Carol Channing is Dolly happy about Bette Midler’s new role
By Ben Kelly
Theatre legend Carol Channing, who originated the title role in Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! has given her blessing to Bette Midler, who has announced she will head up a new production in 2017.
Speaking to Broadway World, 95 year old Channing said, “Bette will be brilliant! Dolly is the kind of character that everyone should be blessed to play. Dolly is an institution- the American musical equivalent to Hamlet.”
The first Broadway production of Hello Dolly! originally ran with 2,844 performances from 1964 to 1970, and a 1969 movie version starring Barbra Streisand won three Academy Awards.
The story follows Dolly Levi, a strong-willed, middle aged widow who is now something of a matchmaker for other couples.
The part was originally intended for Ethel Merman, who then turned it down, and so Channing became the originator of one of theatre’s best female parts. She won the Tony Award for her performance in 1964, and returned to Broadway as Dolly in 1978 and 1995.
Bette Midler originally played a chorus part in Broadway’s Fiddler On The Roof, before she was famous. Her legendary early concert appearances in New York then earned her a special Tony Award for ‘adding lustre’ to the 1974 Broadway season. She last appeared in a limited engagement in 2013, in a one woman show called I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers.
Bette’s turn in Hello, Dolly! is set to begin previews on March 13, 2017, with an official opening night on April 20, 2017.
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