonists who have to have a "likable personality"/are one-dimensional so audiences can consume teen shows easily. This new wave of teenagers who can't handle unlikable characters who mess up is so wild to me.

This was always something I was so jealous of, because it seemed that all American and Japanese schools had so many clubs and after-school activities. In my country, at least where I lived at the time, there was hardly anything like that, mostly just church or a few sports clubs. Everything else you could only do if your parents had enough money, because everything was super expensive.

I honestly always admired Sharpay’s and Rachel’s ambition, and while I agree that their methods may not have always been the most thought out, I think that people tend to put all the blame on them for everything. No one likes when things don’t go according to plan, but of course the solution would be to remain calm and try to find a solution calmly. Of course, we are all only humans, which means we are all flawed, so mistakes are bound to happen. However, I don’t think that pummeling anyone to death, figuratively or literally, is the way to resolve such issues.

I always get annoyed when people say she is the most talented in glee. Mercedes, Blaine and Santana were just as talented if not more.

I actually LOVED Sharpay Evans! I mean, i hated her when i was a kid, but now as an adult i realise that Gabriella ain't shit 💁

Rachel should have been a side character. And I will die on that hill.

I think Rachel was the way she was because she was bullied her whole life and the only thing people ever complimented her for was her singing. She kind of keeps her ability to perform and her self worth in the same bottle, so that’s why she had to be so competitive. She was still shitty, but I feel for her more than I feel for other characters who always bullied her for traits that they displayed just as much as Her

I admit, I like Rachel because of how narcissistic and ambitious she was. Female characters usually don't get to be bitches on anything

"Rachel Berry may be New Direction's most talented-" *Mercedes Jones has entered the chat.*

am i the only one who enjoyed rachel's character? i didn't necessarily like her all the time (lol i didn't like her most of the time) but i appreciated that she was allowed to be rude and self-centred and egotistical. she had genuine real flaws instead of like glamorous cute flaws like being quiet or clumsy. glee's biggest issue is that they never gave rachel space to grow, i don't think she should have ever gotten into nyada and then had to learn to work from there, but on the whole i enjoyed that rachel was allowed to be unlikeable. it was one of the more realistic depictions of an overzealous high school student i'd seen!

Glee is an excellent excercise in empathy. Can you understand that teens make mistakes while they are figuring out who they are? Can you give kids, even when they are annoying, the space they need to try themselves out and find their strenght through performing?

Rachel Berry is one of the most insufferable TV characters there have ever been.

This reminds me of Shannen Doherty’s “bad girl” rep in the 90’s. The public comparing her character to her real persona.

Rachel being insufferable but talented and driven could've made her a good character if she wasn't constantly rewarded. She never experiences true consequences no matter how awful she is

ok but i feel robbed that yall didnt leave in santana yelling ALRIGHT LET ME AT HER

"Glee gives all these characters depth" Not the Asians. Please explain Tina and Mike

The thumbnail is god-tier. I'm going to cry 🤣🤣🤣

I should point out that Kathy, said those things to Don at the beginning because he was trying to gain sympathy from her for his “lonely Hollywood lifestyle” as he put his arm around her. She didn’t want to feed his ego.

I love Rachel Berry. Yes, she was awful, but so was every other character in Glee, at least the entertaining ones. However, she was always blunt about her ambition and talent, and that felt refreshing in a way.

As of 2021, I'm 33. I was a theater kid in high school, went on to major in it in college, and am now working at it as my craft. But I always felt quite different from other theater kids because I also happen to be visually impaired and, for all of the performing arts' discussions of "diverse casting" when it comes to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, etc., performers and creators with disabilities are still often overlooked. We're rarely included in the creative process and able-bodied actors are cast to play us because it's assumed that playing a disability is the same as any other acting transformation. It's not, and it sure as hell isn't a golden ticket for winning an Oscar or Tony. Productions today wouldn't be caught dead hiring white actors to play characters of color in black/brown face, so the fact that able-bodied writers and actors telling stories of characters with disabilities is still so common and accepted in the craft and by audiences isn't cool. Artists with disabilities exist and we're longing to work in this industry; the industry just needs to recognize, include, and accommodate us. If anyone's curious, a current project I'm working on is a play adaptation of "The Man Who Laughs" by Victor Hugo. It's set in 18th century England and follows Gwynplaine, a young boy who is disfigured with a Glasgow smile on the orders of King James II as a punishment to Gwynplaine's rebellious nobleman father. Gwynplaine grows up knowing nothing of his aristocratic background and instead becomes a clown, working alongside a blind girl named Dea, and the two fall in love. But when Gwynplaine's past is discovered by Queen Anne's court, he's whisked away to be reinstated to his father's titles because the nobles think he'll be an easily-controllable puppet. And that's all I can say without spoiling the ending.

