Welcome to “I’d Do Anything!” It’s time for the first (not-so) live concert!
Our opening this time is a bunch of Nancys arguing over a locket as a pack of boys help her.
Graham suit watch: Blue and burgundy. I hate burgundy after my cousin made me wear it at her wedding. He welcomes the fan and the band. Looks like John Barrowman and Denise van Outen still like their jazz hands. Our final twelve Nancy’s sing “I’d Do Anything.” I really like the dresses this competition. The final twelve Olivers join them as well. They have a cute dance sequence. That was a great opening.
Graham welcomes us to the show and the first puns. The winning Nancy will be chosen by the public. The winning three Oliver’s will be chosen by Andrew, Cameron Mackintosh, and the panel. Who are: John Barrowman, Denise van Outen and new judge, Dame Edna herself! Yes, Barry Humphries. He was in the original production of Oliver! and has played Fagin twice. And of course, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is back with his Phantom intro. Webber loves his throne. He can save one Nancy each week until the final when the public takes over. Andrew says he is looking for: don’t know. He blathers on about how everyone is going to have a different view of who Nancy is. Andrew reveals that Ben is in Hairspray, Daniel is in Avenue Q and Seamus will be in Evita.
Coming Up: Jodie is no stranger to reality shows.
We come back as Graham explains that Nancy is a tough East End girl who is the accomplice of Fagin who saves Oliver but dies at the hands of her boyfriend. Our first two Nancy wannabes are Jessie and Jodie. Jessie was turned down by drama schools twice. She is from Killarney and a family of 7. Jodie is from Blackpool. She sings to her animals and she is a pretty happy woman. The girls will be singing songs that show case their leading lady potential. Jessie sings “River Deep, Mountain High.” I’d like to point out they put the Nancy from Ireland in green. I just heard Amber Riley and Naya sing this on “Glee” and…I think I prefer Jessie’s version. She captures the stage and doesn’t let it go. Jodie sings “Chasing Pavements.” Jodie has a sweet voice but it sounds like it’s breaking in a few places, like she didn’t rest it properly.
Jodie and Jessie come before the panel. Graham asks if they thought they’d be there. They’re still shocked they are there. To the panel! John goes first. He thinks both are serious contenders. He calls Jessie a “wild Irish pony.” He thinks she connected with everybody and told a story. We move to Denise. She calls them vocally beautiful. She tells Jessie to watch her posture and says she felt Jodie gave a heartfelt performance. Barry says that both girls would outshine him if he were to play Fagin opposite them. He calls Jessie beautiful and Jodie tough but tender. Finally, we come to Andrew. He asks if Jodie won the Biggest Loser. She says she lost 8 and half stone (I looked it up—roughly 112 pounds), which Andrew says that was equal to Jessie. She comments she wish. He says that both girls could be Nancy.
Coming up: Denise warning someone about jazz hands?
Next up are Tara and Ashley. Tara’s dad is a wrestler “El Bandito” and was raised in the dressing room. She’s worked on a Welsh soap and is leaving Cardiff. She says she believes in work hard, play hard. Ashley is from Scotland and talks about her grandmothers. They say they are proud of her. She was fired the day before her Nancy audition. Tara sings “Suddenly I See.” I forgot how beautiful Tara’s voice is. I thought she was higher than she really is. So far, she is the best mover. Ashley sings “Black Velvet.” I’m going to be honest right now. I was not a big fan of Ashley back when I was watching this on YouTube during the initial British run. So, if I get mean, sorry. Right now, the song is perfectly suited for her voice but it doesn’t strike me as strong enough for musical theater.
Graham asks Tara and Ashley who would win in a fight? Tara says she would or else her father would put her in a hold. He warns the panel that El Bandito is in the audience. Denise goes first. She tells them to hold back a bit. Denise thinks she was polished and was a good mover. She likes Ashley’s personality and that she goes too “jazz hands.” Barry calls Tara very modern but that she is a good actress. He thought Ashley was engaging. John calls them leading ladies. He loves Tara’s legs and Ashley’s body. He tells them to rough it up and mimics their accents. Andrew says it isn’t his show, he’s viewing it as an outsider. He does agree with John’s comments about roughing it up.
Coming up: Denise calls a Nancy “hot.”
