‘I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?’ The answer to this question for Connie Fisher was probably, ‘The great British public‚ when they texted and phoned their votes to the TV show How do you solve a Problem like Maria?’ this autumn.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, bringing the musical version of The Sound of Music to the West End, came up with his characteristic and unnervingly brilliant understanding of the public spirit when he decided to choose his leading lady through popular TV vote rather than traditional auditions. A.A. Gill commented rather witheringly in his review that ‘the vast majority of [the public] will never have set foot in a theatre — to pick your star in this way is not just risky, it’s delusional’. Yet the canny, if delusional, Lloyd Webber has nevertheless found his way through our hearts to our all-important purse strings, breaking records at the box office.
Every night opening night
Most critics think the production fabulous and, more significantly, think that Connie is actually more than Lloyd Webber could ever have hoped for. Connie certainly delivers on her promise to ‘treat every night as opening night‚ and her response to the standing ovation and deafening applause was clearly one of joy. Everyone’s a winner. It has even been said that she is more suited to the role than Julie Andrews, which is where the fever surrounding this whole business could be described as going a bit over the top.
