HELLO, DOLLY! Sets August 25 Closing Date; Bette Midler to Return July 17 — Page 5

DAME said: "haterobics said: "Luscious said: "Almost certain that the show will be filmed.Bringing back Bette is a no-brainer, but the fact that DHP and Creel are also returning to the production bodes well for it being filmed. Hopefully, for a commercial release, but a theatrical release at the very least."

Quite a coup for Charlie Stemp, he gets to join the original cast now, too."



Will Beanie come back? Because that new girl did nothing for me.

"

And please let Jennifer Simard come back as Ernestina!

Luscious said: "Almost certain that the show will be filmed.Bringing back Bette is a no-brainer, but the fact that DHP and Creel are also returning to the production bodes well for it being filmed. Hopefully, for a commercial release, but a theatrical release at the very least."

But what would that do to the tour? They’d have to wait until the tour ended before releasing the filmed production with Bette in any capacity.

The delusion is strong in this thread. Liza's Headband was the one who said the show recouped three weeks ago. I said that on DL the rumor was the show wasn't making as much of its investment back as they'd hoped. But the proof is in the pudding. If a show is on solid financial footing it wouldn't announce a closing after less than 18 months. Seriously. It doesn't matter how much money it was making in the box office. Obviously those funds weren';t enough to cover the costs of the investment enough to keep the show running.

poisonivy2 said: "I said that on DL ..."

I never trust people on the DL.

Does anyone know if they actually were ever in serious talks with any stars to replace Peters? Or was this the plan all along? I remember there were rumors around the time that Bette Midler left that she would possibly return, but that obviously doesn't mean that those rumors were true at the time.

DAME, my first question was whether Donna would return as Midler's alternate, but my second was, "is Beanie coming back?" Because I agree with you, that girl did nothing for me either. I *really* missed Beanie.

Updated On: 4/20/18 at 04:45 PM

ray-andallthatjazz86 said: "Does anyone know if they actually were ever in serious talks with any stars to replace Peters? Or was this the plan all along? I remember there were rumors around the time that Bette Midler left that she would possibly return, but that obviously doesn't mean that those rumors were true at the time."

If we make up enough rumors and speculation, some of it is bound to come true...

haterobics said: "ray-andallthatjazz86 said: "Does anyone know if they actually were ever in serious talks with any stars to replace Peters? Or was this the plan all along? I remember there were rumors around the time that Bette Midler left that she would possibly return, but that obviously doesn't mean that those rumors were true at the time."

Ifwe make up enough rumors and speculation, some of it is bound to come true..."

Well, for that matter, the show will not close after Midler's return either. They will be "happy to announce the show will go on."

I still don't understand what the weekly nut is. I feel much bigger shows and with bigger casts stay on Broadway longer with vastly lower box office numbers. What makes Dolly without Midler's salary so costly to run?

RippedMan said: "Makes sense to me. Close it. Use the sets for the tour. Save some money. Scale it down and send it non-Equity the next year and make $$$."

I feel like non-Equity would take away a lot of the appeal. I know this production is wonderful and Tony-winning, but having an unknown, non-Equity woman as Dolly wouldn't make any money.

For a bunch of people who spend a lot of time staring at this website, it is astonishing to me how much delusion and naivete is exhibited in this thread. People either don't pay attention, or willfully ignore the facts. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Elegance101 said: "RippedMan said: "Makes sense to me. Close it. Use the sets for the tour. Save some money. Scale it down and send it non-Equity the next year and make $$$."

I feel like non-Equity would take away a lot of the appeal. I know this production is wonderful and Tony-winning, but having an unknown, non-Equity woman as Dolly wouldn't make any money."

I feel confident that at least 90% of the subscribers at my theatre have no idea who Betty Buckley is. And they don't care who is in the cast of any of the shows they buy tickets to. And they certainly don't know what Equity vs non-Equity means.

HogansHero said: "For a bunch of people who spend a lot of time staring at this website, it is astonishing to me how much delusion and naivete is exhibited in this thread. People either don't pay attention, or willfully ignore the facts. It would be funny if it weren't so sad."

Hogan, care to be slighty more specific?

10086sunset said: "At least this will end the painful talk of Peters extending after Mozart in the Jungle's cancellation."

That talk ended more than a week ago.

Eliza2 said: “I feel confident that at least 90% of the subscribers at my theatre have no idea who Betty Buckley is. And they don't care who is in the cast of any of the shows they buy tickets to. And they certainly don't know what Equity vs non-Equity means."

SmokeyLady said: “They are idiots.”



I’ve got people who work in my office who have never heard of Bernadette Peters. I asked one of my co-workers today if they’d ever heard of the show “Hello, Dolly!” and they seriously answered/asked if it was about Dolly Parton.

And I personally had never heard of Betty Buckley before the tour was announced.

A good chunk of America truly enjoy the quality, official Broadway National Tours that come through their towns. And yes, the ones that aren’t official or are non-Equity, well, maybe they don’t know the difference or what that means. I do, but only since I became a regular here.

Americans who do subscribe to see these Broadway National Tours, as if it were almost an afterthought, trust absolutely the producers of the shows to put in experienced actors and actresses to give standout performances. It’s not that they don’t care who’s in the cast. Maybe the ticket holders don’t know who the performers are by name. It’s that they, we, are paying to see a high quality show, a Broadway National Tour, and expect, hope, and dream to be entertained by something amazing. It’s one night to escape. We want to walk away knowing we’ve accomplished that.

However, none of this makes us, them, or me, idiots. We just haven’t spent our lives, or a significant part of our life, devoted to Broadway entertainment. I’ve only been watching shows for 27 months. I’m a beginner compared to many of you seasoned veterans. When I saw “The King and I” I had never heard of Laura Michelle Kelly. I know who she is now. Same for many of the other 18 shows I’ve seen, however I’ve tried to educate myself beforehand now with asking questions here.

But to call any of us idiots is unfair.

Updated On: 4/20/18 at 09:09 PM