The Vivienne, Aston Merrygold to star in 'Wizard of Oz' production

Annie Martin
·2 min read
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Sept. 11 (UPI) -- RuPaul's Drag Race UK Season 1 winner The Vivienne has joined a new production of The Wizard of Oz.

Producers announced Monday that The Vivienne, 31, and Aston Merrygold, 35, will star in the touring version of the West End revival of the musical.

Vivienne and Merrygold will play the Wicked Witch of the West and the Tin Man, respectively.

.@THEVIVIENNEUK is flying towards the Empire this Christmas! There's no place like The Liverpool Empire, so click your heels three times and see The Wizard of Oz this December

Wed 13 Dec - Sun 7 Jan ️ https://t.co/MHpe3fLgLy#thevivienne #wizardofoz #liverpool pic.twitter.com/BFeeXQ9EtQ— Liverpool Empire (@LiverpoolEmpire) September 11, 2023

The Wizard of Oz musical adapts the 1939 film of the same name, which was based on the L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The stage version features music by Harold Arlen and Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and Tim Rice.

The new production is directed by Nikolai Foster and will run at Liverpool Empire in Liverpool, U.K., from Dec. 13 to Jan. 7, 2024.

The wonderful @AstonMerrygold is off to see The Wizard!

He'll be winning over the hearts of @LiverpoolEmpire audiences this Christmas as The Tin Man in our spectacular production.

We can't wait to see you #overtherainbow #OzOnTour pic.twitter.com/H8X56Dp1sA— The Wizard of Oz (@yellowbrickroad) September 11, 2023

"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," Vivienne said in a statement. "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 one hundred times since," she added. "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."

Further casting will be announced soon.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK will return for a fifth season on WOW Presents Plus in the fall. The show introduced 10 new contestants for the season Monday.