Bette Midler as “Dolly Levi” (Photo Credit: Julieta Cervantes)
First look at Bette Midler’s star turn in the upcoming Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!
The new production, set to open at the Shubert Theater April 20, begins previews tomorrow night. Already box office record have been broken in anticipation of the divine Miss M’s debut as the irascible matchmaker.
The upcoming revival of Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s masterpiece Hello, Dolly!, starring legendary performer Bette Midler, has quickly become the hottest ticket of the year. Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle.
This Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of this classic musical (based on Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker) to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, will pay tribute to the original work of legendary director/ choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.
As regular Randy Report readers may know, I made my Broadway debut in the last revival of Dolly! with original Tony Award winning star Carol Channing in 1995. I staged the national tour of the production after we closed on Broadway, and at least 10 times since then. I’m still in love with the show.
Wishing everyone at the Shubert Theater a wondermous run with the show.
Lynne Wintersteller stars as “Dolly Levi” in HELLO, DOLLY! at Sacramento Music Circus
These past few weeks I’ve been working at Sacramento Music Circus, one of the premier professional summer theaters in the country, handling the choreographer duties for Hello, Dolly! starring the luminous Lynne Wintersteller.
This is my fourth season at SMC, and my second collaboration with the organization’s Artistic Director, Glenn Casale.
The process of assembling this fab team was really about as smooth as you can get. The principals are all top notch New York City based actors, and the dancers (my primary connection) were a dream. The day after I would give notes, you could see the info digested, processed and applied. Everything just kept getting better.
As a choreographer my biggest challenge was taking my 20 years of experience with Hello, Dolly!, utilizing primarily the original choreographic ideas of the great Gower Champion, and adapting those intentions into a production that plays in the round. Also, while I adhere to the Champion style, I did create new steps in several sections to further the storytelling.
For example, a few of the sections of the “Waiters Gallop” are completely brand new because I really wanted to focus on what the text says about the waiters of the Harmonia Gardens restaurant – that they are “the fastest waiters in New York.” Often, the “Gallop” gets treated a bit like “circus” tricks for no reason other than to be athletic or showy. I wanted every section to hone in on the idea of speed and skill.
Also, most productions switch out lots of props during the 7 sections of the “Waiters Gallop.” But when doing Dolly in the round, offstage prop tables would be located up the 100+ feet aisles. There was no time to run the male dancers up and down the aisles. So, I went back to the foundation of what we were trying to communicate and, using Gower Champion’s style and vocabulary, built new sections with the emphasis on true dancing.
For more info head over to Sacramento Music Circus’ website. If you really want a terrific all-American way to start your 4th of July weekend, this is really the ticket.
Here’s a bit of what the critics said:
From the Davis Enterprise: “With direction by Glenn Casale, choreography by Randy Slovacek and costumes by Marcy Froehlich, this production is just stunning. Each of Dolly’s musical numbers is a show-stopper, perhaps most of all “Before the Parade Passes By,” an amazingly choreographed number that ends Act 1. The dancing of the six waiters in the Waiters’ Gallop is stunning and when Dolly makes her entrance to the title song, well … you know you are seeing classic theater.”
From Sacramento Press: “Among the musical highlights are the songs “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment” and, of course, the title tune. Several dance set pieces are outstanding, especially “Elegance” and “The Waiters’ Gallop,” which features some pretty amazing coordination. The choreography is by Randy Slovacek and the striking costumes are by Marcy Froehlich. Glenn Casale, who in his 20 years with Music Circus and Broadway Sacramento has directed more than 50 productions, creates joy in bringing this delightful show to life. His direction is perfection.”
From Sacramento365.com: “While the choreography and staging was exemplary throughout, the performances of “The Waiters Gallop,” and “Hello, Dolly!” were my favorites. As the cast sings and dances across the stage, the members of the audience around me lit up with excitement and cheer. When a production has the power to do this you know it’s a great show. I can’t recommend Music Circus’ production of Hello, Dolly! enough.”
From BroadwayWorld: “Glenn Casale’s direction and Craig Barna’s musical direction hit a sweet spot with an ensemble whose vocals blend beautifully and an outstanding orchestra. Inventive choreographer Randy Slovacek also takes full advantage of the athletic cast and the Music Circus aisles and round stage in routines that ultimately steal the spotlight in a lively and enthusiastic production.”
From the Sacramento Bee: “The Music Circus at its best – as it is with the current “Hello Dolly!” – casts a warming glow. A title as venerable and familiar as “Dolly!” feels known, but what sure-handed director Glenn Casale’s lustrous production accomplishes is not reinvent the classic but reveal its greatness.”
