BB FANS

Utter genius.

Also they've raised loads of money from the phone voting to help aspiring musical stars out with bursaries. More genius, as funding for any sort of artistic training is virtually non-existant.

ah well, at least i got to lust after laura one last time

So far have only seen the very end of it on my video ( ) because I was out so don't know what the performances were like during the show but there is something I really don't like about Connie!

Connie wins Maria talent contest

BBC

17th September 2006 - What's on Stage News

Problem Solved: Connie Is Sound of Music’s Maria

After eight weeks of the BBC One reality TV casting programme How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, and six weeks of public voting, 23-year-old Connie Fisher won the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s upcoming revival of The Sound of Music. The production opens at the West End’s London Palladium on 14 November 2006 (previews from 4 November).

whatsonstage

Maria - Limited Performances

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber said he had a duty to protect the career of his latest star by limiting her appearances in his West End revival of The Sound of Music.

Connie Fisher, a 23-year-old former call-centre worker, will take the role of Maria, the singing nun played by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.

After winning the BBC show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Fisher vowed not to let anybody down and said she had the stamina to perform eight times a week.

But it has been revealed she would not be starring in every show in order to stop her from "ending up like Julie Andrews" by straining her voice.

Lord Lloyd Webber, the co-producer of the Sound of Music, pledged she would perform at least six times a week.
He said: "I will consider her natural desire to sing in every performance and fully understand it. However, we have to bear her age in mind and have a duty to protect her voice.

"I am irritated by some of the nonsense that has been written about this. Connie is only 23 years old and in the West End musical world it is absolutely normal for a younger leading lady to sing only six out of eight possible performances a week.

"We have a duty to consider what is best for Connie's career in the longer run. We certainly do not want her ending up like Julie Andrews who strained her voice when young and who can no longer sing."

waveguide

Meet The New Maria

The hills are alive with the sound of music once more.

Connie Fisher, a call-centre worker from Wales, will take to the West End Stage after winning BBC talent search How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to find an unknown to play the part made famous by Julie Andrews when Scarlett Johansson dropped out of the musical.

On winning, Connie, 23, said: "Every night will be opening night. Thank you for making my dream come true."

ananova

'Alternate' Maria quits musical



Read more at BBC

Lloyd Webber anger at 'fix' claim

BBC

The Sound of Music' stage production photocall, London Palladium, London

Rex

CONNIE'S SECRET AFTER SHOW DATES NOTW

Connie Fisher is on Loose Women today. ITV

Friday, 1 December 2006

Sound of Music star Connie Fisher, who made her West End stage debut after winning a BBC talent show, has been nominated for two theatre awards.

The 23-year-old will compete against stars from Wicked, Evita, and Sunday in the Park with George for best actress at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards.

The Welsh actress is also nominated for London newcomer of the year.

Fisher made her debut in the £4m Andrew Lloyd Webber show after winning TV's How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

The musical has also been tapped for six other awards, including theatre event of the year and best actor in a musical for Alexander Hanson.

BBC

Maria singer nominated as breakthrough artist

Connie Stevens, currently starring as Maria in the stage version of the Sound of Music, is one of ten newcomers nominated as breakthrough artist of the year at the South Bank Awards.

Stevens, who won her role in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's talent search show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, is nominated in the theatre category.

ViewLondon

The box set

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Graham Norton and Connie Fisher

You can't hear exactly what they're whispering, but when the only audible words are 'Simon Cowell' there's a pretty good chance that they're analysing their competition for the Entertainment Programme Bafta. In the last year, Andrew Lloyd Webber has gone one better than Cowell by finding a six-day-a-week West End musical star in Connie Fisher, his answer to How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, rather than a five-minute pop rocket. Fisher herself is trying not to fall out of one of the boxes at the London Palladium. It's tricky, as Graham Norton seems intent on cracking one-liners that would send anyone over the edge.

Favourite childhood TV
Lloyd Webber: 'Oh Boy! - producer Jack Good's live rock'n'roll programme from the Hackney Empire on Saturday nights. It was iconic - it turned me on to the fact that you could do so much more with theatre than just old-fashioned musicals.'

TV role you wish you'd played
Norton: 'Sabrina in Charlie's Angels, because she was the clever one, the Mensa Angel.'
Fisher: 'Anything in 24. Actually, let's kill off Kim and write me in as Jack's love child from an affair with Nina when he was in his twenties.'

Who do you watch TV with?
Norton: 'My dog Bailey (he's a blond Labradoodle) and a vat of wine.'

Do you have a fancy TV?
Fisher: 'I record lots of shows on my Sony Vaio TV/computer-thingy. Using this kind of gadget can go wrong, though. I now have an entire series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps - and that was definitely a big mistake.'
Observer