Op zoek naar Evita

Op zoek naar Evita (Looking for Evita) was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Eva Peron in the 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita.

The show was hosted by Frits Sissing who announced Brigitte Heitzer as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 21 October 2007 and masterminded by Willem Nijholt.

It became the first of a series of the Dutch themed talent contests to be produced by the AVRO in collaboration with Willem Nijholt. Op zoek naar Joseph followed in 2008 to find a new male lead for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and in 2009 it will be followed by Op zoek naar Mary Poppins searching for a new lead to play Mary Poppins in a production of the musical Mary Poppins.

Format

Expert panel

To assess and train the potential Evitas and judge them during the live shows, an expert panel was chosen. The panel included:

• Willem Nijholt - actor and singer.
• Peter Van de Velde - Flemish actor from Belgium
• Erwin van Lambaart - (managing director of Joop van den Ende theatre)
• Pia Douwes - (musical theatre actress who is very successful in Europe)

Live finals

The final ten contestants competed in the live studio finals held on Sunday nights over eight weeks. Each week the contestants sang and performed during the live show, receiving comments from the judges following their performance. The public then got a chance to vote for their favourite Evita, and the two contestants with the least votes performed a sing-off in front of Nijholt, who then decided which Evita to keep in the contest. This was repeated with the top ten, the top nine, the top eight, the top seven, the top six, the top five and the top four.

Nijholt had no say in the final casting decision, when in the concluding edition of the series it was left to the public to choose who should play Evita out of the final two contenders, Brigitte Heitzer and Suzan Seegers. After more votes were cast, the winning entrant was revealed as Heitzer, who won a contract to play Evita at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater in Rotterdam.

Finalists

Ten potential Evitas made it through the auditions process to perform during the live shows.

Live shows

The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. Once eliminated, the leaving contestant ended the programme by leading a performance of "Dag en bedankt nog (Goodnight and Thank You)\Jij blijft bij mij (You Must Love Me)" from Evita with the remaining contestants.

Week one

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

• Group performances:
  • "Dreamgirls" (from Dreamgirls)
  • "Rhythm of the Night" (DeBarge)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Marjolein: "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (from Flashdance)
  • Anne: "One Moment in Time" (Whitney Houston)
  • Sabina: "Als ze mij zo zouwen zien (If My Friends Could See Me Now)" (from Sweet Charity)
  • Wieneke: "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Randy Crawford)
  • Tineke: "These Boots Are Made for Walking" (Nancy Sinatra)
  • Marleen: "Inspiratie" (from Joe de Musical)
  • Brigitte: "It's Oh So Quiet" (Björk)
  • Babette: "The Way We Were" (from The Way We Were)
  • Sophie: "Cabaret" (from Cabaret)
  • Suzan: "Because of You" (Kelly Clarkson)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan (but revealed that his other favourite was Marjolein, but was positive about Suzan)
  • Pia Douwes: Suzan
  • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

• Sing-off:
  • Tineke and Sophie received the least number of viewer votes and were in the sing-off, and performed "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Sophie and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Tineke.

Week two

Sabina was the second contestant to be eliminated from the series. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
  • "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Elvis Presley)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Anne: "Think" (Aretha Franklin)
  • Sabina: "Geen kind meer" (Karin Bloemen)
  • Marleen: "Fever" (Peggy Lee)
  • Suzan: "Minutenwals" (Jesperina de Jong)
  • Sophie: "Send in the Clowns" (from A Little Night Music)
  • Brigitte: "I Am What I Am" (from La Cage Aux Folles)
  • Marjolein: "Over The Rainbow" (from The Wizard of Oz)
  • Babette: "I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan)
  • Wieneke: "New York, New York" (Liza Minnelli)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Marleen
  • Pia Douwes: Wieneke
  • Peter Van de Velde: Sabina

• Sing-off:
  • Anne and Sabina were in the sing-off, and performed "Memory" from Cats.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Anne and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Sabina.