Here’s some production photos (click pics to enlarge) and a video montage of the show. You can see some of my work there in “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Dancing,” “Before The Parade Passes By,” “The Waiters Gallop,” and the title tune “Hello Dolly.”
Broadway World has the details on the meeting of two icons:
Broadway’s newest Dolly Gallagher Levi met the classic original last week, as the fabulous Bette Midler was introduced to the legendary Carol Channing.
Channing, who is now 95, took Broadway by storm and got a Tony Award, too, when she opened in the original 1964 production of Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s HELLO, DOLLY!, a musical version of Thornton Wilder’s THE MATCHMAKER.
Bette Midler stars in the upcoming Broadway revival, which begins previewing March 15, 2017, with an official opening night of April 20, 2017. Four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks directs and Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce joins Midler as leading man Horace Vandergelder.
Stage and screen star Bette Midler has announced that she will play Dolly Gallagher Levi in a Broadway revival of the blockbuster 1964 musical, Hello, Dolly!
Four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks will direct, and Tony winner Warren Carlyle will choreograph the production, which will begin Broadway previews March 13, 2017, and open April 20 at a theatre to be announced.
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!”
Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman said, “Many times through the years I’ve been asked about bringing back Hello, Dolly! – and it has always been, ‘Who would be my dream Dolly?’ – and though I’ve had literally dozens of names tossed at me, I knew that we needed more than just a wonderful singer or a wonderful actor, so I held on to the hope that she would also be a distinctly original persona. Who is out there that has the necessary stature, warmth, the incredible talent and ability, and especially the singular, out-sized personality that I was looking for in a 21st century Dolly? Only one person: Bette Midler. Only Bette could bring Dolly brilliantly back to ‘the lights of 14th Street!'”
“There has not been a new production in 50 years,” Rudin told The Associated Press. “Partly it was the difficulty of who could play Dolly. It had to be someone who could take it to a different level. Bette is the only one who can. Never has there been something more inevitable than her in this role.”
I made my Broadway debut in 1995 in the last revival, which starred Tony Award-winner (and original “Dolly Levi”) Carol Channing, and it was truly a gift to be a part of.
A few years ago, when Tony Award winners Patti Lupone and director Jack O’Brien were in talks to bring the show back to Broadway, I was asked by Jerry Herman himself to choreograph the production. Unfortunately, Lupone and O’Brien had some artistic differences and the production never came to fruition. For several months, I spoke with the producer attached to the project at the time and certainly Bette was on the top of our list.
Regular readers of The Randy Report know I spend half my life as a freelance writer and blogger here at The Randy Report, and the the other half working in the theater as a director/choreographer.
The past two weeks I’ve been deep in rehearsals choreographing Hello, Dolly! at the Wick Theater in Boca Raton, Florida, with my Dolly! partner in crime and Broadway stalwart, Lee Roy Reams. This marks our 8th production of Dolly! together, but this one has a twist 🙂
Not only are we exploring this gorgeous Jerry Herman/Michael Stewart show once again, we’re digging into even deeper levels as Lee Roy becomes the first male actor in America to play the leading role.
In an era of marriage equality and LGBT rights becoming a regular part of the daily news cycle, what could be more appropriate? And to be clear – Lee Roy is very specific in his portrayal. He is not playing a drag queen, he’s playing “Dolly Levi” straight – no winking at the audience.
Photo: Amy Pasquantonio
“Danny La Rue did it years ago in England,” Reams says. “But I never saw that show. In England they are accustomed to men playing women’s roles and vice versa.”
The production and casting come complete with the blessing of Dolly! composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, who won Tony Awards for not only Hello, Dolly! but Mame and La Cage Aux Folles.
“I love this show,” Reams says. “It was my second show with Carol Channing. When I was in ‘Lorelei’ with Carol we became close. When they were doing a revival she called me. That voice. She said, ‘Hello Lee Roy. It’s Carol.’ Like I didn’t know. She said, ‘Look, I want you to play Cornelius Hackl. The director doesn’t know you, so you have to audition. But don’t worry, you got the job.’ “
He has directed Uggams, Madeline Kahn, Michele Lee, French star Nicole Croisille and others in the role over the years.
Reams adds, “Bringing a male perspective to that character will make it more interesting to me. I’ve told so many ladies how to do it and now I’ll find out if what I said works.
“The atmosphere is prime. It’s time. People are no longer being told what they should play. People can play all kinds of roles now, regardless [of] their sexual orientation or ethnicity. I think we’re all more open to that now. And I think (producer) Marilynn Wick is so brave to do this.”
