New show asks how do you find a singer like Maria?

By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) – Julie Andrews wannabes queued on Friday
to audition for a reality TV show with a new twist — the
winner gets the lead role in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber stage
production of “The Sound of Music.”

The hopefuls came in all shapes, sizes and ages, limbering
up with impromptu choruses of “Edelweiss” before trying to
convince the judges they would make the perfect young nun.

A BBC spokeswoman for the “How Do I Solve A Problem Like
Maria?” show said more than 1,000 hopefuls had applied for the
London weekend of auditions at the Wembley conference center.

They will be gradually whittled down to 10 finalists with
television viewers voting for who should star in the London
West End production due to open at the end of the year.

Lloyd Webber, composer of “Cats” and “Phantom of the
Opera,” has pledged not to grill would-be stars in the style of
Simon Cowell, the acerbic judge on the “Pop Idol” talent shows
popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

“It won’t be everyone taking Simon Cowell pot-shots at
artists,” he has promised.

Lloyd Webber has said that, ideally, he wants a 20-year-old
unknown actress to play the part made famous by Julie Andrews
in the classic film about a nun sent to look after the seven
Von Trapp children in Austria.

The name of Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson had
originally been mooted as a possible choice for the role.

At Friday’s auditions, some ever optimistic contestants
were convinced that age was no barrier.

Clutching her Sound of Music lyrics, 35-year-old Rachel
Cross said: “I think I could just push it at my age but I know
my chances are slim.” But she warned: “If the judges are nasty,
there could be tears.”

Another pushing the age barrier for the part was
32-year-old American Amy Royle who has just introduced her
five-year-old son to the film. “Hopefully the maternal side
will count in my favor at the audition.”

At 20, Alison Langer fits the age bracket that Lloyd Webber
is considering.

“It is something my mum always wanted to do and so do I. I
was always singing ‘The Hills Are Alive’ when I was tiny.”

Rachel Cross, 30, hopes showbusiness history will repeat
itself. “This is such a great opportunity. That is why I got up
at two o’clock in the morning to be first in the queue. And I
am from Walton-on-Thames which is where Julie Andrews came from
originally.”