Time for a revival of HELLO, DOLLY?- Page 2

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 1:21am

No idea. Bitter Herman bitterly mentioned it in a bitter interview.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 1:45am

who knows, who cares.

Not like this revival is going to happen within the next five years. patti'd be weird.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 2:28am

I'd kill to see Rosie O' donnel take on the role.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 8:02am

"I'd kill to see Rosie O' donnel take on the role."


My ears started bleeding just from the suggestion alone. AAuuuggghhhh!!! And I love Rosie, but a singer ... or leading actress she ain't.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 8:10am

Well, everyone says Reba is looking to play against type, so she could be perfect. She'd sing the hell out of the score, and she's very funny.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 8:56am

Reba works but not upon first impression. You just have to let her do it and prove herself.

[alterego]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:15am

Reba sounds good. I really think you need a BIG name for a revival, even better if they are a larger than life character.Here are some names that might work, Lucie Arnaz, Sally Field, Cybil Shepard and Stockard Channing.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:22am

I think Harriet Harris would be amazing but she doesn't have the name recognition this would require. Likewise for Raquel York.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:23am

"Here are some names that might work, Lucie Arnaz, Sally Field, Cybil Shepard and Stockard Channing."

Dolly requires a singer. Tovah Feldshuh recently proved that at the Papermill. Shepard's voice isn't right, if Stockard couldn't carry Pal Joey, she'd fail miserably at Dolly (although the billing 'Channing in Hello Dolly' might work). Arnaz might work, but I don't think she meets your criteria of a BIG name. Don't know if Sally Field can sing the score. Whoever is cast needs to be able to knock 'Before The Parade Passes By' out of the park.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:23am

I agree with the Meryl Streep and Bette Midler rec's, but I will also throw in Diana Canova (Corine on Soap) for Dolly.

Saw her several years ago at a Manhattan supper club thing and she was hysterical, and she sings beautifully too.

A couple others:
Horace Vandergelder: David Hyde Pierce or Marc Kudisch (Don't see why the "big name" can't be Horace)
Eileen Malloy: Amy Spanger

Updated On: 7/30/09 at 09:23 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:33am

I'd cast Boyd Gaines as Horace, but I'd cast him in almost anything. I'd cast Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Cornelius. Even though Rachel York was probably terrific as Dolly, she could also play Irene Malloy.

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 1:43pm

I like the idea of Bette Midler as Dolly, but I'd also love to see Christine Ebersole in a revival of the show.

Hello, Dolly! is a wonderfully entertaining show, with great musical numbers. The title song - more than 7 minutes long (the Mary Martin London cast recording has the entire number) builds to a great climax and a deserved reprise.

This was the first Broadway show I ever saw, and I've been in love with it ever since.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 1:47pm

I know they're not interchangeable, but Ebersole was dreadful in Mame at the Papermill, I'd be reluctant to cast her in Dolly.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 1:56pm

The perfect Dolly is Faith Prince, but she's not a big enough "name".

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 2:07pm

I think Hello Dolly is a well known enough show that it doesn't need a huge name attached. As madbrian pointed out, it does need a voice and an energy that would sell "Before the Parade Passes By".

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 2:52pm

2 words: Beth Leavel.

[zepka102]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 3:04pm

Ha! I'm picturing "Channing in Hello, Dolly!" in the billing. Think of how many people would be upset if they realized it wasn't Carol, but Stockard, since Carol is so much associated with the role.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 3:27pm

^...Epecially since Stockard can't even sing.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 3:47pm

Hmmm...I know she's not the greatest singer on the planet, but since she was so successful in Gypsy, I wonder how Tyne Daly would be as Dolly?

[zamedy]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 4:05pm

The more that I think about it, the more I think Bette would be the PERFECT Dolly. She has the acting and singinging and dancing chops, she can meet the demands of doing 8 shows a week, and she has HUGE star power. I can TOTALLY see her doing just about every song, especially the title number and "So Long, Dearie." Bette for Dolly! It would be a huge hit. The gays alone would keep it open!

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 4:16pm

The key to Dolly is in the title song. She has to be someone whose charm, heart, personality and zest for life are big enough to captivate all of those "handsome men" at the Harmonia Gardens who literally do back flips on stage at her return. What was so great about Carol Channing (even at 74, which is the production I saw) and Rachel York (from the recent Boston production) is the underlying sex appeal. She's a woman whose love for Ephraim was vibrant and full-bodied. Since his death she's cut herself off from romance and passion - from feeling altogether. When she finally decides to "rejoin the human race" and embrace what she sees Irene and Cornelius sharing, it's incredibly touching. She realizes she wants a full life with Horace, not just a comfortable one. "Parade" is a wondrous celebration of her return to the living. Right before your eyes she becomes young again.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 4:42pm

I doubt that Bette Midler would commit to 8 shows a week for a year. She's just not up to it. Anything less wouldn't be worth it for the producers to make their money back.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 4:46pm

I totally agree with you LovesClassics. Dolly has to be someone with sex appeal and genuine warmth. Someone you want to root for. I love Tyne but she lacks those qualities for me. I still think Diana Canova would be perfect. She was in Company and A Little Night Music a few years back. I think she'd be great.

[zamedy]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:48pm

"I doubt that Bette Midler would commit to 8 shows a week for a year. She's just not up to it."

Um.. isn't she already doing almost just as many shows if not that many right now in Vegas?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/30/09 at 10:01pm

"Um.. isn't she already doing almost just as many shows if not that many right now in Vegas?"

No, in Vegas I think she does four shows a week for six weeks and then she's off six weeks and then repeats.