Whiskey-a-Rainbow, September 26, 2012

Week 2
by Stuart Munro

It’s a school night and I have a glass of whiskey in hand. It must be time for week two of Over the Rainbow!

Daryn Jones (looking rather sharp I might add) introduced our top nine Dorothys who went into a rousing rendition of “Munchkin Land/Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” from The Wizard of Oz (and sounding great I might add!). Sadly Andrew Lloyd Webber (ALW) was missing this week so there was no awkward flirting between him and Jones. Thankfully, it seems Jones’s sights are now set on Thom Allison (the handsomest man on the planet), who was wearing a diamond necklace Sunday night and apparently took a helicopter to get to Toronto from Niagara-on-the-Lake where he’s currently starring in Ragtime. Director/choreographer Arlene Phillips was looking stunning and, with ALW’s absence, will be making the final decisions on who gets eliminated.

Cut to a rehearsal session where the girls are singing “Defying Gravity,” and who should show up but Kristen Chenowith! The girls were all, understandably, shocked and amazed by the sudden appearance of this megastar. Cheno is here this week to mentor the star-struck girls. No pressure, right?

Sadly, getting half a song right won’t cut it.

Colleen sang Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” (which is apparently what Jones said to ALW at the airport) and had more than a few pitch problems that, sadly, her two (handsome) back-up dancers couldn’t cover up. Again, who’s picking these songs? The tiny bit of choreography she had seemed to wind her, but when she switched to her lighter head voice, she sounded quite lovely. Sadly, getting half a song right won’t cut it. According to Cheno, Cassandra is “relatable, and Dorothy has that quality.” Cassandra sounded fantastic on Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” and she has a clear stage presence. I’d like to hear her sing something a little less jazzy just to see if she can (I bet she can), and I’d also like her to take off her rather stylized (but amazing) glasses. Nonetheless, Cassandra’s definitely a favourite for me. Thom Allison loves her too.

Julia (who confessed to us all that she has no training) sang “Give Your Heart a Break” with a nice attitude, but struggled on the lower notes. While she sounded all right, you could see in her eyes that she was nervous, and didn’t really know what she was singing about. Cheno liked Danielle a bit more than I did as she sang Faith Hill’s “There You’ll Be.” Danielle has an amazing belt, but couldn’t quite support the lower and softer sections of the song. Again, there seemed to be a disconnect with the lyrics. Thom’s reaction to her performance was “Shut up! . . . You are amazing!”, though Arlene and Louise (Pitre) didn’t care for her walk.

Jennifer, singing “I’ll Stand by You,” really seemed to understand the lyrics, but sounded tired. In fact, save for Cassandra, every girl up to this point sounded overworked and exhausted. If they think this has been hard, just wait until they get into rehearsals! Jennifer’s performance was, unfortunately, a bit lucklustre, and Arlene didn’t believe the words at all. It’s nice to see someone being honest! Stephanie sang “Titanium” and sounded great, but needed to commit a little more physically. Her choreography didn’t help her much though (who decided it was a good idea to have her walk backwards up a flight of stairs?) Still, this was one of the top performances up to this point.

Once again, I have to ask who thought this would be a good song for a Dorothy competition.

Jessie, my favourite from last week, sang Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Jessie is still one of the stronger story tellers in the competition, but her voice wasn’t as on point tonight, struggling with her lower end and even some of her belt range. Once again, I have to ask who thought this would be a good song for a Dorothy competition. Jessie’s physicality was a bit stiff, but I still think she has the potential to go very far in this competition. AJ sang one of my least favourite songs, Sarah MacLachlan’s “Angel,” and sounded soulful and full of emotion without ever over indulging. The song has a personal connection with her and it showed, making this the top performance of the night for me and all the judges.

Michelle closed the show with a stylized interpretation of “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt (one of the best films ever). I’m not sure what she’s done different from last week, but her voice was rich and full, even on the low notes, and her belt was strong and fierce. She seemed a little hesitant on the choreography, but having seen her in Sheridan College’s RENT, I know that this girl can move like nobody’s business. The judges wanted a bit more life from her (Arlene thought her eyes were dead?), but the audience (rather vocally) disagreed.

So, my top picks after week two are AJ, Michelle, Cassandra and Stephanie.

Canada disagreed. After a rousing rendition of “Defying Gravity,” Jessie and Michelle found themselves in the bottom two. Like Arlene, I don’t think either girl deserved to be here. Their performance of “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” from Lloyd Webber’s EVITA got off to a very bad start. Jessie came in a full bar too early and no one seemed willing to adjust. Nonetheless, she sang better than Michelle proving, again, that her story telling abilities are some of the best in this competition. It’s not a surprise to me that Michelle went home on Monday night, though I still think it cruel that they made her sing “Over the Rainbow” while floating away on a moon.

Let’s see what week three brings!

Oh! There’s also a contest to find the dog who’ll be playing Toto. Dogs of all shapes, breeds, and sizes are being considered, and one is being eliminated each Monday night by Colin Mochrie and his wife. Seriously.