She should still be bitter. But Alison Jutzi has made her peace with that infamous microphone glitch, which she suspects led to her being the first woman voted off CBC's How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? "I will always wonder, 'What if that hadn't happened, would things have turned out differently,' " she said in an interview of the screw-up that meant TV audiences didn't hear much of her crucial performance.
Jutzi has moved on since then, working on television and the stage. So she was a little nervous about talking part in 10 Marias: 1 Year Later, this week's look back at those who didn't land the lead in Toronto's still-running production of The Sound of Music. "I had left the show in a way that I was proud of, and I felt that I handled it with grace. ... I didn't want to come back and do the documentary and indicate that I'm bitter," she says. "I try not to let the way that I had to leave affect all the other great things that came out of it."
The 31-year-old says she's become more confident in auditions and enjoyed filming the special, reminiscing with other contestants about their trip to Salzburg, performing for Andrew Lloyd Webber in London and the rigours of Maria School ("It was more like Canadian Idol than I expected," she recalls). Lloyd Webber turns up in the documentary, along with host Gavin Crawford and vocal coach Elaine Overholt. Also appearing are Elicia Mackenzie and Janna Polzin, who've been playing Maria onstage in Toronto for the last eight months.
Wednesday, 9 p.m. on CBC
More for the musically inclined this week:
America's Got Talent: Back for season four. Tuesday, Wednesday 9 p.m. on NBC, A
MuchMusic Video Awards: Sunday, 9 p.m. on MuchMusic