It's a really hard part to cast, especially because of the intensity Eartha Kitt brought to it. There are many of these featured older women parts that every diva can cycle through (Carlotta in FOLLIES, etc.) but there's a quality to Delores that makes most of those divas seem a bit off for it. There are very few people that can match that kind of energy. (I'm not sure if they're going to go for an all-Black cast, and she's also been dead for ten years, but Julie Wilson is the only person I can think of who would fit it to a T). Donna McKechnie played her off-West End in 2017, and as much as I admire her, I can't see that working. I'm very intrigued to see who they'll get!
Come to think of it, many of the parts in this show are so tailored for specific performers that it'll be very interesting to see how they cast this. Burrs as well, especially.
I'm very excited for this season, which seems a bit of a return to form for ENCORES!. There's not much of a commercial edge to this show, nor HIGH SPIRITS.
"I feel safe with you, and complete with you / I'm always finding money in the street with you."
-Sheldon Harnick