Also pretty much every person in Glee is deeply flawed, in very extreme ways... That's kind of the point... To show that even though they are all humans under that extreme persona... And the show actually pulls no punches in showing how annoying/toxic Rachel actually is...

The very worst thing about Glee in my opinion? The shallow, performative attempts at diversity. It would've been one thing for the show to market itself as your average teen highschool drama with singing, but the show went out of its way to show off its "diverse" cast, which included the super stereotypical catty gay guy, the weird Asian goth girl who barely ever got any screen time, the African-American diva who was always pushed aside for the white girl, the guy in a wheelchair played by an able-bodied dancer, and oh yeah our two super-talented white hetero leads.

I wasn't allowed into the theatre clique. They had a core group in my high school who were pre-cast in any role they wanted in the season. I have no idea how I ever could have broken in. Nearly all had extensive professional theatre experience. There was little room for anyone who didn't have that resume or who wasn't one of the choir favorites.

MY FAVORITE CHANNEL UPLOADING THE ONE THING THAT CAN RUIN MY DAY. THANK YOU [GRITTED TEETH]

Theater kids are the best when they are only in it for the fun of it. It become s toxic when cliques and bullies become involved. There should not ever be underdogs, gatekeepers, or elitists.

I am surprised Tina only made a small appearance which is a huge symbol of her character. Tina also became an insufferable diva as the seasons progresses because like Rachel, the writers did not know what to do with her. She was mean and shallow and lost a huge portion of her identity. I get advocating for yourself, but they wrote her character to be nothing like who she was, in my opinion.

rachel and sharpay are more of what i call soprano trope. the soprano who thinks they're better than everyone just because they're a soprano

Strange, the theater kids at my HS were lovely. We had odd traditions like girls' parties where we decorated clothes that the boys crashed (in costume and character). It was the best part of being HS. Our CATS had 99 kids in it between the cast, crew, costume/makeup, and orchestra. People did it because they loved being creative and part of the community.

As a former theatre kid that acted in high school and now has a degree in scenic design/scenic painting...I've been waiting for this video my whole life lol drag herrr

I loved being a theatre kid! I never really embraced it being uncool or for outcasts, I always saw it as fabulous and it was genuinely my life focus. I appreciate media that shows theatre as a legitimate pursuit to be super excited about and to feel proud of.

One thing that this misses out on is that Sharpay and Ryan are so utterly campy and fun, I remember more their over the top antics than Gabriella and Troy. Rachel on the other hand was frustrating then and has only aged worse.

Okay but the actual theatre kids back in high school were SUPER clique-y and pretty full of themselves lol. Idk if other schools had theatre departments that were actually welcoming but mine was not

You can’t cry over an unkind word…work hard; prove them wrong. Great advice that no one cares about.

honestly, if i were a passionate and seasoned theatre kid and some inexperienced people who auditioned on a whim took my lead role i would be upset too lmaooo (edit: also team ivy lynn)

Hate me but i used to love her. My favorite character on the show tbh

When I was little I did musicals (not professional) for 10 years. There was ALWAYS someone (most of the time a girl) who would throw everyone under the bus to get the biggest part. And most of the time they were arrogant as well.

As someone who danced ballet when I was a kid, I was also so baffled by the cattiness of performing arts kids in media, as my studio was always such as supporting environment. But then, my studio didn't engage in competitions and the woman who owned it, who was a terrifying person who could have put the fear of God into Rachel Berry with a smile on her face, was very careful to make sure that every student had the necessary foundation rather than advancing kids to be on pointe as soon as possible.

As a theatre kid who has grinded for years to become someone who is powerful, kind, who has a good worth ethic etc. I wished that the industries that we worked for honored us as much as we honored it at times.

One thing I'd wish would go away is the "Practice every day" singer being passed over for "I kinda sing in the shower" ingenue. Make it realistic. Have the "ingenue" actor not practice for the audition number, and then put them up against the one who has been. Show how badly they'd actually do against somebody who is in top form vs their poor one. Use that as the starting point "Wow, I failed. I'm not as special as I thought" from the rando off the street would make a GREAT twist on all these stories.

Even though Rachel was annoying and a bad person, I thought her personality was kind of refreshing at first (not in the later season bc there is no character arc) bc she was not the stereotypical naive and good girl that main female characters are always portrayed as. She was selfish and competitive, which is total realistic if you want to be a successful person. I mean, let's be honest, kindness and good intentions don't take you anywhere in the real life, and most of the times the main protagonists portrayed in the media resolve their problems with kindness and love or whatever, like it's not very realistic. So, I thought Rachel's character was a realistic portrayed on how some people in real life truly are.

