‘Glee Project’ offers the role of a lifetime

This is not how Ulrich usually casts his productions. He generally considers only a few hundred people, and he’s unaccustomed to auditioning so many amateurs. But this is no typical role. This character will not spring from the mind of “Glee’’ creator Ryan Murphy. Instead, the role will be inspired by the compelling personality of one of the hopefuls who auditioned. Murphy is looking for a muse.

This summer, “The Glee Project,’’ a new series premiering tomorrow night at 9 on Oxygen, will follow the singers, dancers, and actors who made it to the final 12. The winner will guest star in seven episodes of “Glee.’’

Two of these finalists have local ties. The first, Alex Newell, was born in Salem, and grew up in Lynn. A senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Newell is a member of the student council and the drama board. He also designs costumes for school plays, which he says he “lives for.’’ Before learning he was a finalist for “The Glee Project,’’ Newell had been in every single school play since his freshman year.

“I walk around school like I own the place,’’ he says about his experience at Bishop Fenwick. With his high, lilting voice and trademark plaid scarves (which he owns by the drawer-ful), he already seems like a character.

But in his audition video for “The Glee Project’’ — in which he sings “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’’ from the soundtrack to “Dreamgirls’’ — he comes off a little bit diva and a little bit desperate. He wears a black polo and khakis, his school uniform; sans scarf, he seems vulnerable. He belts as if his voice were a life preserver. But then he reaches a more delicate part of the song. Suddenly, his hand arches up gracefully, and his voice softens without losing any of its force. In this moment, you can glimpse the reason Ulrich says Newell has “one of the most impressive voices I’ve ever heard.’’ He sounds natural singing a song written for a woman, his voice transcending gender.