The reviews are just starting to come in, and they are raves. Rod Stafford Hagwood, reviewing for SouthFlorida.com, wrote;
“He (Reams) has given the 51-year-old musical a sense of briskness and brightness with some triumphant choreography by Randy Slovacek and wow-pow moments courtesy of musical director Michael Ursua.”
This isn’t the first time Reams has broken barriers: in 1970 he became the first actor to play an openly gay character in a major Broadway musical. Long before others bravely hit the boards in gay roles, Reams played Lauren Bacall’s openly gay hairdresser & confidante “Duane Fox” in Applause in 1970. One of our great “elder gays,” he has represented the gay community proudly, never attempting to hide who he is.
Beyond the gender bending aspect of this production, Reams adds that the story’s themes are what make the show still relevant today, especially in a presidential election cycle.
“The thing that continues to amaze me is how good a show it is,” Reams says. “The music is just perfect and the book is so strong. That money speech is as current now as it was then. That’s when Dolly says, ‘The surest way to keep us out of harm is to give us the four or five human pleasures that are right in the world… and that takes a little money.’
“And then she says, ‘The difference between a little money and no money at all is enormous, and can shatter the world. And the difference between a little money and an enormous amount of money is very slight, and that can shatter the world too.’
“Now tell me that isn’t what everything going on these days in the news is all about?”
Hello, Dolly! runs through Dec. 6 at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. For ticket info, go to TheWick.org.
• Did you know big pharmaceutical companies can PAY generic drug makers to delay making those meds available to us, costing Americans $3.5 billion a year?
• Alleged Philly gay-basher Kathryn Knott heads to trial December 9th to defend herself for her part in an attack that left a man with a shattered jaw needing to be wired shut for months.
• “Pawn Star” reality celeb Rick Harrison bemoans the fact that he loses business for supporting anti-LGBT politicians.
• Despite all the moans from Republicans/conservatives, the U.S. deficit just hit a seven year low. #ThanksObama
• Sen. Marco Rubio surges to 3rd in New Hampshire poll after debate performance.
Me with director (and star) of Hello, Dolly!, Lee Roy Reams
Enjoying having a little free time to get back to blogging today after two full weeks of rehearsals for Hello, Dolly! here in Florida at The Wick Theater.
Last night, we had our final run-through in the rehearsal hall, and tomorrow start tech rehearsals in the theater.
It’s always amazing to me to watch the “magic” show up. The run went well; our director (and star) Lee Roy Reams was a force of nature as “Dolly Levi.”
This marks my 8th production of Hello, Dolly! with Lee Roy after making my Broadway debut in the 1995 revival which he directed. Each and every production is an adventure. I so enjoy not only at Lee Roy’s talent, but when I ask him to tell tales from his storied career on Broadway, he always shares some hysterical chapter from his life. And the laughs don’t stop.
I should be taking more pics but I’ve had my hands full with dance rehearsals. Definitely more to come.
It’s wonderful, also, to be able to slow down today and remember how much I love working in theater. I ask the universe for these “adventures,” and they come.
Thank you.
Before the parade passes by, I’m going to get some life back into my life…
I’m in rehearsals for Hello, Dolly! at The Wick Theater in Boca Raton, Florida, so I figure it’s time for a little #TBT.
The above pic was from the 1995 Broadway revival of Dolly with Carol Channing (who else?) at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on West 46th Street, taken during the “Hello Dolly” number. I’m far right in the pic closest to Carol (there in the shadows, but happy to be there).
Below is the end of the very athletic “Waiter’s Gallop.” I’m second from the left with the shish kabob in my hand. Please note my pulled up feet 🙂
Staging the show now, and passing on what I learned with such a beautiful, wonderful company on Broadway always makes me smile.
Just to underscore that, I always share that in 22 months, no one left the company. We were all so happy to be there. That sounds so pollyanna, but it’s true. Trust me – that isn’t always the atmosphere backstage on Broadway.
I’ve been working hard in Boca Raton, Florida, this week where I’m choreographing Hello, Dolly! again with my partner in crime, Lee Roy Reams.
This time will be a little different, though, because Lee Roy is not only directing again but starring – as “Dolly Levi.”
This was the first week of rehearsals and this morning we do a crawl through of Act One. The dancers have been great picking up all the choreography, and working with Lewis Stadlen, James Clow and Susan Powell again on this show has made me laugh all week.
Next week we move on to Act Two, including the “big number” itself – “Hello Dolly.”
So I was in the mood to throw back to 1995 when I did this fab musical wonder with the original legend herself, Carol Channing.
