Bette Midler Returns to ‘Hello, Dolly!’ as Closing Announced

Bette Midler in ‘Hello, Dolly!’

As it celebrates its one year anniversary on Broadway today, April 20, 2018, producer Scott Rudin announced that Bette Midler, who received raves and the 2017 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her “perfect, once-in-a-lifetime Dolly” (New York Magazine), will return to the title role in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival ofHello, Dolly! on Tuesday, July 17, for a limited six-week-only engagement. Tickets for Ms. Midler’s return go on sale Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at HelloDollyOnBroadway.com, via Telecharge.com or at 212 239 6200, or in person at the Shubert Theatre box office (225 West 44^th Street).

After a much-lauded run, Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, capping a 60-year-long career, and who “electrifies the Shubert Theatre stage” (Newsday), will conclude her run, alongside four-time Tony Award nominee and six-time Emmy Award nominee Victor Garber, on Sunday, July 15 as scheduled. The production will close on Saturday, August 25, 2018.

Bernadette Peters in ‘Hello, Dolly!’ (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)

In a statement, Ms. Midler said, “I am delighted to return to the scene of one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I know the brilliant Bernadette Peters enjoyed her turn as much as I did. Dolly Levi is one of the most joyful characters in Broadway history, and Bernadette and I were lucky to be able to step into her glorious shoes.”

Ms. Peters said, “I am forever grateful to Bette for suggesting I step into the role of Dolly Levi. She was right. We both agree it is an amazing, joyful journey for us and the audience. And now I will hand the red dress back to my friend, the magnificent Bette Midler.”

Returning to their roles alongside Ms. Midler will be Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce, who received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his performance as Horace Vandergelder, and Gavin Creel (returning to the show Tuesday, May 8), who received a 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Cornelius Hackl.

Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, Hello, Dolly! began performances on Broadway on March 15, 2017, and officially opened on Thursday, April 20, 2017.

This production of Michael Stewart’s and Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!, broke the record for the best first day of ticket sales in Broadway history, the box office record at the Shubert Theatre twelve times, and shattered The Shubert Organization’s all-time-record ten times.

The first national tour of Hello, Dolly! kicks off October 2, 2018, in the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio, starring Tony Award-winning legend Betty Buckley.

Article source here:The Broadway Blog