Over The Rainbow – The Wizard Of Oz – London Musical
Search for Dorothy
When Danielle Hope is not Dorothy
May 23rd
If you are eagerly looking forward to seeing the newly emerged Wizard of Oz Dorothy, Danielle Hope, winner of Over the Rainbow it may be worth taking note of the following information when booking tickets for next year.
Danielle is not guaranteed to play the following performances of Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium on:
Tuesdays.
The winner’s annual holidays have also been reserved as:
Week commencing 2nd May 2011
Week commencing 5th September 2011
Week commencing 12th September 2011
Of course nothing can really be guaranteed and in the event of illness etc the part of Dorothy will be played by an understudy but if you want the best possible chance of seeing Danielle Hope in the role then avoid booking Wizard f of Oz tickets or theatre breaks for a Tuesday or those three weeks in May and September next year.
Danielle Hope
Best Acting Dorothy?
May 22nd
There’s been a lot of focus on the singing and dancing performances of the remaining Dorothys but which one would really be best suited to playing the part night after night in Wizard of Oz?
One of the recent missions was about maintaining the Kansas accent and here you can see each of four contestants in a scene from Wizard of Oz that allows us to really evaluate their abilities as actors.
Now Andrew Lloyd Webber seemed to be bowled over by Danielle, so we get a clue here perhaps as to who he would like to see the public vote for tonight, but he also praises Lauren’s professionalism and wonders if she can pull out just a little bit more from inside her own emotion for us. Personally, I found the Danielle performance just a tad drawn out and over done, but there’s no doubt she would make a smashing Dorothy, as would any of them really.
Over the rainbow – Mission
After watching them each have a go at the real acting, who do you think comes out of this mission in the best position for tonight’s vote?
Jessica Robinson Not Dorothy
May 10th
Oh noes! Not Jessica??!
Jessica Robinson became the surprise second victim of the double knock out weekend yesterday on Over The Rainbow simply because the public voted her into the bottom two alongside of Danielle, who ought really to be the outright favourite to win.
Given that dreadful choice, it was probably no choice at all that Danielle had to be saved but it still doesn’t seem right that Jessica should be out of the competition at this stage. When asked why she thought she had managed to avoid the bottom two so far, Jess put it down to her amazing fan base, but I’m afraid they let her down, just the once.
Ah well, what else happened…?
The mashup was a medley of songs, two from Fiddler on the roof and some pop songs.
Who catches your eye for most of the time when watching the group performances?
If They Could See Me Now
Tamsin Outhwaite returned to Over The Rainbow, this time to perform herself and show the girls exactly how it’s done.
Tamsin Outhwaite performs “If They Could See Me Now” from current West End smash hit musical Sweet Charity
The Sing Off
Danielle and Jessica were given an Andrew Lloyd Webber composition for the inevitable sing off, Take That Look Off Your Face from “Tell Me On A Sunday”
Goodbye Jessica
Jessica seemed to be genuinely grateful for having the good fortune to last through the show as long as she had done, and I’m sure leaves us with the confidence that she has a bright career in musical theatre ahead of her, (if not in Wizard Of Oz) as she sings Somewhere over The Rainbow and heads for flying moon.
Not Dorothy: Bronte Barbe
Apr 12th
The search for an ideal leading lady to play Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new London production of the Wizard of Oz continued in the BBC’s Over the Rainbow reality TV casting show last weekend.
The latest Dorothy hopeful to hand back her shoes was unexpectedly Bronte Barbe. She was not really expected to go out so early, and Andrew Lloyd Webber had said that both contenders for eviction were in his top five to go all the way and get the part. The public vote disagreed. Linda from London Theatre Breaks blog put her in the top five too:
About Bronte Barbe
Bronte comes from Macclesfield, a quiet, sensible town at the edge of the Peak District. It’s not quite Kansas but I expect it sometimes feels like it to someone like Bronte! She lives there with her Mum, sister and dog. She’s only 18 and she’d been working as a volunteer teacher at her former dance school before the show. She does have some amateur musical theatre experience and she’s got her Grade 8. I think she’ll do well and she could have been Dorothy.
Over the Rainbow Show 5 put an end to Bronte’s Dreams of the Emerald City
One not quite brilliant performance of K.T. Tunstall’s Suddenly I See and Bronte was doomed to be in the bottom two. I thought quite a few of the Dorothies were on dodgy ground on Saturday night’s show. The producers had given them all songs that went against type. Some of the girls pulled it off but I agreed with the public vote that both Bronte and Lauren struggled. I though Sophie struggled even more than either of them though so I was surprised that she survived.
Steph on the other hand was a revelation singing “It’s So Quiet” she seemed to finally get her R&B warbling under control and give us a real musical theatre number. Very nice! Not sure she’s Dorothy but still, very nice.
So why did ALW save Lauren? He said it was down to experience and Lauren is 22 against Bronte’s 18. However I also think Lauren has a stronger voice. She might even be Dorothy if she can just stop mugging to the camera!
Goodbye Bronte
My Favourites for Dorothy
My favourites at the moment, in no particular order (where did I get that idea from?) are:
Jenny Douglas – Good voice & full of life and devilment.
Danielle Hope – Reasonable voice, good stage presence. A strong dancer she has that adolescent quality that Dorothy will need.
Dani Rayner – Lovely voice, looks the part, just a bit worried about her acting skills and very young at only 16.
And almost any of the others – it is as they say, all to play for, and the standard is so high that one slip can be fatal. I’d feel sorry for them but I know how well many previous losers have done! Talent won’t be ignored and for some of them not being Dorothy might be the best career move they’ll ever make! Bronte would make a smashing Glinda for Wicked 
Over The Rainbow Auditions for Wizard Of Oz Dorothy
Nov 26th
Over The Rainbow Auditions
Do you think you could be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next leading lady? Would you give anything to become Dorothy in the new London West End production of The Wizard of Oz?
Follow in the footsteps of previous winners Connie Fisher, Lee Mead and Jodie Prenger by applying to be part of a TV show challenge to find Dorothy, this one called “Over The Rainbow” beginning in 2010.
Dorothy Wanted for Over The Rainbow
The BBC has just opened applications for their newest reality TV show ‘Over The Rainbow’ , to be judged by a team including Andrew Lloyd Webber and the voting public. Auditions are open to everyone, no matter how much or how little experience you have and nationwide auditions for Dorothy begin in January 2010. All applicants must have been aged 16 or over by 26 June 2009.
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