The search for Dorothy Over the Rainbow, the BBC’s search for a Dorothy for The Wizard of Oz, moves into a more serious phase now. We’ve said goodbye to Dani Rayner and Emilie Fleming. You can read more about them  and their departure on the Wizard of Oz London blog. Now we are on to the really hard stuff. There  7 girls left and every single one of them is a potential star. She could still be Dorothy These girls are tightrope walking without a net, the slightest falter and they are gone. The standard is so high in this competition I’m convinced we are now watching the start of at least 4 classic West End leading ladies careers and 2 possible pop divas! Here they all are performing this week’s mash-up: Click here to view the embedded video. So, in classic Over the Rainbow style, here  are the remaining contestants in no particular order: Danielle Hope, 17, from Manchester I  like Danielle. I thought she would do well but I was not sure  at first about her voice. Well, now I am sure! She could be Dorothy.  Her voice is much better than I’d realised and she has a great tone combined with real power and strength in ballads. She can act too and her dancing is pretty good. More than any of that she has star quality and I think she could be a long term West End hit. Jenny Douglas, 18, from Scotland Jenny is cute and attractive. She’s got a smashing voice and a great quirky quality. Her dancing is coming on and she is definitely still in the running. If it doesn’t work out for her I think she’d make a super pop singer. I disagreed with the panel and enjoyed her version of Warick Avenue! Lauren Samuels, 22, from London I love being proved wrong! I wasn’t that keen on Lauren but she’s really grown on me. Great voice, good dancer, nice acting skills. I think that even if she’s not Dorothy,(and she may well be!) she’ll still go far. I think she’ll be in the top 5 Sophie Evans, 17, from Wales Well, Andy said “She’s Welsh, of course she can sing”  but I’m afraid we’re just not hearing it at the moment. She’s got it all there, singing, dancing even acting  but she seems to be holding back. I think she’s a bit overwhelmed, poor kid. I fear she’s the weak link at the moment and was lucky that Andrew Lloyd Webber saved her. Personally, based on the sing-off, I would have saved Emilie! Stephanie Davis, 17, from Merseyside Stephanie has a great voice and good dancing skills. Full of life, warmth and energy. She’d make a charming Dorothy and I expect her to be in the top 5. If not she’s going to have a great career anyway either on stage or as a recording artist. Love that voice, as Charlotte Church said “I could listen to you sing the phone book!” I do wonder about her acting range but only because she’s not really had chance to show us. Jessica Robinson, 18, from Middlesborough Great face, something of the Liza Minnelli or maybe Lorna Luft there. Little bit gawky and awkward sometimes, and so were they at her age. She going to be a star. I’m not totally sure she’s Dorothy but watch this space. This girl will go far. I’d love to see her do musical comedy but there’s more depth to her than just that. Steph Fearon, 21, from London Good voice, good dancer, nice acting skills, great on stage presence. Steph can still be a little bit too R&B sometimes but she’s got to be a contender. She is becoming a real favourite and she’s got the maturity to handle a huge production resting on her shoulders. The Wizard of Oz and the Search for Dorothy Continues I’ve really been enjoying the programmes this time. As far as reality casting TV goes this show must be the best they’ve done. Andy’s been collecting all the videos over on The Wizard of Oz London blog so if you’ve missed anything, or you just want to see something again you can find them there. Who’s your favourite? a

A fourth unfortunate Wizard of Oz casting show contestant has been evicted from the Over The Rainbow house, Emilie Fleming, the 19 year old from Boldon, South Tyneside Emilie was the “wild card” saved by the public once already, and faced Sophie in the sing off.

Emilie Fleming

I think Both Emilie and Sophie had already been identified by the panel as the weakest overall packages and the voting public agreed, but the decision to save Sophie came as a small surprise, with Emilie having shown good progress with her singing voice as pointed out by Charlotte Church yesterday. Emilie already has plenty of stage experience having made her West End debut at 14 – as part of the chorus for the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables.

The search for Dorothy Over the Rainbow continues Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for Dorothy this Easter weekend. By Sunday night we will know which girl will go home and definitely not be Dorothy. While we wait for that result I thought I’d take a look at the panel of judges, tell you a bit more about each of them and explain why they are uniquely qualified to help choose Dorothy. Charlotte Church I suppose most of us know who Charlotte Church is, or at least think we do. After all some of us remember her first TV appearance with Richard and Judy. On that occasion she was a child with an amazing voice who sang Pie Jesu down a phone line because her aunt had rung in to Good Morning. Charlotte Church We watched her grow up and for a while turn into  a bit of a wild child. Well, she’s moved on somewhat since that. Although she doesn’t have any musical theatre experience there is a lot she could teach the Dorothies. She’s a very good technical singer with a deep understanding of how voices work. She also seems to be quite good at explaining to the girls which aspects of their singing they need to work on. John Partridge John Partridge We  all know John Partridge best these days from his soap career as a member of the EastEnders cast but he has a long history in musical theatre. John was a member of the touring cast of Cats in 1988 at the tender age of 17 so he understands some of what the younger Dorothies are going to face. Then much later he starred in the West End production of Cats first as Rum Tum Tugger and later as Mukustrap. He also played Rum Tum Tugger in the film. John has also played lead roles in Starlight Express, Miss Saigon and Rent. He’s bringing this depth of musical theatre experience to the panel  and giving the girls quite detailed feedback on their performances. Sheila Hancock Sheila Hancock What to say about a trouper like Sheila Hanock? She’s a gifted and intelligent actress who also sings. She has  an impressive depth of knowledge and experience in the theatre.  Her list of theatrical credits would take up the whole page! An alumnus of Joan Littlewood’s famous Theatre Workshop, Sheila has been treading the West End stage since 1958. She’s currently appearing in Sister Act as the Mother Superior and still enthralling audiences. The best thing about her in this context though is that she can  and does clearly and precisely tell the girls how to improve their performances. Dorothies or Dorothys? I’m torn. Should it be ‘Dorothies‘ or ‘Dorothys’. I’ve checked and that august organ the BBC uses Dorothys. I was always taught that proper nouns (names etc.) that ended in ‘y’ took ’s’ for their plural form.  but my co-writer here, and editor, Andy prefers Dorothies. Which of us is correct? Do you know? a

Over The Rainbow Begins on Friday! The long awaited casting show “Over The Rainbow” actually begins on BBC 1 this Friday, March 26th 2010. So if you enjoyed following the previous casting shows “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?”, “Any Dream Will Do” and “I’d Do Anything” then Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest is not to be missed. Lord Lloyd Webber teams up once again with the same TV host Graham Norton in search of the best Dorothy to star in the upcoming Wizard of Oz London stage musical. Over The Rainbow Judges Talented hopefuls, bursting to wear Judy Garland’s famous red shoes on the West End stage will battle it out to impress the Over The Rainbow judges, who have been confirmed as follows:

Cardiff’s favourite Singer Charlotte Church EastEnders stars John Partridge Legendary actress Sheila Hancock, from Sister Act Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber himself.

Over the Rainbow Judges