Hello, Dolly! Revival

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:04pm

Not my favorite show, I must confess. But I think there's plenty of room for interesting casting here... I personally would love to see Raul Esparza as Horace... but he would never. x-x

Hmm...

Updated On: 12/2/10 at 03:04 PM

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:06pm

Also, please tell me someone has seen this:
"No...Patti is too fat!"

[Jon]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:14pm

Bernadette Peters & Kelsey Grammer would be ideal.

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:16pm

I think they're both too old. Maybe like twenty years ago.

[Frank thebellhop]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:18pm

Jon i like bernadett and kelsey. Dolly. Is one of those roles thatcan be SO different from performer to performer. I think kristin chenoweth would be a great dolly.

[newintown]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:19pm

Betty White and James Earl Jones, with Brandy and Nick Lachey as Irene and Cornelius.

[madbrian]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:20pm

I know that this is unrealistic, but here is my cast:

Dolly: Rachel York
Horace: Boyd Gaines
Irene: Anne Hathaway
Cornelius: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Edit: I agree with the statement, "Dolly. Is one of those roles thatcan be SO different from performer to performer." That said, Reba could make a very interesting Dolly.

Updated On: 12/2/10 at 03:20 PM

[americanboy99]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 3:36pm

I posted this on my blog quite a while ago. My dream cast:

Dolly Gallagher Levi: Meryl Streep. I mean, come on. How perfect! She's a commanding presence, a delightful comedienne and a respectable vocalist... not to mention a HUGE star name. Can't you just imagine? "MERYL is DOLLY!"

Irene Molloy: Anne Hathaway. This seems to be the most obvious "star" choice for Irene. Hathaway is so classically beautiful and her voice is very nice. And wouldn't a "Devil Wears Prada" reunion just be fabulous? Amy Adams, Kristin Chenoweth or, for a pretty strictly Broadway name, Laura Benanti would be my other choices.

Horace Vandergelder: Alec Baldwin. He'd work so perfectly opposite Streep and wouldn't seem too odd to be paired with Hathaway.

Cornelius Hackl: Sean Hayes. Though I doubt he'd ever sign on for a show where he'd likely receive fourth billing, I think he'd be dynamite in this role. I think this is a part that is so often overlooked, but you've really got to have a gifted comic actor in this role to make it work. Hayes has proven he's just that.

Barnaby Tucker: Justin Bartha. The perfect awkwardly charming presence. If Michael Cera could sing the role, he'd be wonderful as well.

Minnie Fay: Leigh Ann Larkin. This is definitely the most difficult for me to cast in my head. I keep thinking to myself "a young Kristin Chenoweth, a young Kristin Chenoweth." I think, on Broadway at least, that's Larkin at the moment. She's been mostly well-received for her last two performances- both of which were rather lofty reinventions of characters in two very high profile revivals.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 4:06pm

>> "I think they're both too old."

They're SUPPOSED to be old.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 5:30pm

^ Exactly. Dolly has been widowed for almost 10 years, and has been living as an almost total recluse who has been very set in her ways. She's done everything the way she had for years. That's why her monologue at the end of Act I is so touching. That's why it's such a big deal that she's returning to the Harmonia Gardens.

I personally would prefer Queen Latifah as Dolly, or Patti LuPone over Bernadette.

[Jon]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 5:49pm

If we're doing dream casting, then Neil Patrick Harris as Cornelius.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 5:52pm

They could always trot out Angela Lansbury and John Cullum again.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 5:58pm

Well....I'm not sure how "OLD" you are all considering to be appropriate, but I always felt that Streisand was too young for the part in the movie.


But they are both suppose to be more mature, but I'm not sure OLD is quite right. Vandergelder also needs to be much more mature than both Cornelius and Barnaby. And Cornelius isn't exactly a teenager...remember that Irene is also widowed and owns a business.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:00pm

^ He certainly shouldn't be Russell Nype old...(well, circa 1970's Russell Nype)

[KneelBeeWon]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:11pm

Streisand was the perfect age for Dolly!

All the other ladies playing the role have been old old old unglamorous has-beens.

Barbra's Dolly was all about glamour and star quality. All the other creatures playing Dolly are about being a crazy widow hunting a rich husband.

There hasn't been a truly satisfying production of Hello, Dolly since the movie because no one has been able to top it.

Just like the movie version of Mame. No one has been better than Lucy.

[Overkill]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:25pm

^This....IS a joke, right?

I'd LOVE a Hello, Dolly revival. I've been wanting one for years.

Bernadette would be amazing with Kelsey. But it would be cool to see Bernadette and Mandy Patinkin paired up again...just a thought.

I also think that Christopher Lloyd would make a WONDERFUL Horace.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:26pm

>> "All the other ladies playing the role have been old old old unglamorous has-beens."

Uh... right. Sure. Whatever you say.

[ALittlePriest]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:39pm

Considering Barbara Streisand was about 20 years too young for the role, I'd say Bernadette Peters would be the best choice.

[HBP]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 6:51pm

what about streisand?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 7:31pm

>> "I'd say Bernadette Peters would be the best choice."

:: putting on the asbestos suit ::

Is anyone else getting really tired of seeing Bernadette as the one-size-fits-all go-to girl of Broadway? I love her talent to no end, but I"m starting to wonder if there's anyone else. It's like the last time I was here, and everyone was non-stop gushing over Chenowyth. Enough already! There are thousands of great performers who've never gotten their much deserved break. If we're doing fantasy casting, tell me about someone you know who never got to play it and should have.

[Joey.]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 8:13pm

#tiredofincessantBernadettemiscasting

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 8:49pm

I would love to see a revival of Hello, Dolly!

There were seven stars of Dolly during its original Broadway run (1964 - 1970). The list - in order - is below. Channing was the youngest Dolly during that run (She turned 43 two weeks after the show opened) and Merman was the oldest (She was 60). So I suspect that casting for a new production would look for performers in that age range.

Carol Channing
Ginger Rodgers
Martha Raye
Betty Grable
Pearl Bailey
Phyllis Diller
Ethel Merman

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 9:01pm

Herman has already basically said he's not too interested in Bernadette as Dolly. He showed more interest in LuPone. It was in an interview/article from a couple years ago.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 9:03pm

Wanna really go for it, kids?

Harvey Fierstein.

You know he'd be fabulous.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/2/10 at 9:24pm

Here's the article!!

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988842?refCatId=2524

Chat rooms and theater insiders have been volunteering casting ideas that range from the fantastic to the obvious: Oprah Winfrey ("An exciting idea, but I don't think she could devote a year to the production," says Herman); Meryl Streep ("She can do anything."); Barbra Streisand, star of the 1969 screen version ("She's the right age now, but she's never coming back to Broadway."); Patti LuPone ("Magnificent."); Reba McEntire ("I'm crazy for her, but I'm not sure about the accent."); Bernadette Peters ("We were close friends and I obviously love this lady, but I just don't know.").