Now, the Oliver’s take to the stage to sing “Food, Glorious Food.” And it is utterly adorable and well-performed. Graham asks Andrew why there will be three. It’s due to rules and so they can still keep their schoolwork up.
Back to the Nancy’s—Amy and Keisha. Amy is from a council estate. She played Velma in Scooby-Doo and gets cast as the kooky sidekick. She’s excited that she could be a leading lady. Keisha is studying English at school so that she could have a job at the end. But she wants to do theater and wants to prove it. Amy sings “Respect.” Come on, ladies, we all know this. It’s like “I Will Survive.” I don’t know why she went with Respect. You really need a soulful voice like Aretha’s to pull this song off. It’s good to sing at karaoke after a few drinks, but not on a singing competition. Keisha sings “Mad About the Boy.” Her voice has a great jazz sound to it. You know what? If “Memphis” ever makes a West End transfer, Keisha should seriously be considered for the role of “Felicia.” I can see her raising the theater roof with “Someday” or even “Love Stands When All Else Falls.”
Keisha tells Graham she speaks her mind and is built like this. John wants Amy to open up her vocal and wondered if Keisha was too sophisticated for Nancy. Barry recognized her song but thinks she’d kill Bill Sykes. She calls Amy a great comedic actress. Denise liked Amy’s performance and calls Keisha “hot.” She also loved her voice. Andrew calls Keisha a young “Shirley Bassie.” He considers accents, the Cockney accent will be important.
Coming: John’s “fantastic” comments come back! Remember those?
Our next two Nancy’s are Francesca and Rachel. Francesca has done “Tonight’s the Night” and was Rachel’s understudy. She played Joanne in Rent: Remixed. With Denise van Outen, a judge. But she’s there on her own merits. Rachel says some of the girls look up to her as she had professional experience. She said Nancy is a part she always wanted to play. Francesca sings “Hero.” Oh, yes, Francesca got there on her own merits. I like this version better than Mariah Carey’s. Then again, the only song of Mariah’s I like is “All I Want For Christmas is You.” I prefer anyone else but Mariah singing. But I forgot how much I loved Francesca’s voice. I think I need to go get this from my YouTube source. Rachel sings “About You Now.” She is a leading lady. But her on a stage and she’ll shine on it. I think I have to get this song as well. How did I miss these two?
Graham goes straight to Denise. She thinks Francesca’s performance proves she could be Nancy but she wants her to sing something more gritty next week. She liked how raw and rough Rachel’s performance was. John calls Francesca solid with some pitch problems. He campaigned for Rachel and called her “Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic!” Barry calls Francesca “classy” and Rachel “tough and saucy and beautiful.” Andrew notes that they have competition with people thinking they will deliver more being professional. He says Francesca was better in rehearsal and loved Rachel.
Coming up: Magic!
Each week, the Oliver’s will performed and be sent on tasks. Their first challenge is to see how they can take direction. They are practicing under Cameron’s eyes. Paul Kieve comes in to teach Oliver magic because Oliver needs to be nimble-fingered. Andrew watches as they show off their skills. They also acted as well. So, who will be the first possible Oliver is little Gwion. Aww. Since they won’t be “eliminated,” those put through to the semi-finals will be bolded. Gwion said he would perform for all of Wales if he gets to be Oliver.
Could be Oliver:
Gareth
Jordan
Harry
Joseph
Sam
Chester
Arthur
Gwion
Kwayedza
Alexander
Jonny
Laurence
We continue with Samantha and Sarah. Samantha is 17 and already made a CD. She calls this her opportunity. Sarah has five jobs but wants just to be one job. Sarah and I have a similar problem—we both look younger than we are. Though I don’t think I’m as bad as Sarah. Samantha sings “I Love Rock and Roll.” Samantha has a lovely voice but this song requires someone with a rawer voice, a rocker voice. I love how she looks at the end. Maybe because I recap “America’s Next Top Model” before watching this, but that stroke me as a great shot that Tyra would love. Sarah sings “Get Here.” Sarah’s voice is beautiful. I’m just going to enjoy her performance, excuse me.
Graham asks the two how it is in the Nancy house. They are roommates and so far, so good. Barry liked Sarah’s warmth while he calls Samantha “mesmerizing.” John says Samantha could run away with the competition. He tells Sarah that she reminds him of a young Elaine Page. And apparently Sarah played his daughter once. Denise calls Samantha “hot Nancy” and says Sarah has the “Meryl Streep quality.” Andrew tells the band to look at their music, not the performers. He tells Sarah to watch her diction and loved Samantha.
