We’re off to see Oz again

1/2

A new production of The Wizard Of Oz will be premiered at the Royal Festival Hall this summer.

It is the first major staging of the musical in the capital for more than 20 years.

Jude Kelly, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, will direct the Royal Shakespeare Company's stage version, which closely follows the classic Metro-Goldwyn Mayer film of 1939, starring Judy Garland.

The show will run from 23 July to 31 August, and during this period the Festival Hall will be bathed at night in green light, while a yellow brick road will guide visitors to the venue.

Kelly, an award-winning director of more than 40 productions, said: "The Wizard Of Oz has left an indelible impression on more than four generations. From its beginning as an American folk-fairy tale, it has grown into something that lies at the very heart of what we feel about courage and homecoming.

"With its stunning visual iconography, glorious music and the unabashed vulnerability of its cast of characters — be they lions, wizards or men of tin — it fulfils the evergreen role of a true classic. I've directed The Wizard Of Oz once before and the great thing about it is that it responds equally well to the imagination of theatre-making as to the wonderful Technicolor of film."

The stage show will have 30 actors but the leading roles have not yet been cast. A 20-piece band will play Arlen and Harburg's classic songs such as Over The Rainbow, We're Off To See The Wizard and Follow The Yellow Brick Road.

This version of the story, adapted by John Kane from the movie, was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican in 1987, with a young Imelda Staunton playing Garland's role of Dorothy Gale. The production comes after the West End success of Wicked, a Wizard Of Oz spinoff musical, which tells how Elphaba and Glinda came to be the Wicked Witch Of The West and the Good Witch Of The North respectively, familiar to the millions of people who have seen the film.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in