Over The Rainbow is too close to call
Published on Tuesday 11th May, 11.25am, Written by Carrie Dunn
Do you honestly have a clue who’s going to be crowned Dorothy in Over The Rainbow now?
You might think you do, but you don’t. The field is wide open, and it’s a competition more open than any we’ve seen before.
Is Danielle Hope the judges' favourite?
Connie Fisher, Lee Mead and Jodie Prenger may sometimes have got negative comments from the judging panel (actually, poor Jodie was ripped to shreds by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh, who desperately wanted her rival Jessie Buckley to win, and only just stopped short of calling her fat on at least two occasions). But they never had a dip in popularity with the public, dropping them into the bottom two and forcing them to sing off for survival. They maintained their appeal throughout the series and inspired the viewers to vote.
This year, that’s not happening. We’re down to the final four and each of them has had to sing off at least once. Prior to this weekend, neither Jessica nor Jenny had been at risk, but both dropped into the bottom two and both were sent on their way. That means that we’re left with a final quartet of Danielle, Lauren, Sophie and Steph, all of whom have been poor or uninspiring or dislikeable or unengaging enough one week to put their place in the competition at risk.
This is intriguing for several reasons. First, if they can’t maintain their performance level over 10 weeks, how are they going to do it in a West End run, where everything depends on their consistency? Second, if they can’t persuade people to pick up the phone and vote for them for an outlay of about 25p, are they really going to manage to convince them to spend £50 a ticket to see them in a theatre? And third, who on EARTH is going to win this now?
The panel and Lord Lloyd Webber seem to be setting it up for a Danielle victory. She’s exceptionally beautiful in a serene and solemn way, with a nice voice which just needs a bit more training, and the omniscient Sheila Hancock rates her acting, which is good enough for me. She’s not the most charismatic of performers, though, but she’s very young so perhaps that will come in time.
And maybe that’s the problem with the Dorothys. They’re all so young that they don’t yet know who they are, and so they can’t present themselves accordingly and appeal to the audience. Indeed, early in the series Danielle was doing a VT introducing herself, and ran out of things to say about nine seconds in, staring into the camera and panicking, “Oh, who AM I?” If they don’t have enough life experience to know who they are off-stage, they’re going to have a hell of a time being able to create and inhabit characters while they’re performing, and the viewing public can see that.
So who will make it through the semi-finals? Danielle may be the anointed one as far as the show’s narrative is concerned, but Steph is the best performer, Lauren has the most musical theatre experience, and Sophie, while the weakest of the bunch, has the nicest tone to her voice.
Want my tip? Though Sophie should probably go next, I don’t think she will. I predict a Danielle-Lauren bottom two on Saturday, and Lauren to sail off on the sparkly moon.
Carrie Dun is very wrong on everything she says.
It’s Dannielle or Steph for me. Never knowing who you are is good if one is an actor/actress( i.e Dannielle is a hundred percent the part . She certainly doesn’t need coaching on the imaginitive and creative side – only refinement and adaptation to the part) All four semi – finalists will sell tickets because they are all supremos. Not being funny, but I do believe that the voting British public can, and will, make up their minds independently – not influenced by the lord or the panel or the self-assumed pundits (The newspapers)
I really love the show. I’m simple. I don’t do modern cynicism. Fair play to Andrew Lloyd Webber – he’s my hero
Sophie all the way.
See, I’d say Sophie is the least ready for the part, and I know she has a year and yaddi yadda but it isnt really fair to vote someone in on the basis that they’re going to have time to improve. Lauren and Danielle have already improved a lot (though Lauren was good to begin with) and could arguably fill a west end stage a lot easier. Sophie always looks incredibly nervous. With the right training, she could step up to the mark, but she isn’t ready yet.
Carrie did get the semi-final bottom two wrong. Gee, what a surprise!
I agree that Andrew clearly wants Dannielle. It is, despite his efforts to keep a veil on it, evident. And so too the panel. She is the bookies odds- on favourite (and, of course, the bookies do operate on the volume of bets). She is the nation’s favourite and mine too. I shall vote for her and be dismayed if she doesn’ win, though Sophie and Lauren are both supremos too.
Yes, it’s true that Carrie and other self-ordained lofty, cynical experts would like to se the lord smiten and debunked by the viewers. But I still believe the British public can vote as individuals for whomsoever as is their personal favouite without bringing into it extraneous factors about lord and panel conspiracies to achieve the result they want. And I suspect many share my cynicism towards the cynical critics who guide us in our judgment
Actually, on Saturday, Dannielle was very badly ill-served by both the song choice and the routine. She obviously didn’t like them stairs, she didn’t feel comfortable in them high-heeled shoes and the song was not an acting song. The show ,in my opinion, is fair.
It’s Dannielle for me
Great,
I’m delighted. Victory for freedom and and democracy. Death to fascists.
Sorry I can’t be gracious. It’s people power in the end that prevailed
Ho, ho
The British voting public did get it right. The lord is right, as he always is. All the girls were supremos and, as Sheile Hancock said, they could all be Dorothy ( and she knows what she’s talking about) I am Dannielle Hope’s biggest fan in the whole world already.
She is guaranteed to be a massive success.
I really loved the show and I really appreciate the lord’s commitment to servicing the girls with his considerable help in advancing their future careers. They all deserve stage (or film) success
No response from Carrie Dunn