HELLO DOLLY – The much-anticipated revival of Hello, Dolly!, headlined by Bette Midler, will begin performances at the venue on March 13, 2017. Tony winner David Hyde Pierce also stars in the production, which will be directed by four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony winner Warren Carlyle. The show is scheduled to officially open on April 20 at the Shubert Theatre.
Midler issued a statement saying, “I am looking forward to portraying one of the most beloved characters in all of American Musical Comedy, Dolly Levi, born Gallagher, in Hello, Dolly! I know I’m going to have the time of my life, and I am so glad to be under the wings of Scott Rudin as Producer and Jerry Zaks as Director. See you next year!”
The title role, one of the greatest leading lady roles in musical theatre, was written for Ethel Merman, but ultimately originated by Carol Channing, who won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical for the role, and also starred in the most recent Broadway revival of the musical in 1995. During its original run the role was played by Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Mary Martin, Phyllis Diller, Bibi Osterwald, Thelma Carpenter, Pearl Bailey and, at last, Merman.
Produced by Scott Rudin, the show has a book by Michael Stewart, based on The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder. It won a then-record ten Tony Awards in 1964, including Best Musical, and ran 2,844 performances making it briefly the longest running musical in Broadway history.