Week three

The third potential Evita to be eliminated was Sophie. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Get the Party Started" (Pink)
  • "Mijn pakkie an (My Strongest Suit)" (from Aida)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Babette: "Misschien dit keer (Maybe This Time)" (from Cabaret)
  • Brigitte: "Margherita" (Marco Borsato)
  • Sophie: "Waarom zeggen ze nee (Everybody Says Don't)" (from Anyone Can Whistle)
  • Suzan: "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen)
  • Anne: "Na die ontmoeting (Now That I've Seen Her)" (from Miss Saigon)
  • Wieneke: "Telkens weer" (Willeke Alberti)
  • Marjolein: "Geen wolken voor mijn zon (Don't Rain on My Parade)" (from Funny Girl)
  • Marleen: "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan
  • Pia Douwes: Marleen
  • Peter Van de Velde: Wieneke

• Sing-off:
  • Sophie and Anne were in the sing-off, and performed "Beauty and the Beast" from the same title.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Anne and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Sophie.

Week four

Babette became the fourth contestant to hear she was not Evita. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "We Go Together" (from Grease)
  • "Take a Chance on Me" (from Mamma Mia)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Suzan: "Ik geloof (I Have Confidence)" (from The Sound of Music)
  • Marleen: "Stuff Like That There" (from For the Boys)
  • Marjolein: "Ik hou van jou" (Maribelle)
  • Babette: "Als ik jou niet krijg (If I Can't Have You)" (from Saturday Night Fever)
  • Anne: "Raise the Roof" (from The Wild Party)
  • Wieneke: "Take That Look Off Your Face" (from Tell Me on a Sunday)
  • Brigitte: "Hij kan niet zonder mij (As Long As He Needs Me)" (from Oliver!)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Babette
  • Pia Douwes: Babette
  • Peter Van de Velde: Babette

• Sing-off:
  • Babette and Wieneke were in the sing-off, and performed "Heel alleen (On My Own)" from Les Misérables.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Wieneke and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Babette.

Week five

Wieneke became the fifth contestant to hear she would not be Evita. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Don't Stop Me Now" (from We Will Rock You)
  • "Rainbow High" (from Evita)
  • "It's a Hard Knock Life" (from Annie)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Wieneke: "Dat zegt het hart (A Change in Me)" (from Beauty and the Beast)
  • Anne: "Jij woont in mijn hart (You'll Be in My Heart)" (from Tarzan)
  • Brigitte: "A Piece of Sky" (from Yentl)
  • Marjolein: "De man van La Mancha (Man of La Mancha)" (from Man of La Mancha)
  • Marleen: "Het Dorp" (Wim Sonneveld)
  • Suzan: "Big Spender" (from Sweet Charity)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Marjolein (but also very positive about Suzan being his favourite)
  • Pia Douwes: Marjolein
  • Peter Van de Velde: Marjolein

• Sing-off:
  • Wieneke and Anne were in the sing-off, and performed "Thuis (Home)" from The Wiz.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Anne and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Wieneke.

Week six

In the quarter-final, the sixth Evita to be eliminated was Anne. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Shout" (Lulu)
  • "Foxtrot (Dutch version)" (from Foxtrot)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
• ROUND 1:
  • Brigitte: "Al die jazz (All That Jazz)" (from Chicago)
  • Marleen: "Tegen alle verwachtingen in" (from Nine)
  • Suzan: "Ik ben een brassband (I'm a Brass Band)" (from Sweet Charity)
  • Marjolein: "Ik weet het nu (I Know the Truth)" (from Aida)
  • Anne: "Mannen (Men)" (from 3 Musketiers)

• ROUND 2:
  • Brigitte: "Somebody to Love" (from We Will Rock You)
  • Marleen: "Whatever Lola Wants" (from Damn Yankees)
  • Suzan: "Somewhere" (from West Side Story)
  • Marjolein: "Let Me Dance for You" (from A Chorus Line)
  • Anne: "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from Dreamgirls)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Marjolein
  • Pia Douwes: Marleen
  • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

• Sing-off:
  • Marleen and Anne were in the sing-off, and performed "De winnaar krijgt de macht (The Winner Takes It All)" from Mamma Mia.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Marleen and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Anne.

