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.^[1] The series was hosted by Daryn Jones.^[1] Arlene Phillips, Thom Allison, and Louise Pitre served as judges alongside Webber.^[2]

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.^[3][4] 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".^[5]

The show also auditioned Canadian dogs for the part of Toto. CBC and Weber did not restrict the breed of Toto to Cairn Terrier (as used in the 1939 film), 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".^[6] 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.^[7]

Finalists

Ten contestants made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows.

* at the start of the series

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 (week 1) and Phillips (weeks 2-7).

Week 1

Following the first week of the competition, Kelsey was the first Dorothy to be eliminated from the competition. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" (from the musical The Wizard of Oz)
  • "One" (from the musical A Chorus Line)

Sing-Off

Week 2

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (from the musical The Wizard of Oz)
  • "Defying Gravity" (from the musical Wicked)

Sing-Off

Week 3

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "The Merry Old Land of Oz" (from the musical The Wizard of Oz)
  • "Anything You Can Do" (from the musical Annie Get Your Gun)

Sing-Off

Week 4

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "If I Only Had a Part" (from the musical The Wizard of Oz)
  • "I Enjoy Being a Girl" (from the musical Flower Drum Song)

Sing-Off

Week 5

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Don't Rain on My Parade" (from the musical Funny Girl)
  • "Mamma Mia! Medley" with Louise Pitre

Sing-Off

Week 6

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Together (Wherever We Go)" (from the musical Gypsy)
  • "You Can't Stop the Beat" (from the musical Hairspray)
  • "The Trolley Song" (from the musical Meet Me in St. Louis) with Thom Allison

Sing-Off

Week 7

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Don't Stop Believin'" (from the musical Rock of Ages)
  • "Seasons of Love" (from the musical Rent)
  • "Something's Coming" (from the musical West Side Story)

Sing-Off

Week 8

For their individual performances, the contestants sang songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "The Wizard of Oz Medley"
  • "Already Home" (from the musical The Wizard of Oz)
  • "Sing" (by Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band featuring Military Wives)