Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry and Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay Evans are arguably the greatest theater club prima donnas to grace the big screen in recent memory. The two talented high school drama queens have blessed us with their presence on Fox’s Glee and Disney Channel’s High School Musical franchise, respectively. Not surprisingly, they have a lot in common.
The first time we meet the girls, they both jot down their names on the audition sheets. Sharpay’s bold calligraphy is like an autograph: so gigantic that it dominates the page and makes anyone interested in trying the East High School winter musical irrelevant in its shadow. Rachel, meanwhile, crowns her name with a golden star. Why? It’s a “metaphor” – it’s the biggest star, you know? (Barbra Streisand, beware, Rachel Berry is coming for your throne.)
The similarities extend beyond their divergent origin stories. Both are undeniably desperate for attention. “I’m like Tinkerbell,” says Rachel – who is battling her friends and peers to become the star voice of William McKinley High School’s New Directions glee club – says. “I need applause to live.”
Sharpay is equally ambitious. No one, not even his brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), is safe from a stab in the back in his quest to secure the head of a coin or the trophy of a talent show. Basically, hamper Sharpay on his climb to the top and reap the consequences.
The only thing fans of both series got stolen from was a chance to see these divas go head to head. It would have been epic and devious and dirty. Why? Because high school starlets are classic anti-heroes. Their relentless need for the coveted place in the center of the stage pits them against other characters in the jump.
What is Rachel if not the girl who constantly undermines her friends so she can stay on top? At one point, she even sends a transfer student to a crack den – inactive, if that helps – because she is threatened by the new girl’s talent.
And who is Sharpay other than the accomplice teenager who moves an audition so her competition can’t get there? Or the queen bee trying to get her friends fired from their summer jobs so she can get the man and the trophy (again) in the annual talent show?
They are basically the worst. But somehow we’re supposed to love them, their flaws and everything.
We shake our heads in pity when their ambitious and selfish plans often lead to their downfall. (After all, who hasn’t gloriously self-sabotaged at some point in their life?) While we are justified when karma puts them in their place, there is no denying the triumph of their hard-fought victories.
As awful as these two are capable of being, they are talented to the max and dream big. Rachel’s voice could easily land her any role on Broadway. Kurt (Chris Culfer) sums it up best: “She might be tough, but boy can she sing.” And Sharpay’s killer style and unmatched productions also put her in a class of her own.
For all of their negative characteristics, neither Rachel nor Sharpay are all bad either. They will fight tooth and nail for the limelight, but they also know how to bow out with relative grace.
For her part, Rachel gladly cedes the solos to Mercedes (Amber Riley) whenever her friend beats her during a diva-off. She sings a duet with Kurt when she recognizes a soul mate. This leads to some of his most rewarding relationships. She knows that “being a part of something special makes you special” and that while that means sacrificing her time in the spotlight, it will pay off in the long run. The same can be said for Sharpay, who wishes Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) good luck after taking the helm of the musical.
It is also undeniable that they are self-aware enough to recognize their own flaws. Rachel especially knows that she is capable of deranged antics; she hopes her friends love her despite the dangers of being in her orbit.
Beneath all their talent and hard work, both girls clearly struggle with low self-esteem. They rise up telling everyone that they are the best, even if they themselves don’t believe it. This underlying stream of doubt helps humanize two otherwise repulsive characters.
Although they were undoubtedly bullies, Rachel and Sharpay did not have much in common with the other “bad girls” of the time. Take Y2K archetype Regina George in Mean Girls, for example. Regina is Supreme Queen at North Shore High School. When she punched a girl in the face, the victim was grateful for Regina’s attention.
Rachel, by comparison, is the target of crueler college students on social media and regularly gets slushed in her face. Sharpay avoids the worst of bullying but is far from popular or universally appreciated. (This honor is bestowed on athletes at East High School, not drama students.)
There’s no clear path to high school popularity for either, but they’re willing to trade it in for the adoration that will come with their eventual fame. They walk a fine line and do it exceptionally. It’s part of what makes their franchises a must have entertainment.
