Theatre News

Full casting for ”The Wizard of Oz” at The London Palladium announced

| London |

26 April 2023

Georgina Onuorah has been announced as the lead role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz this summer, produced by Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group.

Onuorah is currently performing as Ado Annie in the multi-award-winning production of Oklahoma! at the Wyndham’s Theatre. She previously played the role of Dorothy in the five-star Curve, Leicester production of The Wizard of Oz last year. Her other credits include Millennials at The Other Palace and the Alternate Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. She graduated from the Arts Educational School in 2020, where she was awarded the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Scholarship.

This brand-new production of The Wizard of Oz begins performances on Friday 23 June, with press night on Thursday 6 July. Onuorah joins the previously announced cast of Jason Manford (The Cowardly Lion), Ashley Banjo (The Tin Man), Dianne Pilkington (The Wicked Witch of the West), Louis Gaunt (The Scarecrow), Christina Bianco (Glinda The Good Witch) and Gary Wilmot (The Wizard/Professor Marvel).

The full cast is completed by Ben Thompson (Toto), Annie Southall, Charlotte St Croix, Claire O’Leary, Eamonn Cox, Emily Ann Potter, Geoff Aymer, Harrison Wilde, Jacqui Dubois, Jessica Daley, Jonathan Dryden Taylor, Lauren Stroud, Marley Fenton, Michael Lin and Sam Stones.

“It’s thrilling to announce today that Georgina will play Dorothy in our new production of The Wizard of Oz. She is a rare talent with great warmth. When she first played the role in Leicester last year, her soaring rendition of “Over The Rainbow” brought the whole house to their feet. She completes our casting, and along with Jason, Ashley, Dianne, Gary, Louis and Christina, is going to ensure it will be a summer to remember at the Palladium,” said Michael Harrison.

The production features the iconic original score from the Oscar-winning MGM film, including “Over The Rainbow”, “Follow The Yellow Brick Road” and “We’re Off To See the Wizard”, with additional songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

Directed by Nikolai Foster (Billy Elliot The Musical, A Chorus Line), 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 direction by Kay Magson CDG, props supervision by Marcus Hall Props and wigs, hair and makeup design by Elizabeth Marini.

Tickets are on sale below.