The U.K. and Ireland tour of The Wizard Of Oz launches December 13 at the Liverpool Empire following the previous engagement at the London Palladium.
The cast features X Factor-formed JLS band member Aston Merrygold (Strictly Come Dancing) as The Tin Man (Liverpool only); RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner and Dancing on Ice finalist The Vivienne and Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood sharing the role of The Wicked Witch of the West; Gary Wilmot (Anything Goes), Allan Stewart (Stones in His Pockets), and Alex Bourne (Annie) sharing the role of The Wizard; and Jason Manford and Nic Greenshields (Love Never Dies) sharing the role of The Cowardly Lion (Manford will only play Manchester).
Principal company members appearing at all venues include Aviva Tulley (Book of Mormon U.K. tour) as Dorothy, Benjamin Yates (Emmerdale) as The Scarecrow, Emily Bull (9 to 5 U.K. tour) as Glinda The Good Witch, and Abigail Matthews (Bleak Expectations) as Toto.
The ensemble includes David Burrows, Adam Craig, Cole Dunn, Tyler Ephraim, Olivia Kate Holding, Thomas Kalek, Sadie Levett, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Martin McCarthy, Rose Ouellette, Fanja Parent, Alexandra Regan, Nathan Routledge, and Sydney Spencer.
Following the holiday season at the Liverpool Empire, which will continue through January 7, 2024, the production will tour to New Theatre, Oxford; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; New Theatre, Hull; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh; Cliffs Pavilion, Southend; Theatre Royal, Norwich; Venue Cymru, Llandudno; Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; Theatre Royal, Newcastle; Palace Theatre, Manchester; New Victoria Theatre, Woking; Grand Opera House, Belfast; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham; King's Theatre, Glasgow; His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen; Milton Keynes Theatre; Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff; and Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, before concluding its run at the Sunderland Empire in August 2024.
Based on the iconic story by L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz features the
Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg songs from the Oscar-winning MGM
film with additional tunes from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Jeremy Sams and Lloyd Webber penned the adaptation.
Nikolai Foster (Billy Elliot The Musical, A Chorus Line) directs the production, which also has choreography by Shay Barclay, set design by Colin Richmond, projection design by Douglas O’Connell, costume and puppet design by Rachael Canning, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Adam Fisher, creative consulting by Mark Kaufman, musical supervision by George Dyer, casting by Debbie O’Brien, props supervision by Marcus Hall Props, wigs, hair, and makeup design by Elizabeth Marini, orchestrations by David Cullen, and orchestrations adapted by George Dyer.
The Wizard of Oz tour is presented Michael Harrison, Gavin Kalin Productions, David Mirvish, Crossroads Live, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Nick Thomas, Rupert Gavin and Mallory Factor, Jake Hine and Playing Field, by arrangement with the Really Useful Group Ltd.
Visit WizardofOzmusical.com.
