Connie Fisher was recently voted Best Newcomer at the Whatsonstage Theatregoers Choice Awards. To celebrate Connie’s recent rise to West End stardom we’ve put together a little tribute for Britain’s favourite Maria! We’ve charted her success over the past years and even found a couple of video clips for your enjoyment! Congratulations Connie!

Having won the BBC’s talent show ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria’ in September 2006, Connie Fisher was cast in the role of Maria Von Trapp in a West End revival of The Sound of Music, which is currently playing at the London Palladium Theatre.

Connie was born in Belfast in 1983. She then moved to Dorset where she lived until she was six years old. At the age of six, Connie moved to Pembrokeshire in Wales. Connie was classically trained in stage arts from the age of twelve. She won a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where she received a first class BA in Musical Theatre. Her first job after graduation was as the Princess in a local pantomine version of Aladdin. However, she struggled to make her breakthrough in the West End, going to countless auditions and narrowly missing out on many roles. She worked in media sales whilst continuing to audition, a job which she claims to have hated as it destroyed her confidence. She explains that she lost hope of achieveing her dream while working in sales.

In August 2006 Connie made it through to the final 9 of BBC talent search, ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria.’ Connie got through to the top 9 after a gruelly set of auditions. She beat off competition from 6,000 other hopefuls. The TV talent search was the brainchild of legendary British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber wanted an unknown actress to fill one of the most famous roles in musical history, that of Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. This role was originall made famous by Julie Andrews in the award winning 1960s film.

Connie was up against nine other contestants, all vying for the part. The hugely successful show was hosted by Graham Norton and featured a panel of experts. However, the elimination process was entirely down to a public vote. Connie won the final, when over two million people cast telephone votes. Connie was understandably delighted to win the role, saying, ‘I feel on top of the world, thanks very much. I won’t let you down. Every night will be an opening night. Thanks for making my dreams come true.’

The Sound of Music opened to critical acclaim on the 15th of November 2006. The show has since received a number of prestigious awards and has played to sell out audiences night after night.

Watch Connie perform in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria

A funky little collection of clips showing Connie’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria Experience

Take a sneaky peek at Connie performing in West End show, The Sound of Music

Technorati Tags: awards, best newcomer, connie fisher, how do you solve a problem like maria, maria von trapp, the sound of music, theatregoers choice, whatsonstage

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Theatre, The Sound of Music. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.