West End cast announced for The Wizard of Oz revival

The Wizard of Oz is set to return to the West End – and casting has been revealed.

Set to appear are The Vivienne as The Wicked Witch of the West, and Aston Merrygold as the Tin Man. The JLS star took on the role for the production’s festive season in Liverpool last Christmas, and will now return for the show’s spell at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Other principal cast members appearing during the run include Aviva Tulley (The Book of Mormon) as Dorothy, Benjamin Yates (Jersey Boys) as The Scarecrow, Nic Greenshields (Les Misérables) as The Cowardly Lion and Abigail Matthews (War Horse) as Toto. Further cast is to be revealed, with Femi Akinfolarin to play all dates that Merrygold can’t appear at (20, 24, 27 and 31 August).

It received a glowing review at The London Palladium from WhatsOnStage, being described as “sheer theatrical wizardry and far too good to miss.” The show will also be touring early this year.

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 by Debbie O’Brien, props supervision by Marcus Hall Props, and wigs, hair and make-up design by Elizabeth Marini.