The British public is getting the chance to vote for their favourite actress to take the lead role of Maria von Trapp when The Sound of Music returns to the London stage in December.
Ten remaining candidates will compete to land the part of the singing nun in a series of live televised knock-out rounds on the BBC show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, named after one of the musical’s big numbers.
Resemblance to the famous blonde film version of Maria, played by Julie Andrews, is not a requirement — several brunettes have made the final 10 — nor is a career in performing arts.
A police intelligence officer, a call-centre worker and a waitress are in the running.
The only explicit requirement for the part is youth. Andrew Lloyd Webber, British composer and mastermind of the show, said that past Marias have been ”too old”. Many of the candidates are in their early 20s and the eldest is 28.
The finalists are all graduates of the rigorous ”Maria School” — a kind of musical-theatre boot camp. From 1 000 applicants a group of 54 was whittled down to 20 after three days of intensive auditioning, from which the finalists were announced on Saturday night.
Competition for the final spots was fierce and involved a tense sing-off between rival Marias.
Among the candidates is stage-savvy Belinda Evans (28), who sang a solo for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year.
Another candidate, Aoife Mulholland (28), professes to have a competitive advantage, having been educated by nuns at school. And Simona Armstrong (28) is a finalist despite a Romanian accent that has so far hindered her British acting career.
The final 10 go through a series of live television shows where the public will vote to find the new Maria.
The 1965 film version of the musical, starring Andrews as Maria, was one of the biggest hits in cinema history. — Sapa-AFP