Over the Rainbow (Canadian TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a Canadian reality talent competition, which premiered on CBC Television on September 16, 2012. Based on the 2010 series Over the Rainbow in the United Kingdom, the series auditioned aspiring musical theatre performers for the role of Dorothy for a Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The series was hosted by Daryn Jones. Arlene Phillips, Thom Allison, and Louise Pitre 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 was chosen as Dorothy to perform the role for Mirvish Productions in Toronto, which started on 20 December 2012. Wade has played several leading roles in student and community theatre and is an acting major at the University of Windsor. 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, 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". 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.
Finalists
Ten contestants made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows.| Finalist | Age* | From | Dress Color | Status |
| Kelsey Verzotti | 17 | Calgary, Alberta | Bubble Gum Pink | Eliminated 1st in Week 1 |
| Michelle Bouey | 21 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Robin's Egg Blue | Eliminated 2nd in Week 2 |
| Julia Gartha | 16 | Unionville, Ontario | Purple | Eliminated 3rd in Week 3 |
| Jennifer Gillis | 16 | Coquitlam, British Columbia | Sky Blue | Eliminated 4th in Week 4 |
| Jessie Munro | 17 | Toronto, Ontario | Teal | Eliminated 5th in Week 5 |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 17 | London, Ontario | Yellow | Eliminated 6th in Week 6 |
| Colleen Furlan | 19 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Red | Eliminated 7th in Week 7 |
| A. J. Bridel | 18 | Kitchener, Ontario | Orange | Third place |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 17 | Ottawa, Ontario | Kelly Green | Second place |
| Danielle Wade | 20 | LaSalle, Ontario | Lime Green | Winner |
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 and Phillips.Week 1
Following the first week of the competition. The show performances were:- Group performances:
- *"Follow the Yellow Brick Road"
- *"One"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Kelsey Verzotti | 1 | "Good Morning Baltimore" | Eliminated |
| Julia Gartha | 2 | "Make You Feel My Love" | Bottom 2 |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 3 | "Fever" | Safe |
| Michelle Bouey | 4 | "Love Song" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | 5 | "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | 6 | "Take That Look Off Your Face" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | 7 | "Whistle Down the Wind" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 8 | "Fallin'" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 9 | "The Climb" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | 10 | "Mambo Italiano" | Safe |
- Sing-off:
- *Kelsey Verzotti and Julia Gartha were in the sing-off, and performed "What I Did for Love" from the musical A Chorus Line.
- *Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to save Julia and send Kelsey home.
Week 2
- Group performances:
- *"Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead"
- *"Defying Gravity"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Colleen Furlan | 1 | "Call Me Maybe" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 2 | "Drops of Jupiter " | Safe |
| Julia Gartha | 3 | "Give Your Heart a Break" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | 4 | "There You'll Be" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | 5 | "I'll Stand by You" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Titanium" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | 7 | "Firework" | Bottom 2 |
| AJ Bridel | 8 | "Angel" | Safe |
| Michelle Bouey | 9 | "When You Believe" | Eliminated |
- Sing-off:
- *Jessie Munro and Michelle Bouey were in the sing-off, and performed "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from the musical Evita.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save Jessie and send Michelle home.
Week 3
- Group performances:
- *"The Merry Old Land of Oz"
- *"Anything You Can Do"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| AJ Bridel | 1 | "One Night Only" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 2 | "Maybe This Time" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 3 | "Legally Blonde" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | 4 | "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | 5 | "The Rose" | Bottom 2 |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Flashdance... What a Feeling" | Safe |
| Julia Gartha | 7 | "The Man That Got Away" | Eliminated |
| Danielle Wade | 8 | "Big Spender" | Safe |
- Sing-off:
- *Jessie Munro and Julia Gartha were in the sing-off, and performed "As Long as He Needs Me" from the musical Oliver!.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save Jessie and send Julia home.
Week 4
- Group performances:
- *"If I Only Had a Part"
- *"I Enjoy Being a Girl"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 1 | "Mercy" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | 2 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Eliminated |
| Colleen Furlan | 3 | "If My Friends Could See Me Now" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | 4 | "True Colors" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | 5 | "Moon River" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Buenos Aires" | Bottom 2 |
| Jessie Gartha | 7 | "Rolling in the Deep" | Safe |
- Sing-off:
- *Jennifer Gillis and Stephanie La Rochelle were in the sing-off, and performed "Tell Me on a Sunday" from the musical Tell Me on a Sunday.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save Stephanie and send Jennifer home.
Week 5
- Group performances:
- *"Don't Rain on My Parade"
- *"Mamma Mia! Medley" with Louise Pitre
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Jessie Munro | 1 | "No More Tears " | Eliminated |
| Danielle Wade | 2 | "Valerie" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "Feeling Good" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 4 | "Out Here on My Own" | Bottom 2 |
| Colleen Furlan | 5 | "Could It Be Magic" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Smile" | Safe |
- Sing-off:
- *Jessie Munro and Cassandra Hodgins were in the sing-off, and performed "Tell Me It's Not True" from the musical Blood Brothers.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save Cassandra and send Jessie home.
Week 6
- Group performances:
- *"Together "
- *"The Trolley Song" with Thom Allison
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Danielle Wade | 1 | "At Last" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 2 | "Someone Like You" | Bottom 2 |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "Nobody Does It Better" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 4 | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 5 | "Your Song" | Eliminated |
- Sing-off:
- *Stephanie La Rochelle and Cassandra Hodgins were in the sing-off, and performed "On My Own" from the musical Les Misérables.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save Stephanie and send Cassandra home.
Week 7
- Group performances:
- *"Don't Stop Believin'"
- *"Seasons of Love"
- *"Something's Coming"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 1 | "Cabaret" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 2 | "Somewhere" | Eliminated |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "All That Jazz" | Bottom 2 |
| Danielle Wade | 4 | "I Dreamed a Dream" | Safe |
- Sing-off:
- *Colleen Furlan and AJ Bridel were in the sing-off, and performed "No Matter What" from the musical Whistle Down the Wind.
- *Arlene Phillips chose to save AJ and send Colleen home.
Week 8
The show performances were:
- Group performances:
- *"The Wizard of Oz Medley"
- *"Already Home"
- *"Sing"
| Act | Order | Andrew Lloyd Webber song | Order | Song of the Series | Result |
| AJ Bridel | 1 | "Memory" | N/A | N/A | Eliminated |
| Danielle Wade | 2 | "As If We Never Said Goodbye" | 4 | "Big Spender" | Winner |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 3 | "I Believe My Heart" | 5 | "Buenos Aires" | Runner-up |