While Sharpay and Rachel share so much, there is a distinct difference in how the characters have been portrayed in the media since the curtain was closed on their respective series.
In recent years, Sharpay has experienced a sort of redemption arc. Fans admit that she’s not as bad as the show suggests; one in particular made his point on 70 tweets, according to Seventeen.
BuzzFeed agreed: Sharpay just wants everyone to stay in her lane – so she can shine the brightest, of course, but is it really wrong for her to protect her beloved theater club from strangers who don’t. haven’t even officially joined the club and are constantly giving their “final” performances?
It takes three films for Troy (Zac Efron) to even admit that he wants to pursue acting after high school. By comparison, Sharpay has been preparing for stardom since birth. How does fighting to stay on top make her something other than an ambitious go-getter? She got the job done, after all.
It’s almost the exact opposite with Rachel. In 2018, Screen Rant listed 20 of her biggest character flaws and ultimately ranked her as a diva. (And not in the laudatory, campy way we speak of Beyonce.)
Odyssey called Rachel “literally the worst character on Glee”, and even BuzzFeed found out that she “just wasn’t a good person.” These are fighting words considering some of the characters on this show, but they came prepared with receipts. It’s a tough time to be the star of New Directions.
Interestingly, you can draw parallels between Michele and Tisdale, the actresses who brought these iconic cult characters to life. Neither of them reached the level of overwhelming success that the characters they portrayed did. (It’s a shame because they certainly deserve both based on their talent.)
That said, Tisdale arguably had an easier time than Michele. There’s no denying that much of this is Michele’s fault – many castmates weighed in on her allegedly gruesome manners both on and off set.
The evidence provided by Michele’s peers was overwhelming and sparked a general backlash against the actress – so much so that social media is teeming with whispers that Michele didn’t even have to act when she endorsed the role of Rachel; according to some theories, these are the same extremely talented women who will always be held back by their selfish ambition.
But that’s not a particularly fair assessment of Michele or Rachel. Just like Rachel isn’t just her worst traits, neither is Michele. And little consideration was given to his situation at the time – being relatively young in the public eye, his possible lack of preparation for Glee’s shattering success, unimaginable personal tragedy – which could have resulted in his undeniably bad behavior.
Interestingly, Tisdale (who collaborated with Michele in 2017) was outspoken about how she got to play Sharpay because they were at similar times in their lives, so much so that she and her cast mates weren’t didn’t always get along either. “I think at that point I was very oblivious to myself and my surroundings, and I feel like that’s a big part of Sharpay,” she told AND. “She just isn’t really conscious, and as I grew up and became more aware, I think it’s just something that wouldn’t be the same.”
Has Michele ever had the chance to break out of her own diva ways? There is no excuse for what has happened in the past, but there is evidence that she has learned something from the experience.
Over the summer, opponents applauded the actress’ alleged loss when Beanie Feldstein was cast to play Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. It was a role popularized by Barbra Streisand, and one that Michele (and Rachel) have long coveted. Despite the lack of confirmation that Michele – who was previously committed to an unrealized revival – was even in contention, social media celebrated her perceived loss with… well, with joy.
The situation paints the fine line between holding someone accountable for their past misdeeds and outright celebrating someone’s losses. However, Michele apparently was not deterred by the cloud of negativity. Much like Rachel when she admits she lost a fair fight, Broadway World has reported that Michele graciously applauded Feldstein’s success.
Is it possible that Michele is not the same person as before? No one can really tell, except Michele herself. But it certainly says something that viewers have apparently continued to project their feelings towards Michele onto the legacy of her character, Rachel, and vice versa, while Tisdale’s Sharpay has been given a lot more grace over the years. .
While Sharpay has become something of a fan-favorite anti-hero as nostalgic viewers continue to look back on High School Musical, Rachel has been reduced to her worst moments on Glee, much like Michele in real life …
