How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
| How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? | |
|---|---|
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| Created by |
Andrew Lloyd Webber Bea Ballard |
| Presented by | Graham Norton |
| Judges |
Andrew Lloyd Webber David Ian John Barrowman Zoe Tyler |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | BBC |
| Running time | 30–90mins |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | PAL (576i), 16:9 |
| Original release | 29 July – 16 September 2006 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Any Dream Will Do (2007) |
| External links | |
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How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? is a British reality television talent show that documented the search for an undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian stage production of The Sound of Music.
The series was originally devised by the then in-house development team at BBC Entertainment Events and was announced by the BBC in April 2006. BBC One broadcast the programme, which was hosted by Graham Norton, on Saturday evenings from 29 July through 16 September 2006.
The title derives from the refrain of "Maria", a song from the first act of The Sound of Music.
The lead role of Maria von Trapp in the new West End production of The Sound of Music, to be staged by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian, was to be played by American actress Scarlett Johansson. Negotiations fell through, and after a four-year search for an actress to fill the role, it was revealed in November 2005 that Lloyd Webber had approached the BBC to allow the public to cast the role through a Popstars-style talent search, the first time that such a format had been used.
This was the first programme to allow the public to cast a leading role in a West End show, and it was initially criticised. However, it won International Emmy and Royal Television Society awards and became the first of a series of collaborations between the BBC and Lloyd Webber, including Any Dream Will Do, I'd Do Anything, and Over the Rainbow. The series also led to versions and similar series abroad.
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