Aston Merrygold and The Vivienne to star in THE WIZARD OF OZ in Liverpool this Christmas
It has been announced that JLS star Aston Merrygold will play The Tin Man and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne will play The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz at Liverpool Empire this Christmas.
The new musical, based on the iconic story by L. Frank Baum, opens its UK and Ireland tour at the venue following a celebrated run at the world-famous London Palladium, playing an extended festive season from 13 December 2023 – 7 January 2024.
Aston Merrygold said: “Liverpool is such a special place to me and my family, it was only a year ago that I got married there! The Wizard of Oz is such an iconic story with such timeless characters and audiences of any age will delight in this new production full of laughter, excitement and a lot of colour. I can’t wait to return to the city for a fantastic festive season this Christmas as The Tin Man, it’s going to be incredible!”
The Vivienne adds: “It is quite literally a dream come true to be asked to play The Wicked Witch of the West and to bring this amazing character to life this Christmas. The Wizard of Oz means everything to me, it’s the ultimate story of overcoming adversity. I first saw the movie aged five and I’ve probably seen it about 100 times since. I played The Tin Man at primary school and got to skate to ‘Over The Rainbow’ on Dancing on Ice so it’s fair to say I’ve had a life-long love affair with the story. Your favourite characters are all there, telling the story you know and love … but with SO much more added to this new production. Prepare to be whisked into an amazing new world of colour. Performing in Liverpool is always a complete joy, and this will actually be my first-time stepping foot on the Empire stage after years of seeing productions there, so it’s a complete honour!”
Further news to follow on additional casting for Liverpool and all casting for later venue dates.
Following it’s Christmas season at the Liverpool Empire, complete dates for The Wizard of Oz’s UK and Ireland tour are today confirmed as: New Theatre, Oxford; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; New Theatre, Hull; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh; Cliffs Pavilion, Southend; Theatre Royal, Norwich; Venue Cymru, Llandudno; Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; Theatre Royal, Newcastle; Palace Theatre, Manchester; New Victoria Theatre, Woking; Grand Opera House, Belfast; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham; King's Theatre, Glasgow; His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen; Milton Keynes Theatre; Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff; Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, before concluding it’s run at the Sunderland Empire next August.
Directed by Nikolai Foster, The Wizard of Oz has choreography by Shay Barclay, with set designer by Colin Richmond, projection design by Douglas O’Connell, costume and puppet design by Rachael Canning, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound by Adam Fisher, musical direction and musical supervision by George Dyer, and casting by Debbie O’Brien.
To book tickets for select touring venues, please click here.