How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

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How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
Opening credits
Genre	Reality
Starring	Graham Norton Andrew Lloyd Webber David Ian John Barrowman Zoe Tyler
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	8
Production
Running time	60 to 90 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Original run	29 July 2006 – 16 September 2006

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? was a British talent show, shown on Saturday evenings on BBC One, first broadcast on 29 July 2006 until the series finale on 16 September 2006. It documented the search for a musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian stage production of The Sound of Music. It was presented by Graham Norton, and "masterminded" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The title of the show was derived from a line in the song "Maria" which is featured in The Sound of Music. Connie Fisher, 23, was finally chosen as the new Maria. On 19 December 2006 the BBC One controller Peter Fincham announced that following the success of the programme a second show in a similar format called Any Dream Will Do is to be produced.^[1] It will be used to search out the main cast of an upcoming production of Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (which the press release calls Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), a lead male and female, a school choir, and an "Elvis/Pharaoh".^[1] Like the previous show its title is inspired by a song from the Musical it will be casting, this time a Any Dream Will Do, it will also feature Lloyd Webber and Norton^[1]. David Ian will not return as he is working on similar shows called Grease: You're the One That I Want for the American network NBC and Grease Is the Word for ITV. It was announced on 23rd February 2007 by the BBC that Zoe Tyler and John Barrowman will return joined this time by Presenter and West End actress Denise van Outen and West end producer Bill Kenwright.

1 Format
2 Finalists
3 Expert panel
4 Controversy
5 International series
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Format

The first week of the show documented the initial auditions against a regional panel, and later the show's expert panel, in which thousands of hopefuls were to be whittled down to fifty contestants to enter Lloyd Webber's "Maria School", from which ten would be selected to face the public vote. However, several additional girls were selected over this fifty contestant limit; one being Briony, who had been rejected initially due to nerves hampering her performance, but who returned for a second chance and was allowed in. A further four, whom the panel had rejected, were contacted by Lloyd Webber himself as he personally believed them to be potential Marias.

In the second week, the fifty-five selected girls attended "Maria School" where judge Zoe Tyler, along with other tutors, gave the girls singing lessons. On the second day, fifteen girls were eliminated, leaving only forty. On the third day, another twenty girls left, leaving only twenty girls in the competition. The girls were taken to Andrew Lloyd Webber's house, where they performed live in front of fifty influential people in the theatre business. The best ten girls were taken through to the finals.

During the finals, each week, the contenders were set various singing and performing tasks and the public got a chance to vote for their favourite Maria. The two Marias with the least votes in a given week perform a sing-off in front of Lloyd Webber, who then decides which girl to keep, based upon how well he feels that contender will fill the Maria role. This was repeated with the top 10, the top 9 and the top 8. With the top seven and top five, two girls were voted off in the program, and there were two different sing-offs.

In the final, Lloyd Webber did not have a say, however, and it was down to the public to choose who should play Maria. After more than two million votes were cast, the winning entrant was confirmed as Connie Fisher.

The BBC also confirmed a follow-up show, Any Dream Will Do (TV series), to be broadcast from April 2007, in which a new - male - star will be sought to take the lead role of Joseph in a new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

[edit] Finalists

Most of the finalists were given nicknames, shown on the list below in inverted commas.

All the potential Marias. From left to right: Belinda, Helena, Abi, Leanne, Laura, Simona, Meliz, Connie, Aoife and Siobhan.

Eliminated (in order of elimination)

Laura Sicurello, 26
Belinda Evans, 28: "Classical Maria"
Meliz Serman, 23: "Sexy Maria"
Simona Armstrong, 28: "Romanian Maria"
Leanne Dobinson, 20: "Baby Maria"
Abi Finley, 23: "Tomboy Maria"
Aoife Mulholland, 28: "Irish Maria"
Siobhan Dillon, 21 (last minute replacement for Emilie Alford): "Second Chance Maria" also "Fashion Student Maria"
Helena Blackman, 23: "Entertainment Maria" and later "Miracle Maria"

Winner

Connie Fisher, 23: "Intense Maria"

[edit] Expert panel

David Ian (theatre producer)
John Barrowman (musical theatre actor)
Zoe Tyler (voice coach, singer, performer)

[edit] Controversy

According to the British tabloid newspaper the Sunday Mirror, 23 year old Emma Williams, a professional stage actress, had also been signed to play Maria under a twelve month contract. However, the winner will still get a six month contract and would have performed six of the eight weekly shows.^[2]^[3]. Williams later "withdrew her services" from the musical, leaving Fisher to perform in every show unless indisposed. ^[4]

According to "a programme insider" reported in the British newspaper the Daily Mail, in the week of the final, Siobhan and Helena felt that in retrospect, Lord Lloyd Webber and the BBC production team had favoured Connie. Their accusations of special treatment included: incredibly well edited coverage; flattering camera angles; favourable backstage training highlights; given songs to perform that flatter her voice and are perfectly tailored to her abilities; her outfits are more "sparkly" and exciting than the ones they have been given.^[5]

[edit] International series

On 20 August 2006, it was reported that Lloyd Webber had taken legal action against David Ian. Lloyd Webber reportedly wanted to take the show's format to the United States to cast a Broadway theatre production of Grease. Lloyd Webber discovered that David Ian had already brought the idea to NBC, who announced they will look for unknowns to play Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko, via reality TV show "Grease: You're The One That I Want" (initially named You're The One That We Want) with David Ian and BBC Worldwide, leaving Lord Lloyd Webber furious. David Ian said "I don't understand the problem. Andrew has no connection with the stage show Grease, which I have successfully produced in the UK. There is a new production of Grease on Broadway in the spring of 2007, that's why I've been asked to judge on You're The One That We Want." ^[6]