Thursday, December 07, 2006

You better shape up; You better understand

With You’re The One That I Want gearing up, I thought it was a good time to look back at the last American reality show that promised to bring us a new theater star. Does no one else remember?

Fame, which was on NBC (home to You’re The One That I Want), was supposed to place its winner in Fame on 42nd Street, which had yet to begin at the Little Shubert Theatre. But then the guy who won was a 35-year-old bald guy, so clearly he was not going to be in Fame onstage. And thus the producers had to make some “Oh, the winner just had to be offered a role” type excuse to explain why Harlemm Lee would not be seen off-Broadway.

You may wonder why this is important and it’s not. But it is essential for people watching You’re The One That I Want to remember that it’s about casting Sandy and Danny. (They are also not casting from a totally unknown pool--I know an actress that was called about doing it--but that is another story.) Therefore no fat girl, no matter how great she sings, is going to be in it at the end. That’s completely sad (and very non-PC), but it’s true. This is a reality show that is not about finding the most talented singer or dancer, it’s about being right for one of two very specific roles.

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