Glee’s Mercedes Jones has a lot of fine qualities.
• She’s a good friend. When her classmate Kurt’s father is hospitalized, she provides support and encouragement.
• She fights for what she believes in. When cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester bans tater tots from the William McKinley High School cafeteria, Mercedes stages a Norma-Rae-like protest.
• And, she’s a good songwriter. Her anthem “Hell to the No” was my favorite of all the student-penned songs in Season Two.
But Mercedes, who is played delightfully by Amber Riley, can be a bit of a diva.
That shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Nearly ever character on Glee has been a diva at one time or another. But Mercedes’ divahood is different.
It’s not a constant state. It only bursts out when she feels overlooked by Mr. Shuester or overshadowed by other Glee Club members.
Unfortunately, those things happen frequently.
Mercedes joined Glee Club expecting to be the star. Early on, when she was asked to sing backup, Mercedes announced, “I’m Beyonce! I ain’t no Kelly Rowland.”
Later, when she realized her solos would be few and far between thanks to the oversized voices of Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry, she lamented, “You guys only trot me out to wail at the end of a number.”
Things came to a head when the Glee Club held a fundraising concert. Mercedes decided she wanted the closing number that Rachel was slated for, so fellow overlooked Glee Club member Lauren Zizes offered to be her manager.
Lauren had Mercedes command respect by listing her demands, which included being carried onto the stage and having fresh puppies to dry her hands on.
Frankly, it was all a little much.
Around this time, if I had been a librarian at William McKinley High School, I would have gently suggested Mercedes read Dramarama by E. Lockhart (Hyperion, 2007). In fact, I would have handed it to her personally.
Why? It’s the story of a muscial-loving girl who’s overshadowed by her superstar best friend.
And while the book isn’t an exact retelling of Mercedes’ life, there are some pretty strong parallels.
Let’s start with the basics.
Sarah Paulson is a gawky, white, “Cabaret”-obsessed adolescent. Her best friend is Demi, an African-American gay teen who likes Liza Minnelli just as much as she does. If you change the races around and substitute Patti LuPone and Aretha Franklin for Liza Minnelli, you have Mercedes’ relationship with Kurt Hummel.
Demi christens Sarah “Sadye” (pronounced SAY-dee) to reflect his belief that she has what it takes to be famous. He encourages her to not try to be like petite, blonde Kristin Chenoweth, but to focus on “being Sadye” and bringing her own talents to light.
Sadye knows Demi is gay right from the start, but she still has a small crush on him and spends time with him instead of with boys who might be interested in her romantically. This also echoes Mercedes’ crush on Kurt and her feelings of being overlooked when he starts dating Blaine.
Things fall apart when Demi and Sadye go to summer theater camp.
Demi and Sadye are convinced they’ll nab fabulo
Add a Comment