Theatre News

Dianne Pilkington, Louis Gaunt and Christina Bianco join ”The Wizard of Oz” at The London Palladium

| London |

19 April 2023

Dianne Pilkington, Christina Bianco and Louis Gaunt
© Provided by the production

A trio of new names have been revealed for the upcoming revival of The Wizard of Oz at The London Palladium this summer.

Joining previously announced principal cast members Jason Manford (as the Cowardly Lion), Ashley Banjo (as the Tin Man) and Gary Wilmot (as the Wizard) will be Dianne Pilkington (Bedknobs and Broomsticks) as the Wicked Witch of the West, Louis Gaunt (Mary Poppins) as the Scarecrow and Christina Bianco (Forbidden Broadway), reprising her role as Glinda the Good Witch from the original production at Curve in Leicester. Further casting is still to be announced.

You can see Bianco hosting our very own edition of “The Quiz-ard of Oz” with her previous cast mates in the video below:

Featuring numbers from the iconic original score by Harold Arlen and E Y Hardburg, including “Over The Rainbow”, “Follow The Yellow Brick Road” and “We’re Off To See the Wizard”, the piece also has additional songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

It received a glowing review from WhatsOnStage, being described as “sheer theatrical wizardry and far too good to miss.”

Directed by Nikolai Foster (Billy Elliot), The Wizard of Oz 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 consultancy by Mark Kaufman, musical direction and supervision by George Dyer, casting by Kay Magson, props supervision by Marcus Hall Props, and wigs, hair and make-up design by Elizabeth Marini.

The Wizard of Oz, presented by producer Michael Harrison, will run from 23 June to 3 September at The London Palladium, with a press night set for 6 July. Tickets are on sale below.