I’m very sad that Over the Rainbow is over. I’m not usually one for Saturday night entertainment (other than Doctor Who or TV Burp) shows like this, but I enjoyed Any Dream Will Do, the BBC’s talent show to find a leading Joseph for a production of Technicolour Dreamcoat, a few years ago, so I thought I’d give this show a chance (I didn’t bother with the search for a Nancy/Oliver as I don’t know the Oliver musical).
I loved the camp theatricality, and the general fun that Over the Rainbow was packed full of. Graham Norton’s chemistry with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is a highlight of these shows, and Lloyd Webber himself is a television gem, whether spouting bizarre, oddly suggestive bon mots about ‘choking on a chipolata’ or (during the general election) not wanting a ‘hung Dorothy’, or just watching the performances with a variety of bored, leering or indescribable facial expressions. At the start of every show, when Graham introduced the Lord, there was a burst of sinister Phantom of the Opera music, which made me smile every week, and is an example of the camp joy the show produced.
The judging panel for Over the Rainbow was completely different to the others that Lloyd Webber and Norton have been involved in. Instead of John Barrowman, we had Eastenders’ resident gay Johnny Partridge, scowling and huffing every time fellow judge Charlotte Church dared to contradict him. I did not like this man. He came across as humourless and was the biggest fault with the show. Church, on the other hand, was brilliant – she looked gorgeous, and when she performed, blew the other girls out of the water. The big revelation though was Sheila Hancock who was a fantastic critic, really getting to the heart of how the contestants could improve their performances, and she was unafraid to tell the truth. If she didn’t like the pop songs they performed, she said so, and in the final show she wonderfully told one of the finalists that she had feared she was all ‘eyes, teeth and tits’ before adding that she didn’t care what she said, it was the last show and they couldn’t sack her. Right there a (gay) icon was born!
As far the Dorothies themselves, they really put in a lot of work and there were some fantastic singers/performers. My favourite, and I was sad to see her go out in the semi final, was Steph (daughter of ‘Let me be your fantasy’ 90’s singer Baby Dee!) who could sing, dance, and act with effortless enthusiasm and a ready smile. I hope she goes far! The winning Dorothy, Danielle, was good, although I didn’t think her voice was as amazing as Steph’s. The quality of all the girls was such that it was hard to pick a winner from the first show. There were a couple who I didn’t really like, particularly Emilie, who the public voted to put into the final 11 as a ‘wildcard’ and who inexplicably lasted several more weeks. Her singing was weak – as evidenced by her inability to sing the high note at the end of ‘Over the Rainbow’ when she was kicked off the show – and the massive gap in her front teeth was distracting through every performance. I was so glad when she went. I liked Welsh red-head Sophie, who somehow made it to the final, but she didn’t have the acting or singing ability (until she sang ‘Reflection’ in the semi) of the other girls.
Over the Rainbow was an all round success, and I do hope they do another show about a musical I’m interested in, and hopefully they’ll get John Barrowman back for it to make it even better!
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