# Over the Rainbow (Canadian TV series)

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. The series was hosted by Daryn Jones. Arlene Phillips, Thom Allison, and Louise Pitre served as judges alongside Webber.
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. 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".
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". 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.

## Finalists

Ten contestants made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows.
| Finalist | Age* | From | Dress Color | Status |
| Kelsey Verzotti | 17 | Calgary, Alberta | Bubble Gum Pink | Eliminated 1st in Week 1 |
| Michelle Bouey | 21 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Robin's Egg Blue | Eliminated 2nd in Week 2 |
| Julia Gartha | 16 | Unionville, Ontario | Purple | Eliminated 3rd in Week 3 |
| Jennifer Gillis | 16 | Coquitlam, British Columbia | Sky Blue | Eliminated 4th in Week 4 |
| Jessie Munro | 17 | Toronto, Ontario | Teal | Eliminated 5th in Week 5 |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 17 | London, Ontario | Yellow | Eliminated 6th in Week 6 |
| Colleen Furlan | 19 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Red | Eliminated 7th in Week 7 |
| AJ Bridel | 18 | Kitchener, Ontario | Orange | Third place |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 17 | Ottawa, Ontario | Kelly Green | Second place |
| Danielle Wade | 20 | LaSalle, Ontario | Lime Green | Winner |
* at the start of the series

### Results summary

| Place | Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Final |
| 1 | Danielle | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| 2 | Stephanie | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Safe | Bottom 2 | Safe | Runner-up |
| 3 | AJ | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Third Place |
| 4 | Colleen | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 5 | Cassandra | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 6 | Jessie | Safe | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 7 | Jennifer | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 8 | Julia | Bottom 2 | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 9 | Michelle | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 10 | Kelsey | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |

## 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)
Contestants' performances on the first live show :
| Contestant | Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result |
| Kelsey Verzotti | Pair 1 | 1 | "Good Morning Baltimore" | Bottom 2 |
| Julia Gartha | Pair 1 | 2 | "Make You Feel My Love" | Bottom 2 |
| Cassandra Hodgins | Pair 2 | 3 | "Fever" | Safe |
| Michelle Bouey | Pair 2 | 4 | "Love Song" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | Pair 3 | 5 | "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | Pair 3 | 6 | "Take That Look Off Your Face" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | Pair 4 | 7 | "Whistle Down the Wind" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | Pair 4 | 8 | "Fallin'" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | Pair 5 | 9 | "The Climb" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | Pair 5 | 10 | "Mambo Italiano" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Kelsey Verzotti | "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line | Eliminated |
| Julia Gartha | "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line | Saved by Lloyd Webber |

### 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)
Contestants' performances on the second live show :
| Contestant | Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result |
| Colleen Furlan | Pair 1 | 1 | "Call Me Maybe" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | Pair 1 | 2 | "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" | Safe |
| Julia Gartha | Pair 2 | 3 | "Give Your Heart a Break" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | Pair 2 | 4 | "There You'll Be" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | Pair 3 | 5 | "I'll Stand by You" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | Pair 3 | 6 | "Titanium" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | Pair 4 | 7 | "Firework" | Bottom 2 |
| AJ Bridel | Pair 4 | 8 | "Angel" | Safe |
| Michelle Bouey | Solo Performance | 9 | "When You Believe" | Bottom 2 |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Jessie Munro | "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from Evita | Saved by Phillips |
| Michelle Bouey | "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from Evita | Eliminated |

### 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)
Contestants' performances on the third live show :
| Contestant | Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result |
| AJ Bridel | Pair 1 | 1 | "One Night Only" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | Pair 1 | 2 | "Maybe This Time" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | Pair 2 | 3 | "Legally Blonde" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | Pair 2 | 4 | "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | Safe |
| Jessie Munro | Pair 3 | 5 | "The Rose" | Bottom 2 |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | Pair 3 | 6 | "Flashdance... What a Feeling" | Safe |
| Julia Gartha | Pair 4 | 7 | "The Man That Got Away" | Bottom 2 |
| Danielle Wade | Pair 4 | 8 | "Big Spender" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Jessie Munro | "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver! | Saved by Phillips |
| Julia Gartha | "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver! | Eliminated |

### 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)
Contestants' performances on the fourth live show :
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 1 | "Mercy" | Safe |
| Jennifer Gillis | 2 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Bottom 2 |
| Colleen Furlan | 3 | "If My Friends Could See Me Now" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | 4 | "True Colors" | Safe |
| Danielle Wade | 5 | "Moon River" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Buenos Aires" | Bottom 2 |
| Jessie Munro | 7 | "Rolling in the Deep" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Jennifer Gillis | "Tell Me on a Sunday" from Tell Me on a Sunday | Eliminated |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | "Tell Me on a Sunday" from Tell Me on a Sunday | Saved by Phillips |

### 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
Contestants' performances on the fifth live show :
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
| Jessie Munro | 1 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" | Bottom 2 |
| Danielle Wade | 2 | "Valerie" | Safe |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "Feeling Good" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 4 | "Out Here on My Own" | Bottom 2 |
| Colleen Furlan | 5 | "Could It Be Magic" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 6 | "Smile" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Jessie Munro | "Tell Me It's Not True" from Blood Brothers | Eliminated |
| Cassandra Hodgins | "Tell Me It's Not True" from Blood Brothers | Saved by Phillips |

### 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
Contestants' performances on the sixth live show :
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
| Danielle Wade | 1 | "At Last" | Safe |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 2 | "Someone Like You" | Bottom 2 |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "Nobody Does It Better" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 4 | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Safe |
| Cassandra Hodgins | 5 | "Your Song" | Bottom 2 |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | "On My Own" from Les Misérables | Saved by Phillips |
| Cassandra Hodgins | "On My Own" from Les Misérables | Eliminated |

### 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)
Contestants' performances on the seventh live show :
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 1 | "Cabaret" | Safe |
| Colleen Furlan | 2 | "Somewhere" | Bottom 2 |
| AJ Bridel | 3 | "All That Jazz" | Bottom 2 |
| Danielle Wade | 4 | "I Dreamed a Dream" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Act | Sing Off Song | Results |
| Colleen Furlan | "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind | Eliminated |
| AJ Bridel | "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind | Saved by Phillips |

### 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)
Contestants' performances on the eighth live show :
| Contestant | Order | Andrew Lloyd Webber song | Order | Song of the Season | Result |
| AJ Bridel | 1 | "Memory" | N/A | N/A (already eliminated) | Eliminated |
| Danielle Wade | 2 | "As If We Never Said Goodbye" | 4 | "Big Spender" | Winner |
| Stephanie La Rochelle | 3 | "I Believe My Heart" | 5 | "Buenos Aires" | Runner-up |