Over The Rainbow – Saturday 27th March, 18:30 – 20:00 on BBC ONE
Following the success of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do and I’d Do Anything, Over the Rainbow reunites host Graham Norton and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, along with a brand new panel of experts (Sheila Hancock, Charlotte Church and John Partridge) and BBC ONE viewers, will choose a Dorothy to perform in the West End production of The Wizard of Oz next year.
The second show of the new series puts the 20 Dorothy hopefuls through their paces. As one of their tasks (to be seen in tonights – Saturday 27th March – show) the girls get to work through a performance with five of the West End’s most well-respected leading ladies – Kerry Ellis (soon to replace Jodie Prenger as Nancy in Oliver!), Ruthie Henshall (currently appearing in Chicago), Sheridan Smith (Legally Blonde), Tamsin Outhwaite (Sweet Charity) and Mel C (Blood Brothers) – to gain a valuable insight into the life and profession that awaits them when they reach the end of the yellow brick road.
First up were Emma, Stephanie, Jenny and Tegan, who were thrilled to be working with one of the most highly-regarded performers in the West End, Kerry Ellis. Ellis originated the role of Meat in We Will Rock You (2002-4), and has starred in numerous productions in the West End and on Broadway. Ellis welcomed the girls to the Dominion Theatre, where she workshopped their group performance of “Somebody To Love†from We Will Rock You. Jenny had never been in a West End theatre before, and was overcome with the sheer size of it. Once the workshop got underway, Kerry said that the girls were “fantasticâ€, and would “make the other girls jealous… because you’ve got the rock song!â€
Kerry Ellis is currently working with Brian May on preparing her debut album, ‘Anthems’ for a September release.