The episode begins with Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) telling Tina that she can no longer dress as a goth, alarmed by a spate of pseudo-vampirism in the school, inspired by the Twilight series. She briefly changes her style, before dressing as a vampire and convincing Figgins that if he does not allow her to wear her preferred clothes, her vampire father will bite him.

When New Directions member Rachel Berry discovers that rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline are planning on performing a Lady Gaga number at Regionals, Will (Matthew Morrison) sets the club a Gaga assignment. The girls and Kurt create costumes inspired by Lady Gaga and perform “Bad Romance”. The rest of the male club members dress as Kiss and perform “Shout It Out Loud”. Puck (Mark Salling) suggests to Quinn (Dianna Agron) that they name their daughter Jack Daniels. In an attempt to show her he is serious about being a father, he has the other males sing “Beth” with him, suggesting they give the name to their daughter. Quinn agrees that he can be present at her birth.

While spying on a Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal, Rachel realizes that their director, Shelby Corcoran, is her birth mother. She introduces herself, and Shelby makes her a better Lady Gaga costume. Will meets with Shelby, concerned that she is not as invested in forging a relationship as Rachel is. Shelby confesses that she can no longer have children, but wishes she could have her baby back, rather than the now-fully grown Rachel, whom she feels does not need her. She tells Rachel that instead of trying to act like mother and daughter, they should just be grateful for one another from afar. Rachel hugs her goodbye, and they duet on an acoustic version of “Poker Face”.

Kurt’s father Burt (Mike O’Malley) invites Finn and his mother Carole (Romy Rosemont) to move in with them. Finn feels awkward sharing a room with Kurt, who has a crush on him, and insults several items in his bedroom as being “faggy”. Burt overhears and reprimands Finn, telling him he cannot live with them. Kurt is bullied for his Gaga costume by school athletes Karofsky (Max Adler) and Azimio (James Earl). Finn creates his own costume out of a shower curtain, and tells them he will not let them hurt Kurt, backed by the rest of the glee club.

“Theatricality” is the twentieth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode was written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and premiered on the Fox network on May 25, 2010.

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