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The Wizard of Oz has announced that booking for the brilliant new musical is to be extended through to January 2012 at the London Palladium. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest production has put over 350,000 new tickets on sale, reflecting the popular demand for a show described as the most magical adventure of all.

Danielle Hope Steps into the Ruby Slippers

Danielle Hope, the winner of BBC talent search Over the Rainbow, stars as Dorothy alongside West End veteran Michael Crawford as The Wizard. Hope is making her London stage debut in the production and hasn’t looked back since capturing the hearts of the country in the TV contest to find a girl who could play the role immortalised by Judy Garland on screen. Crawford has enjoyed a long and distinguished performing career. He famously originated the title role in The Phantom of the Opera after first becoming a household name in the 1970s when he played the hapless Frank Spencer in the hugely successful sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave ‘Em.

West End Stars Complete the Cast

Other cast members include Hannah Waddingham as The Wicked Witch of the West, Paul Keating as Scarecrow, Edward Baker-Duly as Tin Man, David Ganly as Lion and Emily Tierney as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

Waddingham originated the role of the Lady in the Lake in Spamalot (both in the West End and on Broadway). Keating is a two-time Olivier Award nominee whose work includes the title role in Tommy at the Shaftesbury Theatre and Seymour in The Little Shop of Horrors. Baker-Duly has starred in Gone With The Wind, Salad Days and West Side Story. Ganly’s credits include Amos Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre and The Full Monty at the Prince of Wales. Tierney has appeared in West End shows including All the Fun of the Fair and Wicked.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Based on the classic 1939 MGM movie, The Wizard of Oz is the brand new musical produced for the London stage by Bill Kenwright and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show tells the story of a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy who finds herself caught in a terrifying twister that sweeps her up into the heavens before dropping her back to earth into the mysterious Land of Oz. After meeting Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy learns that in order to get home she must travel along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to find the help of the all-powerful Wizard.

The London Palladium, arguably the world’s most famous theatre, is home to the new musical. The Wizard of Oz is directed by Jeremy Sams, choreographed by Arlene Phillips, and features additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - adding to the famous score created for the film by Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg.

Buy The Wizard of Oz Tickets