BBC's 'I'd Do Anything' Off To A Great Start

Reality TV merged with Musical Theatre again this weekend as presenter Graham Norton reunited with the "Phantom Lord" Webber in BBC's I'd Do Anything, which aims to cast the roles of Oliver and Nancy for the upcoming Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Following in the footsteps of previous searches, which earned Connie Fisher and Lee Meade leading roles in The Sound Of Music and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, twelve potential Nancys sang their hearts out in a bid to gain the votes of the viewing public.

These Musical theatre "X-Factor" hybrids have been scorned by many people who are dismayed by the concept of casting musical theatre leads via television screens and phone lines. But these doubting Thomases seem to be blind to the facts that not only does this kind of series give a unique chance for genuine talent to shine and be recognized but also gives prime time TV exposure to musical theatre and creates a brand new target audience for West End musicals.

The standard of the first week's performances are clear proof that the girls selected are all serious contenders worthy of a West End leading role. All the girls impressed, while some impressed more than others. Both Rachel Tucker and Jessie Buckley gave highly energized performances that demonstrated their great vocal talent and their ability to "connect" with an audience. But the performer who, for me, showed the most beautiful vocal texture and exuded the combination of strength and warmth required for the role of Nancy was Francesca Jackson - who was astonishingly among the bottom two in the public vote on Sunday night. She then delivered a virtuoso vocal rendition of Lloyd Webber's "Tell Me On A Sunday" as she and Amy Booth-Steel went "head to head" in a sing-off for Lord Webber, who decided to "save" Francesca, while Amy became the first singer to be eliminated from the competition.

Much has been made in the press of the fact that Miss Jackson recently shared the stage with Denise van Outen, who - along with John Barrowman and Barry Humphreys - is one of the trio of "judges" for the TV show. But anyone who saw (and heard) Francesca in the recent "remix" of Rent at the Duke Of York's Theatre will know that she is a bona fide vocal powerhouse and has stage presence "in spades". If the viewing public come to recognize this and judge her by her performances, Francesca could still be a leading contender to win the role of Nancy in what promises to be a thrilling contest over the next nine weeks.

And if that contest is not enough to make critics of reality TV casting shows warm to the series, even the hardest of hearts could not fail to be won over by the dozen endearing boys who are endeavouring to win the role of Oliver. On Saturday all 12 boys treated the studio audience and TV viewers to a rollicking rendition of "Food, Glorious Food", while in Sunday's results show, the first boy to be chosen to go through to the semi-final of the contest, Gwion from Carmarthen in Wales, sang Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes", backed by the rest of the boys. From the evidence of what has been shown of the boys on screen so far, producer Cameron Mackintosh and his fellow "talent scout" Andrew Lloyd Webber have an abundance of talent to choose from, as during the coming weeks they try to choose 3 "Olivers" to share the role on stage.

All in all this was a highly promising opening weekend for a show that is likely to continue to be compulsive viewing for most open minded fans of musical theatre in the UK.

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