How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (Canada)

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a talent competition program that aired in Canada on CBC Television. It premiered on June 15, 2008 at 8pm EDT, and concluded on July 28, 2008. The show is based on the series of the same name which aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom in 2006.

The premise of the series was to find a musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Mirvish revival of The Sound of Music at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. Initial auditions were held in seven Canadian cities. The show was hosted by Gavin Crawford and featured Simon Lee, Elaine Overholt, and John Barrowman as the judges for the show.

The first episode of the show featured the top 50 auditioners at the show's Maria School being cut to 20. The second episode had the Marias performing in front of Lloyd Webber in London, and then the 20 were cut to 10 with his input. Beginning June 22, the Marias performed live in Toronto every Sunday night. The voting results aired on the following night.

Finalists

• Elicia MacKenzie, 23, from Surrey, British Columbia- Winner, Colour: Purple
• Janna Polzin, 24, from Woodstock, Ontario- Runner-up(Alternate/Understudy) on July 28, Colour: Lime Green
• Jayme Armstrong, 24, from Richmond, British Columbia- Eliminated on July 27, Colour: Red
• Marisa McIntyre, 25, from Waterloo, Ontario - Eliminated on July 21, Colour: Dark Green
• Tamara Fifield, 21, from Truro, Nova Scotia - Eliminated on July 14, Colour: Sky Blue
• Donna Lajeunesse, 22, from Bowmanville, Ontario - Eliminated on July 14, Colour: Orange
• Kyla Tingley, 24, from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - Eliminated on July 7, Colour: Hot Pink
• Katie Kerr, 19, from Windsor, Ontario - Eliminated on July 7, Colour: Baby Pink
• Allie Hughes, 22, from Toronto, Ontario - Eliminated on June 30, Colour: Dark Blue
• Alison Jutzi, 29, from Guelph, Ontario - Eliminated on June 23, Colour: Burgundy

Performances

Elicia Mackenzie

• Week 1 - Colour My World (Petula Clark song)
• Week 2 - Black Velvet
• Week 3 - Cabaret
• Week 4 - Shout
• Week 5 - You Needed Me
• First Final Song - Memory
• Second Final Song - Repeat of Cabaret

Janna Polzin

• Week 1 - My Baby Just Cares For Me
• Week 2 - Turn Off The Light
• Week 3 - Defying Gravity
• Week 4 - California Dreaming
• Week 5 - Anyone Who Had a Heart
• First Final Song - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
• Second Final Song - Repeat of Defying Gravity

Jayme Armstrong

• Week 1 - Son of a Preacher Man
• Week 2 - Constant Craving
• Week 3 - Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
• Week 4 - You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
• Week 5 - I Say a Little Prayer
• Final - I Don't Know How to Love Him

Marisa MacIntyre

• Week 1 - Jolene
• Week 2 - Seven Day Fool
• Week 3 - If I Were a Bell
• Week 4 - Downtown
• Week 5 - River Deep Mountain High

Tamara Fifield

• Week 1 - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
• Week 2 - Complicated (Avril Lavigne song)
• Week 3 - You Must Love Me
• Week 4 - You Don't Own Me

Donna Lajeunesse

• Week 1 - I Am Changing
• Week 2 - Something to Talk About
• Week 3 - Out of My Dreams
• Week 4 - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Kyla Tingley

• Week 1 - Torn
• Week 2 - Dance Me to the End of Love
• Week 3 - All That Jazz

Katie Kerr

• Week 1 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
• Week 2 - Insensitive
• Week 3 - Easy To Be Proud

Allie Hughes

• Week 1 - It's Oh So Quiet
• Week 2 - I Will Remember You

Alison Jutzi

• Week 1 - I'm Every Woman

Opening Songs

• Week 1 - How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
• Week 2 - My Favourite Things
• Week 3 - Do-Re-Mi
• Week 4 - The Lonely Goatherd
• Week 5 - I Have Confidence
• Final - Anything You Can Do

Group Songs

• Week 1 - I Have Confidence
• Week 2 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
• Week 3 - Seasons Of Love
• Week 4 - Don't Rain on My Parade
• First Week 5 Song It's a Grand Night for Singing
• Second Week 5 Song - Sway
• First Final Song (Elicia, Janna & Jayme) - My Favourite Things
• Second Final Song (All Marias) - How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
• Third Final Song (Elicia & Janna) - The Sound Of Music

Sing-offs The Bottom 2 or 3 voted by the public each week had to sing with one or two other marias a contrasting song from a musical, then Simon Lee (Weeks 1, 2, 3 & 4) or Andrew Lloyd Webber (Week 5) would choose one of them to carry on in the competition. In the final, the first viewer's vote put Jayme & Elicia in the bottom two, but they didn't have to do a sing-off, Andrew made a decision to save Elicia and eliminate Jayme. Janna Polzin was the only one not to have done a sing-off.

• Week 1 - Marisa & Alison - Take That Look Off Your Face
• Week 2 - Allie & Jayme - Another Suitcase in Another Hall
• Week 3 - Tamara, Kyla & Katie - Jesus Christ Superstar
• Week 4 - Donna, Tamara & Elicia - Tell Me on a Sunday
• Week 5 - Marisa & Jayme - As If We Never Said Goodbye

Elimination chart

Elicia MacKenzie won the most votes, as announced prematurely on the Canadian Press wire at 7:30pm, July 28, half an hour before the show aired in the Toronto area.

On August 14, 2008 it was announced that runner-up, Janna Polzin, has been cast as an "alternate Maria" for the upcoming Toronto stage production. Janna will play Maria twice a week (Wednesday evenings and Saturday matinees), while Elicia will perform the role six times weekly (Tuesday evenings, Wednesday matinees, Thursday through Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees).^[1]

Some viewers of the show have claimed that the panel and Lloyd Webber favoured Polzin over the other performers in the competition. However, Elicia MacKenzie ended up beating Polzin in the final.

References

External links

• Official Program Website at cbc.ca
• TV, eh?
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? at the Internet Movie Database