::THEATRE NEWS::
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Contestants Drawn By The Sound Of Music Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Richard Ouzounian, Theatre Critic (January 25, 2008) The hills were alive on Friday morning.  We're not talking about the Swiss alps here, but the somewhat more forbidding landscape of the CBC Atrium, where close to 400 young women lined up for their chance to play Maria von Trapp in the production of The Sound of the Music scheduled to open in Toronto this October. It's a repeat of the British process where a nationwide search for the right star was the basis of a highly popular television program called How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? The same thing will happen here in Canada, where an eight-week CBC-TV series will culminate in the viewers voting for their favourite candidate. And so the eager hopefuls started lining up at 6:00 a.m., waiting for a chance at fame, fortune, or at least a few minutes on television. They came from as close as down the street, or as far away as Arlington, Virginia. Some were so young they brought their mothers along as chaperones. Others had husbands staying home to babysit their own children. Everyone got a chance to sing a bit of their chosen tune a cappella. After that, most were politely thanked and sent back out into the sub-zero weather to shed their tears privately, while others were told they could advance to the next round of auditions. One of the lucky ones was Riley Raymer from Markham, a vivacious 22 year-old who looked around the room and said "Every single girl here has dreams of making it ... but only one us can." The process will continue across Canada over the next two weeks where thousands of candidates are expected to try out. Then come more auditions, more judging and a session at "Maria School" for a chosen 50, from whom 10 will be selected to go on air and face the judgement of the Canadian viewers this summer. Climb every mountain, as the song says, until you find your dream. |
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