Oz Blog: The first live show... and the public get to choose

6th April 2010

Oz Blog: The first live show... and the public get to choose

Last Saturday saw Andrew’s potential Dorothys take another step along the yellow brick road to West End stardom with the first live broadcast of Over The Rainbow.

The ten girls took to the stage dressed in their customised gingham dresses to whoops and applause from the studio audience, kicking off the show with ‘The Merry Old Land of Oz’ as they were joined by the ten potential Wild Card Dorothys. Graham gave us a glimpse of what they’re fighting for: those sparkling jewel-encrusted ruby-red slippers…

Then it was time for the girls’ first live TV performances. First up were Liverpudlian Stephanie, who sang Pixie Lott’s ‘Mama Do’; and Lauren, glamorous in a gorgeous red dress as she performed Snow Patrol’s ‘Run.’

Being first might have been a nerve-wracking experience for Stephanie but the panel were quick to praise with John Partridge calling her “a natural entertainer.” Charlotte Church told Lauren that despite performing a song previously covered by Leona Lewis, she “made it [her] own.”

Next up were Dani and Steph. Dani, who at 16 is the show’s youngest contestant, performed The Saturday’s ‘Ego’ while Steph took on Michael Jackson classic ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.’ Sheila Hancock enjoyed Dani’s performance but felt it “could have been angrier.” Charlotte loved Steph’s voice, but Andrew expressed his concern that while he enjoyed her performance, Steph’s talents might be more towards the big power ballad than the role of Dorothy requires. John, however, was impressed with Steph’s ability to strut down the staircase in her high heels…

And so onto the Wild Card. We watched as Andrew broke the news of the audience vote to the ten would-be Dorothys at his country estate – and it was good news for Emilie, selected by the public as the eleventh Wild Card Dorothy.

Then it was the turn of model Amy Diamond and self-confessed musical theatre geek Danielle to perform for the panel. Singing Fergie’s ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry,’ Amy surprised Charlotte, who told her she had a “lovely voice.” John, despite being her strongest advocate in the panel, suggested she was too “MTV” and said she needed to work on being “less Diamond, more Dorothy.” Danielle’s performance of Daniel Merriweather’s ‘Red’ won high praise from Andrew as he told her: “you’ll paint the road ruby one day.”

Wild Card winner Emilie was next to perform with her rendition of Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway.’ Charlotte worried she might have lost some self-confidence and advised her to control her voice by giving it some “welly from the belly.” Sheila hadn’t wanted Emilie to leave, and Andrew confessed that his 13-year-old daughter had voted for her to come back.

Bronte and Jessica were next. Bronte, in a flowing white dress, sang ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me,’ made famous by George Michael, while Jessica took on Amy Winehouse, performing ‘Rehab.’ Both, according to John, were amazing performances – “neither of you has the strongest voice, but you both make the best of what you have,” he said. Charlotte loved Bronte’s “natural, beautiful voice,” but didn’t portray the full depth of sadness of the song. Both John and Andrew praised Jessica’s performance as one of the first to make a pop song seem theatrical, while Charlotte told Jessica, “I couldn’t stop watching you.”

Finally, it was the turn of Sophie and Jenny – according to Sheila, “two cracking performances.” Sophie sang Beyonce’s ‘If I Were A Boy,’ which Andrew called “fantastic” – before telling us what the title was in Spanish. “Write it down,” Graham said, but unfortunately we didn’t… Jenny sang Pink’s ‘Rock Star’ and got a lot of love from the panel, with Sheila praising her witty performance. “You were the only girl who played a role throughout that song,” John told her.

And, as Graham recapped on the evening’s performance, it was time for the audience to decide…

Read our Results Show blog here.

For updates on the upcoming Wizard of Oz production, sign up for Andrew’s newsletters

For more information on Over The Rainbow, visit www.bbc.co.uk/dorothy.

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Oz Blog: The first live show... and the public get to choose

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