Andrew Lloyd Webber and the BBC, are gearing up for his next big West End lead search show for the production “The Wizard of Oz” to find the next Dorothy.
After the success of the previous searches for The Sound of Musicâ’s Maria and Oliverâ’s Nancy, it seems that Webber has given up doing things the old fashioned way and will be relying on TV shows to find his stars.
We were half expecting this show to be canceled or at least postponed due to Webberâ’s bout with prostate cancer, but it seems to be going full steam ahead as The Sun reports today that Webber has already started the auditioning process.
While it has been confirm that the new show will be hosted by Graham Norton, there seems to be some dispute over what the show should be called.
Andrew Lloyd Webber remarks, â’The BBC wants to call the series Over The Rainbow and I want to call it The Oz Factor. I hope to win that battle too. I canâ’t wait to work with the BBC again in the hunt for Dorothy â’“ an iconic role of course made famous by a young Judy Garland in the film in 1939 but as a cat man myself, however, I approach casting Toto with considerable trepidation.”
BBC1 controller Jay Hunt, who commissioned the show alongside the controller of entertainment commissioning Mark Linsey, added: “The Wizard of Oz is one of the great musicals and I am sure BBC1 audiences will delight in having a front row seat in the casting of a new musical star.”
The search for Dorothy will begin with auditions in several UK cities early next year, with a panel of as yet un-named judges giving their views before viewers are asked to make the final decision. I am hoping that the judges will include John Barrowman and Liza Minelli.
Lloyd Webber’s new BBC1 show will be made by The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent producer Talkback Thames and will be executive produced by Suzy Lamb.
Available on BBC, UK Only
This program will not be available outside the UK. If you are outside the UK you still can watch it online via 9 minute slices on Youtube (good luck) or watch it directly through the BBC iPlayer. All you need is a UK VPN and a computer.
The BBC iPlayer requires a UK ip address, which can only be gotten via a UK ISP, which is hard to find cheap. The BBC uses Geo-IP technology to identify where you are based on the location of your internet service provider (ISP). This ensures that only internet users in the UK can enjoy programmes on BBC iPlayer.
What is Geo-IP technology and how to get around it? Basically Geo-IP technology looks at your IP address and if it is not coming from the UK, then you canâ’t have access. So, just change your IP address. How? With a UK VPN (virtual private network).
- You pay UK tax on access via VPN
- You have all the rights to UK only content
Lets be honest, I would be willing to pay $15/month to have access to the BBC iplayer with all the content intact. But, I canâ’˜t wait a whole year to get another abridged 40 minute â’Doctor Whoâ’ in â’˜The Statesâ’˜ when the full 1:11 â’Doctor Whoâ’ episode is available via iPlayer.
I pay $10/month with VPN Gates, which allows us to download BBC content, watch BBC iplayer, listen to radio and read the news before the US censors. I have access to all the UK sites and online content.
There is no place like home, watching the BBC.