By Kenneth Jones
23 Aug 2011

	Damian McGinty
	photo by Andrew Eccles

McGinty, whose Irish accent was so thick that some of his scenes in "The Glee Project" were subtitled, sang "Beyond the Sea" at his final callback. He was told in that finale episode that he was not the best actor, singer or dancer of the bunch. Ouch. Larsen sang a stripped-down version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," accompanying himself on guitar. (Like a handful of the stars of Fox's "Glee," 19-year-old Larsen looks older than a high-school kid, while 18-year-old McGinty, a veteran of the concert group Celtic Thunder, looks like a true teen, despite his baritone voice).

Lindsay Pearce, the confident 20-year-old California performer praised for her singing and acting chops, sang "Gimme, Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie for her final audition. Maybe her personality and talent echoed qualities already apparent on "Glee" in the leading character of Rachel, played by Michele?

Alex Newell, 18, criticized for being a know-it-all diva in the competition, was a force of nature, displaying his rangy voice and his salty attitude with the ferocity of Effie White from Dreamgirls. Indeed, his final audition was Effie's "I Am Changing," performed in drag. It was not his first time in a dress in the series; he sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," in pumps. He was brought down to earth in an uncomfortable sequence in which he was assigned the gospel song "His Eye Is On the Sparrow," which he had sung at his father's funeral. (Whatever happened to sides and a 16-bar song?)

	Ryan Murphy

Every week, following the rehearsal and shooting of a music video that explored a general theme ("tenacity," "sexuality," "believability," "vulnerability," "generosity"), the "bottom three" performers (as chosen by a gentle casting director, a sympathetic choreographer and a no-nonsense vocal coach) were made to sing a "last-chance" song for "Glee" producer Murphy (who also produced this series). The contestants were also coached by some of the lesser-known stars of "Glee" — Ashley Fink, anyone? (Morrison, Michele and Emmy winner Jane Lynch were no-shows, apparently not available to offer their two cents on "believability" and other topics.)

As with casting announcements at some high schools, the names of the called-back and kicked-out players were posted on a sheet of paper in a hallway, forcing contestants to do a walk of shame that was captured, slo-mo, by cameras — with music and voiceover. Their deflation or elation was captured in close-up.

"The Glee Project" had less to do with real-world audition scenarios and more to do with what makes good TV — or at least good TV for your average 14-year-old addicted to "Glee." This meant that Buddy Holly-bespectacled Cameron was judged harshly for buckling under the repeated onslaught of frozen "slushies" being splashed in his face during multiple takes of a music video. He seemed harmed by the frozen treats. (It never occurred to me that the show's iconic beverage/weapon was actually frozen; I would have guessed tapioca and gelatin. Where's SAG when you need them?)

Still, such an attack seemed like a cakewalk compared to the episode in which contestants shot a video in a mall, where they walked around in their underwear clad only in a sandwich board that declared their secret vulnerability, which was pried out of them by the professionals in the room: "gay," "numb," "anorexic," and the like.

This is exactly the kind of thing Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne had to do in their early years, so why not Damian McGinty and Samuel Larsen, too?

Follow Playbill.com managing editor Kenneth Jones on Twitter @PlaybillKenneth.