Overview: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a talent competition program that aired in Canada on CBC Television. It premiered on June 15, 2008 at 8pm EDT, and concluded on July 28, 2008. The show is based on the series of the same name which aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom in 2006.
The premise of the series was to find a musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Mirvish revival of The Sound of Music at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. Initial auditions were held in seven Canadian cities. The show was hosted by Gavin Crawford and featured Simon Lee, Elaine Overholt, and John Barrowman as the judges for the show.
The first episode of the show featured the top 50 auditioners at the show's Maria School being cut to 20. The second episode had the Marias performing in front of Lloyd Webber in London, and then the 20 were cut to 10 with his input. Beginning June 22, the Marias performed live in Toronto every Sunday night. The voting results aired on the following night.
