''Over the Rainbow'' is a Canadian reality talent competition, which premiered on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

on September 16, 2012. Based on the 2010 series '' Over the Rainbow'' in the United Kingdom, the series auditioned aspiring

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

performers for the role of

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

for a Toronto production of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's stage musical adaptation of '' The Wizard of Oz''."CBC fall season reflects reduced budget"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, May 10, 2012. The series was hosted by

Daryn Jones Daryn Jones (born January 3, 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian comedian and television personality. Career He began his career in stand-up comedy clubs at the age of 17, receiving formal training in a private training school. H ...

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, Thom Allison, and

Louise Pitre Louise Pitre (born January 1, 1957) is a Canadian actress in musical theatre. She performs on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical '' Mamma Mia!'', which earned her a 2002 Tony Award ...

served as judges alongside Webber. The competition began with a Dorothy "boot camp" run by Lloyd Webber, which trained contestants and eliminated all but 10 finalists. Following a public telephone vote on 4 November 2012, 20-year-old

Danielle Wade Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, German ...

was chosen as Dorothy to perform the role for

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acquired ...

in Toronto, which started on 20 December 2012.Ahearn, Victoria
"''Over the Rainbow'' winner realizing she's not in La Salle, Ont., anymore"
''The Province'', Canada.com, 7 November 2012 Wade has played several leading roles in student and community theatre and is an acting major at the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

. The judges praised her as "a consistently solid performer with a big voice and girl-next-door likeability and charm". The show also auditioned Canadian dogs for the part of Toto. CBC and Weber did not restrict the breed of Toto to

Cairn Terrier The Cairn Terrier is a terrier breed originating in the Scottish Highlands and recognized as one of Scotland's earliest working dogs. The breed was given the name Cairn because the breed's function was to hunt and chase quarry between the cai ...

(as used in the 1939 film), but instead searched for a dog that embodies the spirit of Toto: One that is a "bright fun loving companion full of energy and charisma"."Toto Auditions
The winner was a small mixed breed dog named Linzy, that looks similar to the film's Toto, owned by Reta Thompson. However, Linzy did not appear in the stage production.Simcoe, Luke
"Ontario pooch Linzy wins ''Over the Rainbow'' Toto contest"
''Metro'', Free Daily News Group Inc., 6 October 2012

Finalists

Ten contestants made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows. * at the start of the series

Results summary

Live shows

The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. At the end of every live show, the losing Dorothy would have her shoes stripped by the Dorothy who survived the sing-off, and the shoes would be given to Lloyd Webber (week 1) and Phillips (weeks 2-7).

Week 1

Following the first week of the competition, Kelsey was the first Dorothy to be eliminated from the competition. The show performances were: *Group performances: **"Follow the Yellow Brick Road" (from the musical ''The Wizard of Oz'') **" One" (from the musical ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'') Sing-Off

Week 2

The show performances were: *Group performances: **"

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is a song in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. It is the centrepiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda (Billie Burke) and Dorothy Gale. Highlighted by the Lol ...

" (from the musical ''The Wizard of Oz'') **" Defying Gravity" (from the musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'') Sing-Off

Week 3

The show performances were: *Group performances: **"

The Merry Old Land of Oz "The Merry Old Land of Oz" is a song from the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' and the musical. It is sung by the townspeople of the Emerald City, who are joined at appropriate times by the group of four travelers: Dorothy (with Toto), Scarecrow, ...

" (from the musical ''The Wizard of Oz'') **" Anything You Can Do" (from the musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'') Sing-Off

Week 4

The show performances were: *Group performances: **" If I Only Had a Part" (from the musical ''The Wizard of Oz'') **"

I Enjoy Being a Girl "I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a show tune from the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Flower Drum Song''. It is the showpiece for the character of Linda Low, the lead showgirl. The musical is a comedic love story about growing up Chinese in Americ ...

" (from the musical ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

'') Sing-Off

Week 5

The show performances were: *Group performances: **"

Don't Rain on My Parade "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. It was also featured in the 1968 movie version of the musical. The song was written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Both the movie and stage versions feature Barbra ...

" (from the musical '' Funny Girl'') **"'' Mamma Mia!'' Medley" with

Sing-Off

Week 6

The show performances were: *Group performances: **"

Together (Wherever We Go) "Together (Wherever We Go)" is a song, now considered a standard, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, written for the musical play ''Gypsy'' in 1959. It was introduced by Ethel Merman, Jack Klugman, and Sandra Church. Recor ...

" (from the musical ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'') **"

You Can't Stop the Beat "You Can't Stop The Beat" is the finale number in the 2002 musical ''Hairspray''. It is sung by Tracy, Link, Penny, Seaweed, Edna, Motor Mouth, Velma, and Amber with Corny and Wilbur as backing singers. Although the lyrics touch on sizeism and ra ...

" (from the musical ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'') **"

The Trolley Song "The Trolley Song" is a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. In a 1989 NPR interview, Blane said the song was inspired by a picture of a trolleycar in a turn-of-t ...

" (from the musical ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'') with

Thom Allison Thom Allison is a Canadian actor.Richard Ouzonian, "Mad about the boy". ''Toronto Star'', September 29, 2000. He is best known for his regular recurring role as Pree in the television series ''Killjoys'',S. E. Fleenor"Killjoys' Pree is a gender-t ...

Sing-Off

Week 7

The show performances were: *Group performances: **"

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writ ...

" (from the musical ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

'') **"

Seasons of Love "Seasons of Love" is a song from the 1996 Broadway musical ''Rent'', written and composed by Jonathan Larson. The song starts with an ostinato piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thou ...

" (from the musical ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'') **" Something's Coming" (from the musical ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'') Sing-Off

Week 8

For their individual performances, the contestants sang songs by

. The show performances were: *Group performances: **"''The Wizard of Oz'' Medley" **"Already Home" (from the musical ''The Wizard of Oz'') **"

Sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

" (by Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band featuring Military Wives)

References

External links

Official Program Website at cbc.ca
{{Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revival search CBC Television original programming 2010s Canadian reality television series 2012 Canadian television series debuts 2012 Canadian television series endings Music competitions in Canada Singing talent shows Television series about teenagers Television series by Temple Street Productions