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Post by alece10 on Nov 12, 2023 17:27:55 GMT
I was just thinking about the BBC programmes to find Nancy, Joseph and Maria and about how many of the contestants have gone on to greater things.
I think I'm right in saying that the females have come out better than the males.
Lee Meade has probably had the best career, Daniel Boys has done well but never had a leading west end role, same for Keith Jack. Also didn't one of the males go on to a decent career in the "adult entertainment" industry?
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Post by sph on Nov 12, 2023 17:50:41 GMT
Yeah, the girls came out better for sure, especially from that Nancy one - but then there have been fewer series focusing on male contestants I guess.
I don't find the current Mamma Mia one very appealing - it's just not as exciting to cast two "kind of" leads (it's Donna's show really) in a long runner which normally go to a revolving door of new grads anyway. The old talent searches were for iconic roles in new revivals of classic musicals - much more interesting, whether you agree with the TV-casting concept or not.
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Post by Jon on Nov 12, 2023 19:43:14 GMT
Jessie Buckley was the first to come to mind even though she was runner up to Jodie Prenger.
Connie Fisher is now Head of Development at Wildflame Productions although she still does the odd bit of presenting.
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475 posts
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 12, 2023 19:48:11 GMT
Loved the golden age of these shows when I was growing up, the Nancy one in particular. Say what you like about Jodie Prenger, but seeing her Nancy at Drury Lane remains one of the best performances I have experienced in the flesh, she was truly fantastic. Jessie Buckley has obviously gone on to pretty huge things, but I remember her coming across as slightly unlikeable during the contest, and Jodie's bubbly 'TV' personality certainly helped edge Buckley out.
I saw Connie Fisher as Maria when she took Sound of Music on tour, but this was a few years after the original show and West End stint, and sadly her voice had really gone.
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Post by theatrefan62 on Nov 12, 2023 21:37:44 GMT
Yeah, the girls came out better for sure, especially from that Nancy one - but then there have been fewer series focusing on male contestants I guess. I don't find the current Mamma Mia one very appealing - it's just not as exciting to cast two "kind of" leads (it's Donna's show really) in a long runner which normally go to a revolving door of new grads anyway. The old talent searches were for iconic roles in new revivals of classic musicals - much more interesting, whether you agree with the TV-casting concept or not. I find the Mamma Mia one a bit depressing in a 'is this really the best young talent we have' way. I think it would have been far more exciting (in our ageist society) to have searched for a Donna. They've always searched for young leads. But of course the Mamma Mia producers wouldn't want to risk such a big role on a public vote. This is so clearly an advertising/PR exercise. The Nancy series really did produce a lot of successful talent. None of the others come close. The Joseph boys started strong, but none really sustained a long term career. Even Lee Mead has struggled. Daniel Boys is probably the most untapped talent. He is so talented and was great in Avanue Q. But for some reason he never quite took off. Pleased to see him get King George in the Hamilton UK tour. |
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Post by Wilf on Nov 12, 2023 21:59:12 GMT
Not a bad top 4 in the I’d do anything show. Jodie Prenger, Jessie Buckley, Samantha Barks and Rachel Tucker!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2023 22:28:24 GMT
Rachel had been in shows prior to her appearing in the Nancy search. Jessica Daley and Bronte Barbe have done well too. Sophie Evans had a good run in Wicked. Aoife was doing really well but moved away from performing to concentrate on her children.
Thanks for updating what Connie is doing now too
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Post by sph on Nov 12, 2023 22:28:32 GMT
Yeah, the girls came out better for sure, especially from that Nancy one - but then there have been fewer series focusing on male contestants I guess. I don't find the current Mamma Mia one very appealing - it's just not as exciting to cast two "kind of" leads (it's Donna's show really) in a long runner which normally go to a revolving door of new grads anyway. The old talent searches were for iconic roles in new revivals of classic musicals - much more interesting, whether you agree with the TV-casting concept or not. I find the Mamma Mia one a bit depressing in a 'is this really the best young talent we have' way. I think it would have been far more exciting (in our ageist society) to have searched for a Donna. They've always searched for young leads. But of course the Mamma Mia producers wouldn't want to risk such a big role on a public vote. This is so clearly an advertising/PR exercise. The Nancy series really did produce a lot of successful talent. None of the others come close. The Joseph boys started strong, but none really sustained a long term career. Even Lee Mead has struggled. Daniel Boys is probably the most untapped talent. He is so talented and was great in Avanue Q. But for some reason he never quite took off. Pleased to see him get King George in the Hamilton UK tour. I think the producers think that a talent search for older actresses wouldn't generate the same viewer numbers. Shame really because I think it'd be far more interesting and musical theatre has always been such a great genre for older actresses. I think the current contestants in the Mamma Mia show are probably very talented, but knowing reality TV have probably been directed/edited/portrayed in such a way that they appeal more to a broader TV audience rather than being given the opportunity to really show their skills. |
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Post by sph on Nov 12, 2023 22:31:41 GMT
I thought Connie Fisher's story was very sad, not unlike Julie Andrews in some ways. Her voice just gave out on her and she had to reckon with the fact that she could never continue a career as a singer or musical theatre actress. I'm glad she got to play one big dream role though. If the only big thing you ever do is play Maria at the London Palladium, well you've already done more than most actors ever dream of!
