Who will succeed Betty Buckley in HELLO, DOLLY! tour? — Page 2

It's interesting that when you go on the show's website, that despite the announcements of further cities, they are only showing the tour until it's Boston engagement, which IIRC is the end of Betty Buckley's contract. They say nothing about anything further. So, they must be wanting to make it a big announcement.

SomethingPeculiar said: "fashionguru, Boston was always the last stop on the first leg of the tour. If there is going to be a big cast-change, there will probably be an announcement soon-ish, since Buckley is above the title and it would be misleading to list the other tour dates."

Oh yeah, I 100% get that. It just seems weird that they aren't advertising the next bunch of cities, reguardless or not if Buckley is with them. It makes it seem that the tour is over after Boston, which is why there were a few comments wondering if the tour was going Non-Equity in September...which it is not.

Jarethan said: "gleek4114 said: "I was in the same line of thinking that a name known to theater goers would be great. My initial thoughts were the aforementioned Beth Leavel and Nancy Opel. I agree that Carolee Carmello, Faith Prince, and Donna Murphy would all be wonderful. If she wasn’t moving on with Ever After, I would also throw the incredibly underrated Rachel York into the mix."


99% of people who attend road performances have no idea who Leavel,Opel, Carmello, or Prince are. Some might know Murphy (who i think is a great musical theatre actress), but only because of some television work she hasdone. Hell, I doubt many know who Kelli O'Hara is.

Only one year ago, I was attending a solo performance of Audra MacDonald in Sarasota (which has a surprisingly amount of good local theatre, ballet, opera,road productions, one-person shows, etc., as well as a lot of people with money). I am sitting there waiting for Audra to begin in great seat very close to the stage, when I hear two separate conversations going on. One couple, who I onlyknow to say hello, but have seen a number of times at the theatre because we have the same Broadway subscription series (where I get to see things for the ninth time)is discussing with her (I assume) husbandthe fact that she is not very familiar with Audra, but bought tickets because afriend told her how good she was two years previously (ps -- she was incredible both times); another person is telling her friend she got the ticketsbecause she had seen Kristen Chenoweth, and someone told her she'd like A if she liked K...and she loved K from all her TV work.

Now, I find it inconceivable that ANYONE who regularly attends the theatre, regardless of whether it is in NYC or not, barely knows who A is, but it is true. When we had Ed Sullivan and a lot of variety shows a thousand years ago, and when Broadway was a major source of popular music, this would not have been the case. Even the TV show she is on is on aless subscribed streaming site than Amazon, Hulu or Netflix (CBS Streaming). Were it on CBS or a major streaming service, that would change quickly; but she would be WIDELY known (i.e., beyond us theatre nerds)in the hinterlands, but for being on TV!!!

I probably sound incredibly cynical, but living on the West coast of Florida ain't the same as NYC (or even the east coast of Florida, where a huge percentage of residents are ex residents (or snowbirds) from NY, NJ, CT, which form the backbone of 'regular attendance'NYC theatergoers.

Hello, Dolly will either sell or not on the road, based on the other shows in the subscription series, and people's interest in HD. Even though Buckley is probably more well-known in the hinterlands than the above names, andI am sure that Buckley sold some seats, I doubt it was very many, relative to the total number of seats sold. Real stars on the road are a rare bonus (it has been a long time since CC toured Dolly or Yul toured The King and I and the road audiences accept that.

Talented people,like the names mentioned above would be well-appreciated on the road, even with no-to-modest name recognition. While most won't know who Leavel is when they arrive at the theatre, they will be impressed when they read that she has a Tony award,and will undoubtedly love the performance she gives. Even there, there is a question as to how many will recognize her name the next tour.

Recently, I saw a touring company do The King and I; although I had seen the show somewhere upwards to 10 times previously (over 50 or soyears), I walked out of the theatre thinking that the woman who played Anna was one of the best I had seen (and I have seen Angela Lansbury, Donna Murphy, Kelli O'Hara, Constance Towers, Mary Beth Peil, Faith Prince, and a few others in the role); you think I can remember he name. The only 'unknown' whose name I have ever really remembered from the road was Carmen Cusack, who I saw in St. Louis and honestly felt was a better Nellie Forbush than Kelli O'Hara, who I had seen twice a couple of years earlier.

It is the show (or the subscription series)what sells, unless it is the very rare star tour, which may in fact not sell that many additional seats due to subscriptions (especially when Hamilton or BOM is on the series), but I'll bet those tickets will cost a lot more."

I never said that they were “names” or would sell. I said they were well known in broadway circles and would make theater fans happy.

Mr/Ms gleek4114---you can always say--in reference to poster xyz--blah blah blah.

Jarethan said: "Sorry about that. I tend to getting-winded when I find a topic particularly interesting; and I apparently misunderstood what the original poster was saying."

Jarethan I love your posts, short or long, so don't you ever stop sharing your incredible knowledge of all aspects of theater---I devour each and every word[such a delicious meal you make.].

Carolee Carmelo, Beth Leavel, Faith Prince, Debra Monk, Emily Skinner, Lillias White, Ana Gasteyer, and Judy Kaye would all make me happy.

If Andrea Martin hadn’t injured herself and wasn’t committed to a Broadway show prior to said injury, she would have been wonderful.

And for a long shot dream, Chita.

Updated On: 4/3/19 at 12:45 AM

Leadingplayer said: "Is Buckley not doing the next week of shows in Denver? Why? Her social media shows her driving home to Texas."

Vacation.

NOWaWarning said: "Carolee Carmelo, Beth Leavel, Faith Prince, Debra Monk, Emily Skinner, Lillias White, Ana Gasteyer, and Judy Kaye would all make me happy.

If Andrea Martin hadn’t injured herself and wasn’t committed to a Broadway show prior to said injury, she would have been wonderful.

And for a long shot dream, Chita."

I guess you're gonna be happy as Carolee is taking over.

https://deadline.com/2019/06/carolee-carmello-hello-dolly-national-tour-betty-buckley-replacement-1202628014/

This makes me even more excited to see Carolee in Toronto in the spring of 2020!!

I sure hope she continues with the tour until the stop at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady, NY in May 2020. She is originally from Albany NY (right next door) so it would like a bit of a "homecoming" performance.

Updated On: 6/6/19 at 02:36 PM