As of January 7, 2013, this website will serve as an archive site only. For news, reviews and a connection with audience and creators of theatre all over the country, please go to The Charlebois Post - Canada.
Week 8
by Stuart Munro
Dear friends. This is it. The week we’ve all been waiting for. The week where we find out who will be headlining Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Mirvish’s new production of The Wizard of Oz. With only three girls left, there’s a 66% chance that someone I adore will win the coveted spot, but will Canada agree with me? Let’s find out!
(As a side note, I just have to say how much I’m going to miss this Monday night ritual. It’s been the perfect wind down from a long first day of the week. In a way, I’m glad my Monday night classes for the next two weeks have been cancelled . . . I won’t have a reason to want to come home and drink!)
But on to more serious matters . . .
This week, AJ, Danielle, and Stephanie sing to the death for their chance to play Dorothy. Daryn Jones reintroduced us to Lord Lloyd Webber (calling him Andy . . . the lord looked mad) before the girls went into a medley of songs from Oz (accompanied by a troupe of Ozian-clad back-up dancers). ALW then announced it was the American public that would be choosing Dorothy this week, which received a (well deserved) round of boos from the audience. Man...At least he seemed to think all three girls were up to the challenge of playing the role.
Week 7
Stuart Munro
Dear friends, seven weeks have gone by and we are almost at the end of our journey. There’s only one week left after this and we will all know who our Dorothy is! According to Mr. Lloyd Webber, it’s the eleventh hour, Canada, and it’s up to us! On this stormy night, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be safe and dry in my apartment with a nice glass of Forty Creek to warm me up.
The always dapper and dashing Daryn Jones introduced our top four as they sang Journey’s “Don’t stop believing” (sigh). Stephanie had some pitch problems off the top, whereas AJ seemed calm and comfortable with the song. Danielle showed some real rocker feistiness, while Colleen again sounded under-supported and untrained. Altogether, the four voices don’t blend well, but thankfully we only really care about how they sound individually. And who choreographed this thing? Terrible . . .
All three judges talked about how hard this penultimate episode was with four wonderful girls left. Andrew Lloyd Webber should be back with us next week, but after this week, the decision is 100% up to the voters.
Week 6
by Stuart Munro
Dear friends, I have to confess that this is quickly becoming one of my favourite nights of the week, though whether it’s because I love the show or enjoy having a glass after a twelve hour day is anyone’s guess. . . . Nevertheless! Here we are with the sixth week of Over the Rainbow! With only five Dorothies to go, the pressure is on. The opening performance of “Together wherever we go” sounded a tad rough, but AJ still stood out, even in the group (she’s my girl).
This week the girls all sang ballads. Danielle’s pre-song video talked about just how good she’s always been (a bit corny) and how, as a result, she has a harder time constantly improving (which is fair). She opened the show singing “At last” and sounded soulful and rich. It was a really fun performance, and she looked so comfortable and relaxed on stage. If there was a moment or two of “showiness,” or a few sour notes, they were easily overshadowed by the real honesty the majority of the performance showed. She easily kept me engaged enough to ignore all the back-up dancers, and even the handsome fellow they had as her love interest. OK. He stole my attention once or twice. But is that so wrong? Arlene was “impressed beyond belief” and loved her vocal versatility. Louise recognized the truth of the performance and bought it “100%,” and Tom wanted to throw his shoe at her and praised her story-telling abilities. Danielle’s another favourite of mine.
Week 5
by Stuart Munro
Dear friends... After what felt like the longest day I’ve had in ages (which is saying something), I can’t tell you what a relief it is to come home, pour myself a glass of Forty Creek, and tune in to my favourite reality TV show (OK. Second favourite after RuPaul’s Drag Race, amiright?), CBC’s Over the Rainbow! Who will we lose this week? Who will shine? Who will blunder? I’m here to answer all these questions for you, and more.
Daryn Jones (who let’s face it, is the object of my affection these days) introduced our six remaining Dorothies as they launched into a high-spirited performance of “Don’t rain on my parade” from Funny Girl (I guess they finally ran out of songs from Oz). The girls sounded huge! I want to suggest there were some off-stage singers, but I think they’ve simply brought out the big guns. All three judges were looking in top form, and we learned that, not only will Andrew Lloyd Webber be back on the panel soon, but the show’s director, Jeremy Sams, is in town this week as well. But no pressure!
Week 4
by Stuart Munro
Hello again, friends. It’s time once more to travel with me to Oz as we watch seven talented young ladies duke it out for the chance to play Dorothy! This holiday weekend’s episode opened with “If I only had the part,” a clever little play on “If I only had a heart” from the Wizard of Oz. (As a side note, CBC’s on line video player makes it extremely difficult to watch the episodes sometimes, often forcing me to reload the page two or three times an episode . . .). Daryn Jones was chipper and dapper as always, and the panel of judges also looked particularly stunning. Tom Allison, apparently, is starring in Jones’s dreams, whether Tom likes it or not! And in response to some questions from viewers, Arlene Phillips explained that the girls are singing pop songs because some of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new music for the show is more pop inspired, and Dorothy needs to have a bit of today’s attitude to pull them off.
In order to kill time (now that there are fewer girls), each girl is now getting a little montage where all the other girls talk about how wonderful their new friends are. It’s all a bit saccharine for my tastes. . . . Cassandra opened the show with confidence and verve. Singing “Mercy,” she was able to show off her movement abilities and, again, made it clear that her strong voice and personality are forces to be reckoned with. She seemed to tire physically and vocally pretty quickly though, and her back-up dancers stole a bit of focus. And please, Cassandra, take off the glasses! Arlene thought she dug deep into the soul of the song, but Tom and Louise both worried that she wasn’t digging deep enough. Jennifer followed with a pitchy and uninspired version of “Crazy little thing called love,” though I put some of the blame on the absurd diner scenario they placed her in. Still, this wound up being one of the weakest performances of the night for me. Tom, Louise, and Arlene all felt the pitch problems wouldn’t be so noticeable if her acting was stronger, but sadly that’s not the case.
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?
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!