Week seven

In the semi-final, the seventh and final Evita to be eliminated was Marleen. The show performances were:

• Group performances:
  • "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" (from A Chorus Line)
  • With Roberto de Groot: "Ik ben uitzonderlijk goed voor u (I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You)" (from Evita)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
• ROUND 1:
  • Marleen: "Met één blik (With One Look)" (from Sunset Boulevard)
  • Suzan: "This Is My Life" (Shirley Bassey)
  • Brigitte: "Waar bleef die zomer? (Where Did That Summer Go?)" (from 3 Musketiers)
  • Marjolein: "Mein Herr" (from Cabaret)

• ROUND 2:
  • Suzan: "Jij speelt een spel (Maybe I Like It This Way)" (from The Wild Party)
  • Marleen: "Woman in the Moon" (Barbra Streisand)
  • Marjolein: "Astonishing" (from Little Women)
  • Brigitte: "Proud Mary" (Ike & Tina Turner)

• Jury's favourite Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan
  • Pia Douwes: Suzan
  • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

• Sing-off:
  • Marleen and Marjolein were in the sing-off, and performed "Één van ons (One of Us)" from Mamma Mia.
  • Willem Nijholt chose to save Marjolein and say "Goodnight and Thank You" to Marleen.

Week eight

The grand finale saw Brigitte win the competition, with Suzan coming second and Marjolein third. The show performances were:

• Group performance:
  • Finalists and former Evitas: "There's No Business Like Show Business" (from Annie Get Your Gun)
  • Finalists: "One Night Only" (from Dreamgirls)

• Individual performances (in order of performance):
  • Marjolein: "Mijn leven is van mij (I Belong to Me)" (from Elisabeth)
  • Brigitte: "Het is over" (from Heerlijk duurt het langst)
  • Suzan: "Een nieuw leven (A New Life)" (from Jekyll & Hyde)

• Following the elimination of Marjolein, who received the lowest number of viewer votes, the final two performed the two duets:
  • Brigitte and Suzan: "Buenos Aires (Dutch version)" (from Evita)
  • Brigitte and Suzan: "Huil niet om mij, Argentina (Don't Cry For Me, Argentina)" (from Evita)

• Jury's verdict on who is Evita:
  • Erwin van Lambaart: could not choose between Suzan and Brigitte
  • Pia Douwes: could not choose between Suzan and Brigitte
  • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte
  • Willem Nijholt: Suzan

• After being announced as the series winner, Brigitte concluded the series with a performance of "Huil niet om mij, Argentina (Don't Cry For Me, Argentina)".

After the series

Brigitte Heitzer and several other finalists appeared in a special programme on 25 December 2008 with the winner and finalists from Op zoek naar Joseph titled Kerst met Joseph en Evita (Christmas with Joseph and Evita).

Reception

Awards

On October 1, 2008, it was announced that Op zoek naar Evita was nominated for the Gouden Televizier-Ring 2008, for the best television from the season 2007/2008. On October 24, 2008 showed that this nomination was not silver, the Golden Televizier-Ring was won by Mooi! Weer De Leeuw.

Follow-up

The success of the series lead to it becoming the first of a series of the Dutch themed talent contests produced by the AVRO in collaboration with Nijholt. 2008 saw Op zoek naar Joseph search for a new male lead to play Joseph for a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was followed in 2009 by Op zoek naar Mary Poppins, which searched for a new lead to play Mary Poppins in a production of the musical Mary Poppins. 2010 will see Op zoek naar Zorro cast Zorro in the forthcoming stage production of Zorro.

External links

• Official Program Website at avro.nl