Rachel can be really annoying, but I do really like her. Her character is really hard to have an opinion on because there's so much good mixed with bad. She's also the most realistic character from Glee IMO. Yes, she can be bratty and selfish, but she also has great qualities. It's so refreshing to have a protagonist who is actually nuanced instead of just being badass and perfect. I myself actually like Rachel Berry, as I think she's similar to Devi from NHIE. They're both talented hotheads, who want to fit in, but can be very rude or selfish about. I think it's more important to talk about why Rachel was feeling so much pressure, instead of blaming her for something that was pushed on her. I really see a lot of myself in Rachel. The insane pressure, the feeling that no one understands, the constant need to be the best. And I really appreciate how Glee portrayed that. If you hate Rachel, I understand. She's hard to like and can be toxic at times. But keep in mind that at the end of the day, Rachel is a human being. She makes mistakes, and it's important to note that Rachel has her own insecurities and troubles. It's no excuse for her actions but we should at least understand her character before judging her so quickly. Just my take.

If any of you are into pro wrestling. Adrian English from the WWE is now doing a theater kid gimmick in Impact Wrestling and NJPW Strong as The Drama King. His theater kid energy is on point and he's a vastly underrated wrestler.

this girl is the actual reason why i don't like Glee. I always felt a bad vibe everytime she was on screen

As a performer, I can confidently say, if you find you are taking yourself too seriously...watch "Waiting for Guffman". Actually...everyone should just watch "Waiting for Guffman." Period.

Debbie Reynolds as Cathy, doesn't actually look down on Don Lockwood. She's putting on airs because the dude just dropped into her car, and is starting to hit on her, and he's acting big headed. She's puffing herself up and trying to not feel inferior.

Nothing is being “re-defined” or changed. Everything simply cycles. 10 or 20 years from now, there will be another character very similar to Rachel Berry. The reason it’s not happening now is because Glee Is not far enough in the rearview mirror for the TV and movie producers to think they can repeat the trope and sell it.

Can't believe they compare full length, scripted shows to Tik Tok clips, and think the latter are better.

“I hate Glee. I hate it. I don’t understand the appeal at all.” - _Jeffrey Winger_

I feel personally attacked by this video lmao

The way she did Sunshine and kept Mercedes singing the last high note and singing backup still makes me mad.

Honestly glad to hear a nuanced take about The Theater Kid, there's so much hardwork and academia that go unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Not every theater kid is like Rachel Berry, but every theater kid knows somebody who is

I went to high school with a girl like that. she had had voice lessons from the time he was little all the way through high school and she thought that it meant she could boss around anybody at all in the choir and was really bratty besides. of course she was picked for every solo and was always the lead in the play both spring and fall .

Lea was the inspiration for Rachel’s diva side, which isn’t much of a shock what happened last year.

I was so excited when glee first came out being a bit of a theatre kid, but holy crap we grew to hate this show I get the whole cast of stereotypes at the start but they really should have written that out and shown depth and made effort with the characters. And when they did the continuity would be forgotten for convenience and drama. They all have huge flaws but honestly some of the things they do cross a line at 'oh their young they make mistakes', and 'oh theyre only mean because of this sad backstory' yeah no. All the characters are pretty awful with Rachel berry being top of the list yet we're supposed to root for her and empathize with her?

you did not watch Highschool musical and it shows "who works hard at her craft and gets ignored for the girl who lucked out" that's literally high school musical. Sharply worked hard and practice and Vanessa auditioned poorly and was seen as fresh air.

I Loathed! The show after it 1st season, finn was a cheating manipulative 'good honest kid' Quin was a shallow bully we were suppose to pity so hard for falling pregnant (and learn nothing) while Rachael was a pure narrissist

surprise seeing Abigail and Emily mentioned in this but yes! Their (unofficial) Bridgerton musical album is so good, such talented girls!

If you're in theatre, educational or professional, it's so important to have friends and interests outside of theatre to stay grounded, take a break, and avoid burnout. It's especially good advice to date outside of your craft as well. It can work, but it's easy to have a contentious and competitive/unhealthy relationship if you're a theatre professional dating another theatre professional. Speaking from experience, it's important to compartmentalize, try to avoid taking your work home with you as much as possible, create boundaries, and surround yourself with other people with different qualities, jobs, and perspectives. It's healthy and can even help you improve your craft.

