Danielle Hope News

Amanda Holden is pregnant but still playing our imprisoned princess in Shrek, Dorothy seeks the Wizard, and the Open Air Theatre promises another musical extravaganza...

One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in White River Junction when Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, stages L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz from December 8 - January 2.

Talking to the UK Telegraph, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber tells the paper that The Wizard of Oz, which opens in February 2011 in London (and already has a $13+ million dollar advance) will play America next, with talks underway to do a television casting show for Dorothy as he's done in the UK. Britain's loss could be America's gain, however. 'A couple of the networks in the US have wanted to build something around what I do on TV, and I think with Oz something is definitely going to happen there. The X Factor juggernaut is going to be huge there next year but other networks are looking for something to go against it. Once we've found a Dorothy in the US, my instinct is to open the show in Kansas [Dorothy's home].'

More from Production Manager Matt Towell as he shows us how the London Palladum is being transformed - this time we're BELOW the stage - and it's a bit noisy again!

Earlier this week, Dorothy, Danielle Hope performed 'Over the Rainbow' at the Royal Variety Performance in London at the Palladium. Michael Crawford, who will play The Wizard, introduced the segment.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was in attendance at A Night Of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards 2010 held last night at the Imperial War Museum.

We popped down to the rehearsal studios at the beginning of the week to see how the cast, creatives and crew of The Wizard of Oz got on on their first day of rehearsals. Choreographer Arlene Phillips welcomes us, we catch up with Hannah Waddingham and Danielle Hope, and spot a few more familiar faces in the rehearsal room - from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Michael Crawford to Tim Rice….

Meet our Toto! Regular visitors will be familiar with the antics of our "Cast by TV" Toto, Dangerous Dave, who was selected by the special panel of judges on the BBC's Over the Rainbow programme to appear at a special one-off gala performance of The Wizard of Oz ; however for every other performance of the show the role will be played a specially-trained dog… And so Bobbie, veteran of stage and screen, will soon be treading the boards of the world-famous London Palladium stage when The Wizard of Oz opens in February - you can get an early glimpse of Bobbie in action when he appears alongside Danielle Hope and 58 children in tomorrow evening's broadcast of The Royal Variety Performance (BBC1, Thursday 16th December, 8pm). In this video, Jerry Cott, Bobbie's owner and trainer, talks us through Toto's training schedule for the lead up to the big day…

In our latest video blog with Wizard of Oz Production Manager Matt Towell, he takes us on another (slightly noisy) tour of the London Palladium to see how the set-build is progressing. And this time, we're actually above the stage..! Watch out for more from the London Palladium and find more videos on the Wizard of Oz YouTube channel.

Last week we went backstage at the London Palladium to see our Dorothy Danielle Hope in rehearsal for the 2011 Royal Variety Performance, which saw her take to the Palladium stage ahead of her starring role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Danielle was introduced at the Royal Variety Performance, which was recorded live at the Palladium on Thursday 9th December, by our Wizard Michael Crawford. You can see her performance on the show in full on BBC1, Thursday 16th December from 8pm.

The Wizard of Oz promises to be the biggest theatre event of the West End year, combining all the much-loved songs from the Oscar-winning movie score with new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, marking the first time they have worked together in over 30 years on a new production. Last night, Dorothy, Danielle Hope performed 'Over the Rainbow' at the Royal Variety Performance in London at the Palladium. Michael Crawford, who will play The Wizard, introduced the segment.

One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in White River Junction when Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, stages L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz from December 8 - January 2.

After last week's revelations, we return to the London Palladium to see how Production Manager Matt Towell and his team are getting on with the process of transforming the world-famous Theatre into the land of Oz…

One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life in White River Junction when Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, stages L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz from December 8 - January 2.

EDWARD BAKER-DULY (Tin Man), DAVID GANLY (Lion), PAUL KEATING (Scarecrow), EMILY TIERNEY (Glinda) and HANNAH WADDINGHAM (Wicked Witch of the West) are to join Michael Crawford and Danielle Hope in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ, opening at The London Palladium in February 2011.

It's all change at the London Palladium! After yesterday's introductory video blog, in our latest update Matt Towell - The Wizard of Oz Production Manager - takes us on a (slightly noisy) tour of the London Palladium stage as his team begin the process of creating the wonderful world of Oz onstage at the world-famous theatre…

In our latest Wizard of Oz video blog we catch up with Production Manager Matt Towell as he talks us through the early stages of the show's production process. From flying effects to health and safety; working in a listed building to taking part in the 'sitzprobe'… the hard work has barely begun at the London Palladium!

Time for another video update from our Dorothy, Danielle Hope! Danielle tells us what she's been up to during her training at Arts Educational School in London, gives us her thoughts on the upcoming Wizard of Oz rehearsals, spills the beans on the Royal Variety Performance, and introduces her new website - which you can check out at www.daniellehope.co.uk.

The cream of music, comedy and theatre will come together in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, at the iconic London Palladium, for the 82nd annual Royal Variety Performance - as the Palladium itself celebrates a very special birthday this year, reaching its 100th anniversary on 26th December.

Set to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ are Michael Crawford as The Wizard and Danielle Hope, the winner of the BBC's smash hit Over The Rainbow, when the show opens at the London Palladium next year. Variety has the first scoop from Jeremy Sams, who is directing and who has re-written the book. Sams tells the publication that:...