London’s Cassandra Hodgins returns for another week
Etobicoke, ON native, Jessie Munro and Cassandra Hodgins of London, ON competed in the sing-off on OVER THE RAINBOW’S live elimination episode tonight at 8 p.m. In the end, Cassandra’s performance came out on top and Jessie became the fifth Dorothy to end her journey on this live competition TV series.
The judging panel formed by Arlene Phillips, Louise Pitre and Thom Allison chose to save Cassandra from elimination. Cassandra will continue to compete for the chance to play Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, opening this December at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, in Toronto, ON.
The audience enjoyed a special surprise when judge and guest mentor for the week, Louise Pitre surprised the crowd, emerging from a sea of Dorothys during their opening performance. Pitre, joined by the contestants, performed a medley of ABBA hits, including, “Mamma Mia”, “Thank You For The Music” and “The Winner Takes All”.
The Toto’s also had the chance to showcase their best four-legged footwork during the “dance” challenge on tonight’s episode. Sadly, Guiness, the Yorkie/Pekingese, was asked to leave her ruby collar behind as the fifth eliminated Toto. Comedians Deb McGrath and Colin Mochrie, along with award-winning dog breeder, Mike Macbeth, form the judging panel that will help to select OVER THE RAINBOW’s top dog from 10 lovable contenders. The top Toto will perform live with the Dorothys in the season finale. Visit the cbc.ca/overtherainbow website to get to know the Top 10 Totos.
Canadians voted for their favourite Dorothy at the end of last night’s show, using the ground-breaking, interactive OVER THE RAINBOW app, via the OVER THE RAINBOW Website or by telephone.
About Cassandra Hodgins - 17, London, ON
Cassandra trained at the esteemed Royal Conservatory of Music for piano and voice. Her theatre credits include roles in local productions of Hairspray, Grease, Phantom of the Opera and more. She boasts a long list of winning vocal competitions, including the Kiwanis Music Festival and local Idol competitions.
About Jessie Munro - 18, Toronto, ON
Jessie is a recent graduated of the Etobicoke School of the Arts. Trained in voice, acting and dancing, she has been a singer/dancer in the Show Choir Canada Nationals, Chamber Choir, Woman’s Choir and the SPLASH Music Theatre Company. Her theatre roles include playing Mimi in RENT, Graziella in West Side Story and an appearance as a dancer on the Canadian series Degrassi.
OVER THE RAINBOW, hosted by Daryn Jones, broadcasts live one-hour performance episodes at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) each Sunday, where the Dorothys will perform a variety of Broadway, standards and pop numbers in front of a live studio audience. Then on the weekly half-hour results episodes airing on Mondays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) the bottom two Dorothys, as determined by a public vote, will go head-to-head in a live sing-off. Judges Arlene Phillips, the famed UK TV judge, dance choreographer and director, Louise Pitre, Canada’s first lady of musical theatre, and one of Canada’s most popular leading men, Thom Allison, will then determine who will be sent home.
Twitter: @cbcrainbow, Hashtag: #overtherainbow
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CBC.ca: cbc.ca/overtherainbow
For more behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive content, visit CBC LIVE at cbc.ca/live. Follow CBC Live on Twitter at twitter.com/cbclive and on Facebook at facebook.com/cbclive.
For more information including hi-res individual headshots of each Dorothy please visit the CBC Media Centre at https://mediacentre.cbc.ca.
Tickets for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz are now on sale. Performances begin December 20, 2012 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. To purchase tickets and for further information go to mirvish.com.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus five languages for international audiences. In 2011, CBC/Radio-Canada celebrated 75 years of serving Canadians and being at the centre of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada.
About Temple Street Productions
Temple Street Productions is a leading producer of television, film and digital media content based in Toronto, Canada. A selection of Temple Street’s past and present projects includes: Being Erica (CBC, SOAPnet), Wingin’It (Family Channel), Cover Me Canada (CBC), Recipe to Riches (Food Network, Global), Billable Hours (Global, Showcase), Canada’s Next Top Model (CTV), How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (CBC), Queer as Folk (Showtime, Showcase) and Darcy’s Wild Life (NBC, Discovery Kids, Family Channel). For more company information www.templestreetproductions.com, twitter @TempleStreet or connect with us on Facebook.
For further information, please contact:
Renée Weekes
Publicist, Over the Rainbow
E. rweekes@stratapublicrelations.com
C. 416-205-5500 / O.416.894.7209