Lolol I’m remembering my old theater days in high school now, and missing it! Although my high school had to shut down our entire theater department due to budget cuts, I enjoyed the time I spent acting, writing, and performing with others

Here is the issue with the theatre kid trope from an ex- theatre kid (who still enjoys theatre from a far) the people who grew up with this show a lot of them feel a connection to Rachel and her behavior down to a T. I've known many a people who crave and demand it. I also feel like setting the show in a Glee Club doesn't work with her overall character. If it had been a drama club it be a different story. Rachel just doesn't grow as a character and the fact that they felt the need to say over and over again how much the character was based on Lea just doesn't help the character or show age well at all. I got to deal with people who only like contemporary musical theatre, people who felt that Phantom and Les Mis were liking the "classics" (which I mean I guess), the is anyone going to come out of the closet already part of things, the "oh great the two straight guys are getting all the lead roles because they can pass," the kids whose family would buy two rows worth of tickets to ensure they be in every single show, stage parents, directors who get upset because you can't sell tickets to Man of La Mancha in the same way that you could Annie not that high schoolers should be putting on Annie (and we did), really creepy alum that are a decade older that are "best friends" with everyone, the male teacher who hits on the teenage girls blatantly and they are married with children, getting blamed because you didn't get a part in the show (that was a thing), drug addict dance teachers with stoner sons, the girl with 50 personalities that claims she is the best at everything but can't really do anything, directors who break you down mentally so they know how to get emotions from you and basically own your emotions at 14-years-old... Fun world.

Well, I wouldn't say the audience is coaxed into rooting and feeling for Rachel. She's the main character or the one who receives the most screentime and showtime out of all the Glee club members. However, the show has much more interesting and beloved character than her such as Santana and Mercedes, who hold their own very toughly and solidly in front of Rachel's belting soprano notes (and knowing I'm a sucker for soprano, it actually tells you the strong impression these two ladies have left upon me).

So I’m rewatching Glee now, thanks for that. More Glee vids please

Really interesting video and take! Brought back all the memories of watching Glee and Smash :)

I’ve worked in a lot of schools and each has its own culture. One school was all about the basketball team and winning the championship. The other had the theatre kids and their musical. Etc. I think the social hierarchy depends on what the majority of the school values and where they shine

Pretty sure that Cathy in Singing in the Rain isn't telling the truth when she says she's a theater actress. There's a deleted scene where she sings about how obsessed with Don Lockwood she really was. She loved movies. Otherwise she wouldn't have tried for and gotten the part in the musical that Don eventually finds her in. She just didn't like Don's arrogant attitude when she meets him so she takes a shot at his confidence. That's always been my reading of it anyway.

This video is PERFECTION, like all the video 👏👏👏

I have just recently fallen back into my glee rewatch phase so thank you for this :D

I always find these takes funny because Rachel Berry was my favorite Glee character, Sharpay was my favorite HSM character, etc. Yeah, they're both a little annoying, but that's part of the humor and fun. I personally like having imperfect, assertive, talented female characters. And in the case of Glee, Rachel was the glue that held that whole club together tbh.

I’ll admit; I’ve had my Rachel moments in high school. I think a bigger conversation is that theatre kids ( and art kids) have to fight hard to be taken as serious sports or academics. So sometimes we do come off “annoying” fighting for our passions. Lol but Rachel was crazy. Sending someone to a crack house is not what I’d do.

Interesting video! I have a lot of thoughts, but the main thing I'll say is, a theatre kid myself, I certainly was ambitious, driven and felt I deserved a lot at first. I come from a theatrical family, my grandparents were performers, I grew up with it around me, I watched my mom perform on stage, albums of musicals were always playing in my house, etc. And I wanted the roles I auditioned for, not so much as a means to appear entilted or annoying, but because I was PROUD of where I came from. I thought I knew what I needed to succeed & be taken seriously when in actuality, it's so much more than that. It takes training, talent, skill, commitment & just being grateful. As an adult (and an actor still), I'm just grateful for the fact that we have an opportunity to express ourselves and try to inspire people through the arts. I do think we need more appreciation for the arts in general, why it's important, and to expand our knowledge beyond just considering commercial projects "the top" of success. A lot of important, moving artistic work is mostly done Off-Broadway and in smaller spaces (ex. Hamilton) before taking off or gaining high acclaim.

Very surprised that Centre Stage was not mentioned. As a “theatre kid” and now as a Professional running my own community theatre company, I wish that there would be more shows that look at all the time, dedication, hard work, energy etc. that it takes to even attempt this profession or even to be involved in a show. This is a Passion for many just like any other passion. A few years ago there was an experiment on a morning show where a bunch of professional athletes spent one day in rehearsals for a Broadway show. They couldn’t make it through the day! The athleticism of these performers is awe inspiring. Yes “being on Broadway” is aspirational. Of course it is. But people should be allowed to pursue their dreams as long as it’s not to the detriment of others (looking at you Rachel Berry).

Sharpay Evans deserves her own video analysis.