Next up: Barry predicts “The Addams Family” musical.
The last Nancy duo are Cleo and Niamh. Cleo is from Northwest London but she helps out in her community. She calls herself a street girl like Nancy. Niamh talks about moving away at her school. She’s postponing school for the opportunity. Cleo sings “Who Knew.” We see some of the Nancy’s dancing along. I couldn’t escape this song in 2007, like Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” Of course, I was interning at a radio station…Cleo does this song justice. I think she could bring a bit more of her toughness to the song, but good job. Niamh will be singing “First Cut is the Deepest.” I love Niamh’s look. She’s a memorable beauty. Her voice is also beautiful as well. Not sure if this is the greatest song to show that off, though.
Graham asks if it was more nerve-wrecking to be backstage or waiting to be in the final 12. They agree with the latter. John tells Cleo to be more comfortable and that Niamh won him over. Barry calls Cleo a wonderful actress and says Niamh will be famous. He says she’s a bit spookier and says she could be in the musical version of The Addams Family. And somewhere back in 2008, someone got an idea. Denise says Niamh looks like a young Bernadette Peters and John yells “THAT’S IT!” She calls Cleo “fantastic” and praises her accent. Andrew agrees with Denise about Niamh and calls her a good actress.
Coming up: East End food.
We get recaps of the girls’ performances. And now it’s a Nancy Mission! He sent them to the East End to work in a market. But first, a meal of East End foods—jellied eels and others. Eww. Their judges will be real East End vendors. The girls have fun and enjoy themselves. They start to dance and sing. Sarah and Tara were noted by some of the vendors. Andrew is eating some jellied eels. Graham apologies to everyone eating while watching. The final 12 come out to perform Girls Aloud’s “Sound of the Underground” while Andrew chews and John tries not to hurl.
After that, Graham asks who stood out. Andrew takes the diplomatic way out and says they all stood out. Denise mentions Jodie and Jessie. Barry mentions Samantha and Jessie. We don’t know who John mentions.
Coming up: Elimination!
We get to meet our first potential Oliver—Gwion. I thought I saw Barney in his room, but it was just a purple and green dinosaur. Gwion and the other Oliver’s sing “Bright Eyes.” We segue into the elimination episode, which you can tell because Graham’s suit changes. John says Amy isn’t Nancy. Denise says Tara. Barry says Amy. In no apparent order, the results are revealed. Cleo is safe. Samantha and Rachel are also safe. Tara and Keisha make it through. Ashley and Jodie are safe. The remaining five are asked to step down and form a line. Jessie is through to next week. Francesca is in the bottom two and remains on stage. Niamh is safe. It is between Amy and Sarah. Sarah could still be Nancy meaning Amy must now join Francesca in the sing-off.
Coming up: Amy or Francesca?
Amy and Francesca stand for the sing off. If the voters were the sole deciders, Amy would be out. But the two will now sing “Tell Me On a Sunday,” one of Andrew’s own songs. After, Andrew will choose to save one of them. This is a very beautiful song in which a woman tells her lover how to dump her. Based on the two vocals and the acting, I’d say Francesca did the better job. The girls go to stand before Andrew. And he saves Francesca. She hugs Amy before joining the other girls. Andrew says the standard is so high and she didn’t handle the tuning well. He worries about her and says she should be proud to have come so far.
Now it’s time for the finale. The remaining Nancy’s sing “Be Back Soon” before Amy sings “As Long as He Needs Me.” Francesca takes off Amy’s locket as she climbs the stairs for her big finish. Good-bye, Amy.
Could Still Be Nancy:
Amy
Keisha
Cleo
Sarah
Rachel
Jodie
Samantha
Ashley
Jessie
Francesca
Niamh
Tara
I am so glad they brought “I’d Do Anything” over to BBC-America. And I’m glad that unlike the earlier “Any Dream Will Do” episodes, they are including the Nancy missions. (I still want my loincloth shots, BBC-America!) I feel bad that Amy had to be the first to leave because she looked to be a great personality, but the talent this go around is great. We’re in for some real treats.
Next week: John and Denise disagree. See you then!
Quote of the Episode:
“Too be honest, Graham, I can’t believe I’m here NOW.”—Jessie
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