CHARICE is back on the second season of “Glee” after a rather long hiatus, but the plot complication that her character, Sunshine Corazon, provides is a humdinger that could generate substantial drama—and thus viewers’ interest and even excitement—in episodes to come.
That’s good for Charice, but her comeback episode, while it did give her a solo musical number as showcase for her spectacular kind of singing, ended up as a rather frustrating viewing experience. In it, she promised to return to the Gleek group for a fundraising show—but failed to show up, making the event a financial flop.
The big question now is, if Sunshine is to figure strongly in the other episodes this season, how in blazes is she going to be forgiven by the Gleeks, who were depending on her great appearance to sell tickets?
Could she possibly end up as a contravida, the full-blown competition for Lea Michele’s character? Let’s hope not, because Charice is far too young to go the teen villain and/or vixen route!
‘Dark’ character?
It could also be that Sunshine will remain a “dark” character until the season is about to end, and then turn out to be “misunderstood” and thus conclude the season by getting the Gleeks out of a tight musical spot—and end up smelling like roses.
However the rest of the current season plays itself out, there’s little doubt that season 3 is in the hit production’s cards, so Charice, if she’s kept on, stands to benefit from the extension. Who knows, Lea may opt out of the show due to other stellar commitments, so Charice could end up as the Gleeks’ main soloist? Well, it isn’t illegal to dream, is it?
Truth to tell, however, the really big deal in last month’s “Glee” episode featuring Charice was Gwyneth Paltrow’s amazing star turn as the substitute teacher with a heart—and voice—of gold.
She’s no belting diva, but her solo spot was a statement because she infused it with so much emotional pertinence and intelligence. Well, she’s no award-winning actress for nothing!
The amazing thing is the fact that, before she agreed to play her recurring role in “Glee,” Paltrow was already a big star in Hollywood. So, her role in “Glee,” even if the show is a huge hit, is a bit of a demotion.
But, ever the sweetly savvy performer, Gwyneth has used it to brilliant advantage to reveal another ferociously fine facet to her total performing persona.
Thus has she emerged as her generation’s version of Meryl Streep, the consummate total performer who can’t seem to do anything wrong.
“Glee” is Gwyneth’s corollary to Streep’s “Mamma Mia,” the movie musical that showed that the great dramatic actress can more than carry a tune— she can even carry an entire film musical and turn it into a sleeper hit.
Paltrow is also good for “Glee” because her performance lifts the show from being just a teen series and makes it appeal to mature viewers as well. In addition, it gives the young Gleek performers something to work at and aspire to.
If she’s smart, even Charice could learn a lot from Gwyneth’s fine example, like not banking on just belting for belting’s sake to astound her listeners. Now, that would really be a valuable career life lesson learned!