News: The Wizard Of Oz Returns To The West End

The Wizard of Oz returns to London’s West End for a strictly limited four-week season at the Gillian Lynne Theatre following a celebrated run at The London Palladium and a record-breaking UK and Ireland Tour.

The four week run will star Aston Merrygold as the Tin Man and The Vivienne as The Wicked Witch of The West who will be joined in the West End by principal company members currently starring in the UK and Ireland touring production, including Aviva Tulley (The Book of Mormon, UK Tour) as Dorothy, Benjamin Yates (ITV’s Emmerdale, Jersey Boys) as The Scarecrow, Nic Greenshields (Love Never Dies, Les Misérables) as The Cowardly Lion, Abigail Matthews as Toto (Bleak Expectations, War Horse). Further casting to be announced.

The production will run from Thursday 15 August till Sunday 8 September 2024 at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Tickets go on general sale Thursday 28 March at 10am.

Producer, Michael Harrison says of today’s announcement: “The Wizard of Oz was seen by an incredible 185,000 people at the London Palladium last summer and is currently smashing box office records on its U.K. tour, so it feels absolutely appropriate that we return this spectacular production to the West End during the summer holidays for 38 performances only, with an incredible cast led by Aston Merrygold and The Vivienne.”

Aston Merrygold will perform at select dates, reprising his London Palladium and touring role as The Tin Man. Aston became known for his incredible stage presence during his time with X Factor-formed band JLS, who went on to sell out countless arena tours and sell over 10 million records, including five Number 1 hits and numerous awards. Femi Akinfolarin (Treason, UK Tour; Moulin Rouge! The Musical, West End) will appear as The Tin Man at all other dates.

The Vivienne is set to wow the West End as The Wicked Witch of the West following her celebrated performances on tour. The Vivienne rose to fame after emerging as the original champion of the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Since then, she has become a huge star both in the UK and internationally appearing on TV regularly and releasing music for fans across the globe. 2023 saw The Vivienne make history as the first drag star to appear on a major UK reality competition series, competing in ‘Dancing On Ice’ on ITV.

The Wizard of Oz on tour is presented by Michael Harrison, Gavin Kalin Productions, David Mirvish, Crossroads Live, Nick Thomas, Rupert Gavin and Mallory Factor, Jake Hine and Playing Field, by arrangement with the Really Useful Group Ltd. Originally produced at Curve.