Bette Midler-Led Hello, Dolly! Revival Finds Its Minnie Fay
(© courtesy of DKC/O&M)
Casting is complete for Broadway's new revival of Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly! The revival, which is set to star Bette Midler in the title role, will feature Beanie Feldstein in her Broadway debut as Minnie Fay.
As previously announced, Tony nominees Kate Baldwin (Giant), Gavin Creel (She Loves Me), and Jennifer Simard (Disaster!) are among the Broadway vets who will join Tony winner David Hyde Pierce and music icon Midler in the upcoming production. Directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, the revival will begin previews at the Shubert Theatre on March 15, 2017, with an official opening night set for April 20, 2017.
With Midler as Dolly Levi and Pierce as Horace Vandergelder, the production will feature Baldwin as Irene Molloy, Creel as Cornelius, Taylor Trensch (Matilda The Musical) as Barnaby, Melanie Moore (Fiddler on the Roof) as Ermengarde, Simard as Ernestina, and Will Burton (An American in Paris) as Ambrose Kemper.
The 27-member ensemble will consist of Cameron Adams, Phillip Attmore, Giuseppe Bausilio, Justin Bowen, Elizabeth Earley, Taeler Elyse Cyrus, Leslie Donna Flesner, Jenifer Foote, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Blake Hammond, Stephen Hanna, Michael Hartung, Robert Hartwell, Amanda LaMotte, Analisa Leaming, Jess LeProtto, Ian Liberto, Kevin Ligon, Michael McCormick, Nathan Madden, Linda Mugleston, Hayley Podschun, Jessica Sheridan, Michaeljon Slinger, Christian Dante White, Branch Woodman, Ryan Worsing, and Richard Riaz Yoder.
The creative team includes Santo Loquasto (scenic and costume design), Natasha Katz (lighting design), Scott Lehrer (sound design), Andy Einhorn (music direction), Larry Hochman (orchestrations), Don Pippin (vocal arrangements), and Glen Kelly (dance arrangements).
Based on Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! first premiered on Broadway in 1964, starring Carol Channing in the title role. The most recent revival, in 1995, starred Channing in a return appearance. In addition to Channing, the role has been played by Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman (in her last appearance on Broadway), and Mary Martin, who led the West End company.
