The Wizard of Oz is a 2011 musical based on the 1939 film of the same name in turn based on L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with a book adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams. The musical uses the Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg songs from the film and includes some new songs and additional music by Lloyd Webber and additional lyrics by Tim Rice. It is the third stage musical adaptation of the film following the 1942 version for the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny) and the 1987 version for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
After previews in the West End from 7 February, the musical opened on 1 March 2011, directed by Jeremy Sams, and closed on 2 September 2012. The roles and original cast included Danielle Hope as Dorothy Gale, and Sophie Evans as alternative Dorothy, Michael Crawford as the Wizard, Paul Keating as the Scarecrow, Edward Baker-Duly as the Tin Man, David Ganly as the Cowardly Lion, Helen Walsh as Aunt Em, Stephen Scott as Uncle Henry, Emily Tierney was Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Hannah Waddingham as the Wicked Witch of the West, and four different West Highland Terriers alternated in the role of Toto.
The role of Dorothy was cast through the 2010 reality television show Over the Rainbow, in which Hope won and Evans was the runner-up. After a similar Canadian reality TV search show, a Toronto production (starring Danielle Wade as Dorothy) began in December 2012 and closed in August 2013, and was followed by a North American tour. In April 2017 an Australian tour was announced including a season at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, and at the Adelaide Festival Theatre.
The cast includes Anthony Warlow as the Wizard, with Lucy Durack as Glinda the Good Witch and Jemma Rix as Wicked Witch of the West. In 2023, the musical was revived at the London Palladium for a limited season, following a run at Curve, Leicester.
-Wikipedia
Genre(s):
Soundtrack,
Musical
Associated Acts:
The Wizard Of Oz