Photos: Evans Wears Ruby Slippers, Oz Extends
Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s production of The Wizard of Oz has extended its book period at the London Palladium and is now selling tickets through to 15 January 2012. This week has also seen Sophie Evans, the Welsh runner-up on Lloyd Webber’s BBC search for
Dorothy, filling the iconic ruby slippers while Over the Rainbow winner Danielle Hope is on holiday.
her bows with the rest of the cast.
Danielle Hope stars as Dorothy alongside Michael Crawford as the Wizard, Edward Baker-Duly as the Tin Man, David Ganly as the Lion, Paul Keating as the Scarecrow, Emily Tierney as Glinda, and Hannah Waddingham as the Wicked Witch of the West.
If you want to catch Evans’ perform as Dorothy, make sure to book your tickets for this week or any Tuesday performance. Additionally, she will be filling in for Hope for two weeks starting 5 September 2011.
TO SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF WIZARD OF OZ’S MEDIA NIGHT PHOTOS,
JUST CLICK ON THE “NEXT >” LINKS BELOW THE FOLLOWING FRAME.
PHOTOS BY DAN WOOLLER FOR WHATSONSTAGE.COM.
The Wizard of Oz, which opened in the West End on 1 March 2011 (previews from 7 February 2011), combines the much-loved songs from the 1939 Oscar-winning film with new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The production features old favourites, from the show including “Over the Rainbow”, “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”, “If I Only Had a Heart”, and “We’re Off to See the Wizard”, as well as brand new songs, including Dorothy’s opening number “Nobody Understands Me” and Hannah
Waddingham‘s solo number as the Wicked Witch of the West “Red Shoes Blues”. The full cast album will be released on 9 May 2011.
The musical had its last major London outing at the Royal Festival Hall in summer
2008, when Sian Brooke played Dorothy in a cast that also featured
Gary Wilmot, Adam Cooper and Roy Hudd. Frank L Baum wrote the first 1903 stage version of his 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The story is best known from the 1939 Hollywood film.
The stage musical
version, adapted by John Kane from the Warner Bros movie, was premiered
by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican in 1987, with a young
Imelda Staunton as Dorothy. It has music and lyrics by Harold Arlen
and EY Harburg with the new production containing additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
Directed by Jeremy Sams and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, The Wizard of Oz has set and costumes designed by Robert Jones. The show is produced by Bill Kenwright and Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group.
– Brenna Weingus
