In a piece of casting that can only be described as perfect, Bette Midler will appear in a new Broadway revival of the musical Hello, Dolly! as lead character and larger-than-life meddling matchmaker extraordinaire Dolly Levi.
No word on the rest of the cast yet, but then again, it’s Hello, Dolly! and not Good Morning, Mister Vandergelder for a reason.
That’s according to the Associated Press. They talked to producer Scott Rudin, who noted there hasn’t been a new production in decades. “Partly it was the difficulty of who could play Dolly. It had to be someone who could take it to a different level,” he said. “Bette is the only one who can. Never has there been something more inevitable than her in this role.”
Previous Broadway Dollys include Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Phillis Diller and 1964 originator Carol Channing. “I know I’m going to have the time of my life,” Midler said in a statement to the Daily News.
Shows are scheduled to start March 2017 for an April 20, 2017 opening night. In the meantime, this is a great excuse to watch the 1969 film version. (Not that you need an excuse.)