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Post by Mark on Nov 12, 2023 22:44:55 GMT
Amy Booth-Stee Was the first eliminated from I’d do anything - she’s done loads of stuff.
But honestly - Rachel Tucker, Samantha Barks, Jessie Buckley - the fact that these place 2-4th place should be a total advocate for these programmes - they’ve all had incredible careers.
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Post by Jon on Nov 12, 2023 22:49:50 GMT
I thought Connie Fisher's story was very sad, not unlike Julie Andrews in some ways. Her voice just gave out on her and she had to reckon with the fact that she could never continue a career as a singer or musical theatre actress. I'm glad she got to play one big dream role though. If the only big thing you ever do is play Maria at the London Palladium, well you've already done more than most actors ever dream of!
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7,179 posts
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Post by Jon on Nov 12, 2023 22:52:36 GMT
Amy Booth-Stee Was the first eliminated from I’d do anything - she’s done loads of stuff. But honestly - Rachel Tucker, Samantha Barks, Jessie Buckley - the fact that these place 2-4th place should be a total advocate for these programmes - they’ve all had incredible careers. The BBC ones were well produced, I can't really say the same for the ITV ones which came across as poor imitations. Grease is the Word's winner Susan McFadden ended up being part of the Irish singing group Celtic Woman and while it's not part of the same group, Drew McOnie who's now the AD at the Open Air was on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance although not sure which series. |
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Post by Wilf on Nov 12, 2023 23:45:35 GMT
I’d forgotten about the Over the rainbow search for Dorothy, top three for that Danielle Hope, Sophie Evans and Lauren Samuels.
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Post by steve10086 on Nov 13, 2023 7:48:28 GMT
I was just thinking about the BBC programmes to find Nancy, Joseph and Maria and about how many of the contestants have gone on to greater things. I think I'm right in saying that the females have come out better than the males. Lee Meade has probably had the best career, Daniel Boys has done well but never had a leading west end role, same for Keith Jack. Also didn't one of the males go on to a decent career in the "adult entertainment" industry? Craig Chalmers is definitely very talented! |
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Post by starlight92 on Nov 13, 2023 16:08:52 GMT
I’d forgotten about the Over the rainbow search for Dorothy, top three for that Danielle Hope, Sophie Evans and Lauren Samuels. I was just thinking about Over the Rainbow recently and looked up what happened to the Dorothys and what they're up to these days. Stephanie Davis is probably the most well-known and is in Corrie right now I think, and unfortunately went off the rails a bit since the show... |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2023 18:17:04 GMT
I’d forgotten about the Over the rainbow search for Dorothy, top three for that Danielle Hope, Sophie Evans and Lauren Samuels. I was just thinking about Over the Rainbow recently and looked up what happened to the Dorothys and what they're up to these days. Stephanie Davis is probably the most well-known and is in Corrie right now I think, and unfortunately went off the rails a bit since the show... Lauren has had a steady musical career, Sophie has been doing well and is back performing after getting married and having a baby. Stephanie Davis got the roll in Hollyoaks, was going to do the jungle but found out she had a nut allergy, went on Celeb BB ended up having a child with some chap on there and lots of tabloid stories too. But she is now on Corrie as a recurring character so has a nice gig there. She never did any theatre apart from maybe a panto as far as I know. |
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Post by demelza on Nov 13, 2023 18:50:04 GMT
Niamh Perry and Sarah Lark have both done well since I'd Do Anything — plenty of steady work even if they haven't quite hit the heights of others. I always enjoyed seeing Sarah perform back in the days I was a regular at Les Mis
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2023 20:37:10 GMT
I'd forgotten about Sarah being on I'd Do Anything but I can recall her now you've reminded us of her. Good to know she's had a solid career in various ensembles as well as having had a couple of children. Her partner/husband has the wonderful surname of De La Bédoyère.
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