Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group have announced that Strictly Come Dancing’s longest-standing judge, Craig Revel Horwood, will play The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz at Birmingham Hippodrome and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner and Dancing on Ice finalist, The Vivienne, will play the same role at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in 2024.

The new musical, based on the iconic story by L. Frank Baum, tours the UK and Ireland throughout 2024, following a celebrated run at the world-famous London Palladium.

Join Dorothy, Toto and friends on an unforgettable adventure down the yellow brick road to the merry old land of Oz.

Featuring 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 - this spectacular production will be a truly magical experience for all the family.

Craig started his career as a performer in musical theatre in his home country of Australia, moving to London to appear in many West End musicals including Miss Saigon and Crazy for You. After many years, he returned to the West End starring as Miss Hannigan in Annie, which he also twice successfully toured around the UK. He has starred in pantomime every year with roles including the Wicked Queen in Snow White, Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella.

The Vivienne is without doubt the UK's No.1 drag superstar, after emerging as the original champion of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Since then, she has become a huge star both in the UK and internationally appearing on TV regularly and releasing music for fans across the globe. 2022 saw The Vivienne's TV career go global when she appeared on 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars All Winners' on US TV.

2023 saw The Vivienne make history as the first drag star to appear on a major UK reality competition series, competing in 'Dancing On Ice' on ITV. Viv made it all the way through the Top 3, with breathtaking performances in the final. 2023 also saw The Vivienne become the face and voice of the BBC's Eurovision Song Contest trailers. In addition, she performed 'Waterloo' at the massive Eurovision opening ceremony in Liverpool city centre.

The Wizard of Oz plays Birmingham Hippodrome from 11 – 16 June 2024. Tickets are on sale here. It then visit Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 30 July – Sunday 4 August 2024. Tickets are on sale here.