Bravo! Glee Radiates This Week Even with the 'Lights Out'

The power went out on Glee on April 25, but the show didn’t need electricity to electrify fans in the episode entitled “Lights Out.” This was Glee’s best episode since “The Break-Up” back in October. This week, fans saw the return of fashion maven Isabelle Wright, got deeply personal with Ryder, Kitty and Santana and enjoyed some Broadway-inspired musical numbers. What worked; what didn’t? Here’s how “Lights Out” scored on Broadway.com’s Glee Report Card.

ROLE CALL
Isabelle Wright (Sarah Jessica Parker): It was great to have Kurt’s “fairy godmother” from Vogue.com back, especially when she sings a song from A Chorus Line.
Frida Romero (Jessica Sanchez): Gleeks got their first look at the American Idol runner-up, and it looks like she will provide a major shakeup at regionals.

HONOR ROLL
Best Number: One of our favorite Glee-ified Broadway numbers ever, “At the Ballet” was absolute perfection. Sung in its entirety by Santana, Rachel, Kurt and Izzy, this song resonated as well on TV as it does on stage. #briliant

Best Line: “I always thought Becky could look like a young Dolly Parton with a couple less ribs.” —Sue commenting on Coach Roz’s new beauty regimen

Scene with the Most Heart: Ryder and Kitty’s revealing and painful conversation at Breadsticks was an intense road to take, even for the melodramatic Glee. However, the realistic acting and writing helped the scene pack a punch.

Best Way to Describe a Cheerleading Squad: “A sad, lazy grab-bag of quitters, backstabbers, flip-floppers, lipstick lesbians and ungrateful, sloppy knock-upped sluts.” —Sue looking back on her days leading the Cheerios

Relationship of the Week: Santana’s relationship with herself and her ambition was an important story to tell. Sometimes it’s hard to find your path after leaving school, and Glee really illuminated that struggle. We’re happy Santana is on track to success again.

Star of the Episode: Blake Jenner as Ryder Lynn. This was totally Ryder’s break-out episode. From his haunting rendition of “Everybody Hurts” to his big confession to his budding relationships (online with Katie and in real life with Kitty), Ryder carried this week’s Glee.

PHYSICAL EDUCATON
Can we please talk about Darren Criss in the work-out scene at Sue Sylvester’s gym? The exercise montage was very reminiscent of John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis in the 1985 film Perfect, and it was just that: perfect.

COMPUTER SCIENCE
“We’re so focused on being plugged into the Twitterverse and the blogosphere that we don’t appreciate what’s actually right in front of us, and I think that that’s just sad and lame” —Sam ranting about New Directions’ tech crutch

DRAMA CLUB
Thumbs up to Glee creators for this Broadway-centric episode. Theater fans got a preview of Jane Lynch’s comedic “Little Girls” (which she will perform on Broadway beginning May 16), and Glee gave its own tip of the hat to the long-running off-Broadway musical Stomp with the number, “We Will Rock You.”

DETENTION
This week’s detention goes to Ryan Murphy and Oxygen Network for not renewing The Glee Project. Blake Jenner’s character Ryder and Alex Newell’s Unique have become two of this season’s best characters, and both actors got their break from the reality competition. If Glee is sticking around for two more years, it needs to pull from that vast talent pool.

A FOR EFFORT:
It was great having SJP back and having all those fabulous ballet moments, but Glee called the New York City Ballet Gala, “the social event of the performing arts season.” Um, OK, but we (and Darren, obviously) know it's the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards.

FINAL GRADE
A