That theatre is staffed in part by Haus of GaGa, the entourage and creative team who are responsible for conceptualizing, implementing, and executing the diva’s ultimate creative vision. Much of it is inspired by the Vogue houses of NYC’s '80s, another stylization that harks back to the pioneering trail blazed by earlier dance-pop acts like Madonna.

But GaGa’s music on The Fame - comprised mainly of ebullient ditties that celebrate self-indulgence, self-absorption, and yes, self-awareness in their midst – have more in common with the Material Girl’s more recent fittings for leotards and mirrorballs. There’s a disco-era theatricality that GaGa brings to her art.

"It’s luminosity," says GaGa of that aura she hopes to cast with her music. "I want people to shine. I want people to feel… I want people to love, and to be passionate about something. I don’t care if you wear LL Bean and Polo every day. It’s not about judging somebody’s fashion sense, it’s about judging somebody’s opinions. I’m saying to the world, 'Please, be passionate about something.

But for what, exactly,  does GaGa hope to inspire passion? If it wasn’t for her surprisingly generous opinion of media-whoring celebutards like Paris Hilton ("She does that gawky, coked out thing with her arm… I love her dearly," says GaGa), the media con job upon which she prides her rise to fame might be considered a form of performance art irony in itself: a flippant middle finger to an easily duped media.

And if it wasn’t for her talent, her career itself might seem like a novelty act. But the fact remains that, when the couture fashion goes back on wire hangers and the shock rock posturing loses its allure, there’s something that remains undeniably surprising about GaGa:

Her music is really, really good. And she knows it. And she’s glad.

"I’m not trying to make something that only twelve people think is great," says GaGa, who cites a favorite artist like Andy Warhol as evidence that pop art need not be dismissed as lowbrow. "I want to make something that the whole world thinks is great and inspiring."

"I want to make a contribution," she says. "This isn’t about me jacking off to my own record."

And yet, if it was, there’s reason to believe that GaGa would get over it pretty quick.

"I don’t really give a fuck at the end of the day," she says of The Haters.

Ah, from the mouths of babes.

 

LADY GAGA ON…

 

… the importance of theatricality.

"A real song doesn’t exist independent of the stage performance. Part of the reason we lost the superfan over the past few years in music is that the stage performance has been something that’s not as important to artists. Live shows are a bit boring. They [other artists] say, 'It’s all about the music.’ I think that’s lazy. There’s got to be a concept behind it… what are you 'saying?’"

 

... dabbling in drugs.

"It’s hard to do stuff when you’re hung over all the time. In trying it out, it was an incredible, creative gate opening for me that I would never encourage anyone to do! But you have epiphanies in life… I moved into a different creative space. That’s not to say it was a fear of death [that ended drug use], I think it was a fear of life without ever experiencing the thrill of performing on stage for hundreds of thousands of people. I’m hungry for that. The adrenaline and high of the superstar is tremendously more powerful than any narcotic. That’s a high you can’t buy."

 

… the patron saint of self-made celebrities: Paris Hilton.

"Paris Hilton is famous for that gawky thing she does with her arm. The coked out model pose. But it’s calculated. The same thing with the porno tape now being sold around the world. Everyone thinks that it’s an accident but [in my opinion], it’s very smart. I don’t necessarily believe she contributed anything artistic, but she’s certainly entertaining and I love her dearly."

 

… the reactions to the "Just Dance" music video.

"The video is so funny, because it’s so pop but is also very stylized and the reactions on YouTube are fantastic. I love it. They ask, 'Who’s that skank?’ when I have the moment where I lick my finger. They say, 'Ooh, I don’t know if I like that. She’s humping an orca!’ Well, it’s not supposed to be sweet or watered down, and I pay a price [for that]. We’re used to the stigma of the pop star as looking as though they’ve been put through the sausage link factory and it’s not. It’s just me… [so] they can write what they please, the motherfuckers. The keep refreshing that page over and over again!"

 

… on how the clothes make the woman.

"It [self empowerment] isn’t just about believing in yourself. You can lay on your couch and watch TV and believe you’re going to a star. It’s about incorporating it into your lifestyle, and about really being that person and playing that role until you become it. It’s almost like using theatre as a way to get places. Different outfits make me feel a different way; it’s amazing how people respond to differently. If I go somewhere in my sweats, things don’t get done. But if I’m in my 1978 shoulder padded jacket, with sequined panties and a shiny stick, it’s like 'Who the fuck is that? You better get her a mic!"