Whiskey-a-Rainbow, September 18, 2012

Week 1
by Stuart Munro

[Ed: Yup, we're following the CBC series Over the Rainbow, and who better to tackle this cataclysmically important subject than our musical theatre pundit, Stuart Munro. Enjoy!]

Sunday night, in a whiskey fueled fervor, a friend and I watched the premiere of CBC’s Over The Rainbow, the reality television show that lets you (yes you!) pick the girl who will get to star as Dorothy in the Mirvish/Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Wizard of Oz, opening this December at the Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly the Canon, formerly the Pantages, formerly the Imperial, formerly the Pantages). This show follows the, admittedly, successful presentation of 2008’s How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria? which cast the lead for Toronto’s The Sound of Music (a gorgeous production I saw six times. Yup. Six. I’ve got no shame.) Ten girls from across the country have been flown to Toronto for a Canadian Idol style sing-off while Canadian viewers slowly vote down to one lucky girl.

Before getting into a re-cap and my impressions, I just want to say how confusing I find this casting process for a Toronto production (let alone casting at all, but that’s another discussion altogether). For the respective English productions where this format has been used (Sound of Music, Joseph, Oliver!, Wizard of Oz . . .) I can understand why getting a nation wrapped up in the process might make sense. Given its relative size and amazing commuter rail network, a family from the north could conceivably make a day trip (or at the very least an over nighter) to London to take in the show they’ve had a say in casting. I’m not saying it would be cheap, but it would be possible. (It reminds me a bit of the day trips we would take from Victoria or Vancouver to see the big tours that used to come through. I remember my mum once telling me it was a $1000 day for the family and we were all tired and grumpy by the end of it, but damn if we didn’t have a good time!) But here in Canada, the idea of a family hopping on a plane from Victoria to Toronto to only see a show seems a bit less likely. A day trip could be possible (but awful), and to really make the trip worth it, you’d want to start factoring in things like a trip to Niagara Falls and other tourist traps. The price tag rises quickly. But hey, the 2008 Sound of Music ran for well over a year which, in this day and age, ain’t that bad.

But on with the show!

“Dorothy Farm” (seriously)

The two-part première gave us a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at the cattle calls for Dorothys across the nation. Eventually, 20 young girls were chosen and flown to “Dorothy Farm” (seriously) where they worked on music (Cabaret?), choreography (The Trolley Song . . . makes a bit more sense) and acting (finally! Scenes from the actual show!), all against the rustic backdrop of farm livin’. After a few days of this, the girls were whisked away to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s private estate in Barbados where, eventually, 10 girls were told they just might be Dorothy.

Fast-forward a bit, and we’re in Toronto in front of a live audience and a spirited presentation of “Follow the Yellow-Brick Road.” Right away I could tell the producers had a favourite in mind: despite there being an even number of girls, the red-haired Cassandra was placed front and centre in a bright yellow dress which drew the eye more than any of the other dresses. All things considered, this doesn’t mean a lot. These 10 girls sound great together, but it’s what they can do on their own that matters.

So how did they do?

It varied, but I’m pleased to say the majority of the girls all showed that they deserved to be there. First up were Kelsey and Julia. Kelsey’s rendition of “Good morning, Baltimore” took a little while to warm up physically, but when it finally did we also got to hear her strong but controlled voice. I just wish she’d belted out that final note. Julia’s “I can’t make you love me” seemed nervous and under supported. At 16 years old, this girl has a bit of work left to do, but there’s definitely a raw talent here.

Next were Cassandra and Michelle. Cassandra’s “Fever” was very playful, sultry and even a bit humorous. Her fantastic voice is paired with a real ease on stage; there was nothing at all “showy” about her performance. Fever seems like an odd choice for Dorothy, and I wonder if the girls have any say in what they sing. Nonetheless, she clearly felt at home with this song. Michelle’s “Love song” was clearly too low for her range, but she presented it with nice attitude and sass. Again, I don’t know who’s picking the songs, but I hope someone picks a better song for her next week.

Two pretty solid performances by Danielle and Jessie came next. Danielle’s “I’ll never fall in love again” had a few wrong notes off the top, but was confident, playful and charming, yet always remained nice and honest. Jessie’s “Take that look off your face” (by Andrew Lloyd Webber) was the easy winner of the night for me. Jessie’s voice is both soft and supple, strong and controlled. Her story telling was top notch and she has a unique quality that makes you want to watch her. Even Andrew liked it and told her afterwards he’d like to hear her sing the whole song someday.

In true Canadian style, neither Ms. Pitre nor Mr. Allison couldn’t say a mean thing about any girl, no matter how hard they tried.

Jennifer and Colleen came next. Jennifer’s performance of Webber’s “Whistle down the wind” was unsupported and nervous and smacked of too much effort. This is a lovely, simple song and Jennifer was clearly working too hard at it. (The fact that she looked like she nearly fell over towards the end of the song didn’t help her.) Colleen’s version of Alicia Keys’s “Fallin’” (seriously? Who thinks “You know what sums up Dorothy? R&B” . . . Christ) was a bit too sweet for the song, but showed that Colleen has a strong, charming voice. Just another odd music choice.

AJ and Stephanie ended the evening on a strong note. Stephanie tackled Myley Cyrus’s “The climb.” It was maybe a bit breathy for me at the beginning, but she proved she had a powerful, if slightly uncontrolled voice. Sadly her expression almost never changed throughout. AJ admitted she was a bit out of her comfort zone with Rosemary Clooney’s “Mambo Italiano,” but you’d never know it to watch her own it. Brassy and brash, sassy and silly, I only wish she’d committed to her shimmies at the end. (Yes, one can undercommit to a shimmy.)

The “judges” (who provided post-song feedback, but don’t actually judge) are Sir Lloyd Webber himself, director/choreographer Arlene Phillips, and Canadian theatre icons Thom Allison and Louise Pitre. In true Canadian style, neither Ms. Pitre nor Mr. Allison (both actors whom I respect immensely . . . remind me to tell you my Louise Pitre story sometime) couldn’t say a mean thing about any girl, no matter how hard they tried. Ms. Phillips occasionally had an honest remark, though nothing too cruel. And Andrew Lloyd Webber is, well, creepy. I think my favourite part of the episode was when he told the hilarious and adorable host, Daryn Jones, that Daryn could call him Dorothy if he liked.

I missed Monday night’s results show because of school, but Facebook tells me that Kelsey was sent home. I think this was probably a bad first move, but the rest of Canada can’t possibly be wrong, right? Apparently the eliminated girl is forced to stand in the centre of the stage and take off her shoes while the others sing to her, before eventually riding away on a moon of some sort? Pure class. I’ll be sure to actually get a vote in next week.


Addendum:

Having now seen the first elimination episode, I have to say I'm somewhat appalled. The remaining nine girls all stood behind Kelsey and chanted some lyrics from the Wizard of Oz (including the phrase "You ditched her so completely"?!) before Kelsey was forced to take off her shoes, hand them to the girl who beat her (who in turn handed them to ALW . . . why?), and climb onto a crescent moon before singing "Over the rainbow" (you know, that song she wanted to sing on stage as Dorothy). So bizarre.

Two other things: First, I don't think Kelsey should've been in the bottom two with Julia, but in the final sing-off Julia outsang Kelsey. Simple as that. Based on that performance alone, ALW probably made the right decision. Second, I hope we get to watch Daryn Jones and ALW flirt all season long.

Daryn: Andrew, we should be roommates.
ALW: We'll have to talk about it later.
Daryn: You can have the top bunk, bottom bunk. I don't care.

Gold.