#Andrew lloyd webber wizard of oz series
This same week, Danielle Hope sang ‘Mambo Italiano,’ the number many feel became not only the number of the night, but that most remembered from the series as a whole. While I don’t know who chose the song, it was a bad choice, making Samuels seem even more big-headed, taking on a Garland standard far beyond her years.
This, in my opinion, was particularly clear in Week 5 when Lauren sang ‘The Man That Got Away,’ a song, not insignificantly, originated by Judy Garland in A Star is Born, and meant for a somewhat older, and sexually experienced, woman. (I was being petty – I got over it.)Īfter Dani’s elimination, I briefly backed Lauren Samuels to be Dorothy, but, while I found her voice extremely talented, she rubbed me (and much of the audience, it seems) the wrong way, coming off as either overconfident or arrogant, neither qualities one would want in a Dorothy. Once she was (rightfully) eliminated, in Week 3, when posed against the eventual winner, Danielle Hope, in a sing off of ‘Maybe This Time’ from Cabaret, I was irritated, as I was judging the girls not on their singing/dancing/acting abilities, but rather on their resemblance to Garland. So, when Over the Rainbow began in late March 2010, despite Lord Lloyd Webber’s directives that he wanted potential Dorothys to effectively wipe away the image of Judy Garland, to bring something fresh and original to the role, I nevertheless found myself looking for Garland in the contestants, which left me, initially, hoping for Dani Rayner to win, because she was 16, and bore a slight resemblance to the screen legend. (I’m keen to see it again to reevaluate the show.) While his recent work on the Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, caused some initial concern seeing it in its first few months, as much as I wanted to like it, I simply couldn’t he has since rewritten much of the show, to eventual critical approval, if not acclaim. While he has never been a critic’s darling his shows are, after all, accessible and popular, (How dare he!) he did nevertheless, bring the world Evita, Cats, and, of course, The Phantom of the Opera, among others, all musicals which I’ve admittedly enjoyed on stage, particularly Phantom, which I’ve seen many times over. However, even back in March 2010, I felt, if there were a person who could bring Oz to the stage, it was Lord Lloyd Webber. I know the film’s screenplay by heart and every lyric to every song – even those cut from the final film! Even now, (being without a job and waiting for the Home Office to send me my UK work visa), I spend a great deal of each week day working on replicating Judy Garland’s ruby slippers, exactly as they actually appear today. I’ve adored everything related to Oz (the books, the film, etc) and particularly Judy Garland, since I was five years old. My eventual love of the musical version of Wicked gives me hope the same may be true for this new version of The Wizard of Oz.īut, let’s be clear here this is The Wizard of Oz. Gregory Maguire’s original revisionist novel is of a tone much darker than the musical, so I had little hope for it, and even actively avoided it for a few years, before rediscovering it quite by accident. Interestingly, I had the same reaction (to a lesser extent) when the announcement of a musical version of Wicked surfaced.
How dare they even attempt to find a Dorothy?!
#Andrew lloyd webber wizard of oz how to
Having not seen How to Solve a Problem Like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do, nor I’d Do Anything (Lord Lloyd Webber’s search for actors to play Maria, Joseph, and Nancy, respectively) my expectations, and hopes, for such a program, were mixed, if not outright pessimistic.Īfter all, Judy Garland is Dorothy, and to imagine anyone else playing the part was simply unthinkable, and for a moment, I wished for the failure of the project in total. The show has been, publicly, in development since the announcement of Lord Lloyd Webber’s then upcoming search for a new performer to take on the iconic role of Dorothy, as early as 2009, with the BBC program ‘Over the Rainbow’ running on BBC One from March to May, 2010. Anyone who knows me, even remotely, is well aware I’m quite excited for this Tuesday, 1 March, as it is the official opening night performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, and I will be in attendance!
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