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JLS star Aston Merrygold is going to reprise his role as The Tin Man at selected dates on the current The Wizard of Oz UK and Ireland tour.

Aston recently starred in the show at the Liverpool Empire over Christmas, and will now join the tour at the Bristol Hippodrome from 2 to 7 April; the Palace Theatre Manchester from 24 April to 5 May; the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre from 11 to 16 June; and the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff from 23 to 28 July 2024.

The cast also includes Aviva Tulley (The Book of Mormon) as Dorothy; Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne, sharing the role of The Wicked Witch of the West at selected dates; plus Gary Wilmot (The Prince Of Egypt, Anything Goes), Allan Stewart (Stones in His Pockets) and Alex Bourne (Annie, Hairspray) sharing the role of The Wizard at selected dates.

Principal company members appearing at all venues also include Benjamin Yates (Emmerdale, Jersey Boys) as The Scarecrow, Nic Greenshields (Love Never Dies, Les Miserables) as The Cowardly Lion, Emily Bull (9 to 5, Matilda) as Glinda The Good Witch, and Abigail Matthews (Bleak Expectations, War Horse) as Toto.

The company is completed by: David Burrows, Adam Craig, Cole Dunn, Tyler Ephraim, Olivia Kate Holding, Thomas Kalek, Sadie Levett, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Martin McCarthy, Rose Ouellette, Fanja Parent, Alexandra Regan, Nathan Routledge and Sydney Spencer.

Jason Manford is also set to reprise his role as The Cowardly Lion in Manchester.

The musical, based on the iconic story by L. Frank Baum is currently touring following a successful run at the London Palladium in 2023. The show features the iconic original score from the Oscar-winning MGM film, including Over The Rainbow, Follow The Yellow Brick Road and We’re Off To See the Wizard, with additional songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

Aston said in a statement: “Performing as The Tin Man was so much fun. And working with such an incredible cast was an absolute pleasure. I can’t want to come back to such spectacular venues and to perform with this ridiculously talented lot again!”

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More about casting and dates

Aston Merrygold will perform as The Tin Man at the Bristol Hippodrome, Palace Theatre Manchester, Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff.

Craig Revel Horwood will perform as The Wicked Witch of the West at Grand Opera House, Belfast; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Milton Keynes Theatre; Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, where the role of The Wizard will be played by Alex Bourne. Craig is joined by Allan Stewart as The Wizard at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking; Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham; King’s Theatre, Glasgow and His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.

The Vivienne will appear at the Liverpool Empire as The Wicked Witch of the West alongside Alex Bourne as The Wizard, then touring to New Theatre, Oxford; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; New Theatre, Hull; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton and the Empire Theatre, Sunderland.

The Vivienne will be joined by Gary Wilmot as The Wizard at the following dates: Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh; Cliffs Pavilion Southend; Theatre Royal, Norwich; Venue Cymru, Llandudno; Wimbledon New Theatre and the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford and by Allan Stewart as The Wizard at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.

Jason Manford joins The Vivienne (The Wicked Witch of the West) and Allan Stewart (The Wizard) at the Manchester Palace for two-weeks only next spring as The Cowardly Lion. Across the rest of the tour, the role will be played by Nic Greenshields.

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Main photo: The Wizard of Oz. Aston Merrygold as The Tin Man. Photo provided by the production

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