Op zoek naar Zorro


Op zoek naar Zorro is a Dutch television talent series broadcast on AVRO from late 2010 until early 2011. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Zorro in the then-forthcoming stage production of Zorro, the musical with book written by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson and music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron. Produced by Eyeworks for the AVRO, the series was hosted by Frits Sissing and judged by Willem Nijholt.
The series follows previous collaborations between the AVRO, Willem Nijholt and others to find new musical theatre performers: Op zoek naar Evita which was won by Brigitte Heitzer, Op zoek naar Joseph which was won by Freek Bartels and Op zoek naar Mary Poppins which was won by Noortje Herlaar. 10 years later, it was followed by Op zoek naar Maria which was won by Nandi Van Beurden and Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy which was won by Tristan van der Lingen and Danique Graanoogst.
WWW avro.nl/tv/programmas_a-z...

Auditions

Applications for the series from those from 20 to 35 were solicited in March 2010 all over the Netherlands.

Expert panel

An expert panel provided advice to the contestants throughout the series, and provided comments during the live shows. The panel was made up of:

Finalists

Eleven potential Zorros made it through the audition rounds and will perform during the live shows starting from 1 January 2011 but this time, the live shows will be shifted from Sunday to Saturday nights. The final will be broadcast on 19 February 2011. Each potential Zorro wore a black jacket and a sash of a certain colour, which made identification easier. At the end of every live show, the losing Zorro would have his jacket and sash stripped by the Zorro who survived the sing off, then takes the lead song of the farewell song: Masker
The eventual winner, Tommie Christiaan, had previously initially made it to the finals in Op zoek naar Joseph in 2008, but had dropped out when he had been offered a lead role in High School Musical. Fourth-placed Dennis de Groot was offered a part in the ensemble in Zorro when he was eliminated, which he accepted.
FinalistAge & Date of Birth *Sash colourStatus
Sandor Sturbl25 LilacEliminated 1st in week 1
Samuel Hubner Casado25 BurgundyEliminated 2nd in week 2
Dennis ten Vergert30 RedEliminated 3rd in week 3
Jeroen Dekkers21 YellowEliminated 4th in week 4
Kelvin Wormgoor26 Light blueEliminated 5th in week 4
Marijn Brouwers35 MaroonEliminated 6th in week 5
Mischa Kiek22 OrangeEliminated 7th in week 6
Dennis de Groot28 Dark greenEliminated 8th in week 7
Ruud van Overdijk23 Dark blueThird Place
Roman van der Werff26 Forest greenSecond Place
Tommie Christiaan24 PurpleWinner

* at the start of the series

Jury's favourite Zorro

1 Willem's choice for Zorro was Roman van der Werff
2 Pia could not make a choice
3 Monique van de Ven could not make a choice

Live shows

Week 1 (1 January)

The first of the live finals on New Year's Day on Saturday 1 January 2011 saw the 11 finalists perform to stay in the competition. It also saw the winner of Op zoek naar Evita Brigitte Heitzer as the first guest judge. The results show saw Sandor become the first contestant to be eliminated. The performances during the first week were:

Week 2 (8 January)

The second live show on Saturday 8 January 2011 saw the 10 finalists perform to stay in the competition. The guest judge this week was singer and actress Karin Bloemen. The results show saw Samuel become the second contestant to be eliminated. The performances during the second week were:

Week 3 (15 January)

The third live show on Saturday 15 January 2011 saw the 9 finalists perform to stay in the competition. The guest judge this week was singer and musical actress Kim-Lian van der Meij. The results show saw Dennis ten V. become the third contestant to be eliminated. The performances during the third week were:

Week 4 (22 January)

The fourth live show on Saturday 22 January 2011 saw the 8 finalists perform to stay in the competition. The guest judge this week was singer and musical actress Antje Monteiro. The results show saw Jeroen and Kelvin become the fourth and fifth contestants to be eliminated. The performances during the fourth week were:

Week 5 (29 January)

The fifth live show on Saturday 29 January 2011 saw the 6 finalists perform to stay in the competition. The guest judge this week was actress, singer and musician Ellen ten Damme. The results show saw Marijn become the sixth contestant to be eliminated. The performances during the fifth week were:

Week 6 (5 February)

The sixth live show on Saturday 5 February 2011 saw the 5 finalists perform to stay in the competition. The guest judge this week was actress and musical star Chantal Janzen. The results show saw Mischa become the seventh contestant to be eliminated. The performances during the sixth week were:

Week 7 (12 February)

The seventh week of competition was the semi-final stage of the series. On 12 February 2011 the four remaining contestants sang live for a place in the final. This week's guest judge was singer Berget Lewis. The results show saw Dennis de G. became the eighth contestant to be eliminated from the competition. The performances during the seventh week were:

Week 8 (19 February)

Grand Final Show 1

  • Group performances:
  • *Finalists and former contestants: "’’Zorro’’ mash-up of Bamboleo/Djobi, Djoba" with ensemble from Zorro
  • *Finalists: mash-up of "The Lady Is a Tramp" /"Bad Boy" with Pia Douwes
  • Individual performances :
  • *Ruud: "Wat is mijn hart"
  • *Roman: "Jij moet verder"
  • *Tommie: "Omarm"
  • Third Place:
  • *Having received the lowest number of votes from the viewers, Ruud finished in third place.

Grand Final Show 2

  • Final performances
  • *Following the elimination of Ruud, the final two both performed "Een liefde die niet mag bestaan", from the musical Zorro, with Michelle Splietelhof, who will play Luisa in Zorro, and each performed "Hoop", a second song from that musical:
  • **Roman: "Hoop"
  • **Tommie: "Hoop"
  • The Final Vote
  • *The final vote was then announced and it was revealed that the winner was Tommie Christiaan. He then concluded the series with a performance of "Masker " and "Baila Me".

Guest judges