YOUR Dream Hello, Dolly ! Cast

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 2:52am

My Picks:
Dolly: Linda Eder or Patty LaBelle(Either would tear the house down)
Horace Vandergelder: Nathan Lane
Cornelius Hackl: Anthony Rapp ( AWESOME)
Irene Molloy: Idina Menzel ( I can see her singing Ribbon's Down My Back.......lovely)
Minnie Fay: Kerry Butler
Barnaby Tucker: Hunter Foster
Ambrose Kemper: Roger Bart
Ermengarde: Sutton Foster

[shira467]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 2:54am

Carol Channing - if only because I didn't see her in it. And I wish I had.

[wildcat]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 2:55am

Dolly has to be a skilled comedienne, and I'm afraid neither of those ladies fits into that category. No, I think Mr. Herman's personal choice of Bette Midler would be hard to beat.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:00am

No offense, but I think that's a terribly miscast show you just listed. My picks would be:

Dolly: Liza Minnelli
Horace: Tony Roberts
Cornelius: John Tartaglia
Irene: Tammy Blanchard
Minnie: Kate Reinders
Barnaby: John Cariani

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:02am

And you think Liza could realistically portray a Jewish woman from Yonkers?

[wildcat]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:05am

Betty Grable, Mary Martin and Ginger Rogers don't exactly leap to mind as Jewish women from Yonkers, either.

And yet...

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:07am

And yet, they skated by on the strength of their celebrity. That doesn't mean the piece was well served.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:09am

I think Liza would be brilliant as DOLLY.

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:11am

I think Liza would be Liza in Hello Dolly, which would be entertaining and engaging - and yet have nothing to do with the character as intended.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:24am

You make a good point.

I thought Barbra was perfect in the movie, but I doubt she'd ever do it on stage. Bette Midler would also be divine, no pun intended.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:25am

I'd settle for another revival with Carol Channing so it can be filmed and preserved on DVD for future generations...

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:25am

I would have liked to have seen Carol Channing play Dolly she came tomy town back in 1994 with the tour but I didn't see it plus I was like 9 so I didn't care.
Now that you mention it Bette Midler would make a AMAZING Dolly I hope she plans to do it sometime soon.
Couldn't Barbra Striesand do Dolly again she would be AMAZING as well.

I can see Disney making this into a Disney movie also like they did with Annie, The Music Man, and Once Upon a Mattress.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 3:26am

They all delt with children and children's stories - HELLO DOLLY would be deathly boring for ABC's usual sunday night audience.

[Marquise]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 7:45am

idina menzel as irene malloy? uh yeah, sure i can just hear her "belting" out "ribbons down my back".

the insistence of board members casting anybody that was in either rent, aida, wicked or b'klyn in every musical known to man is really getting hilarious.

what's next?

Adam Pascal and Eden Espinosa in "The King & I"?

*shudders* Updated On: 2/13/05 at 07:45 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 8:12am

Dolly is NOT A JEWISH WOMAN. Her name is Dolly GALLAGHER. Her HUSBAND'S name was Levi.

Forget dream csting - here's some ladies who actually work on Broadway who could play Dolly:

FAITH PRINCE
PATTI LUPONE
BERNADETTE PETERS
JOANNA GLEASON

I'd like George Hearn as Horace, even though he only has one song.

I like the idea of Anthony Rapp as Cornelius, but Barnaby is supposed to be 19 years old! Hunter Foster aint passing for 19 any more.

[rogerbartfan]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 8:50am

I don't know if anyone else caught Hello Dolly last July in Pittsburgh. But Personally I enjoyed Larry Raben and Michael McGurk as Corenlius and Barnaby respectively. They had great comedic timing.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 9:04am

I do think that Bernadette would be a fantastic Dolly
Horace- Jeff McCarthy or Victor Garber
Cornelius- John Tartaglia or Barrett Foa (the role should be a triple threat performer either way)
Irene- Melissa Ericco (now THAT'S a "Ribbon's Down My Back" I'd love to hear)
Minnie- Jen Cody (perhaps a bit too old but it's practically a typecast role for her)
Ambrose- Noah Racey (it's a showcase dancer part)
Ermengarde- Molly Ephraim (she's got the whiney little girl part down pat)
Now Barnaby & Ermengarde are supposed to be 17, but I really think Barnaby should be cast by a newcomer who could make it his breakout role

[Feodor Sverdlov]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 9:41am

Just because Barbra Streisand was miscast in a movie, doesn't make the character Jewish. Dolly was Irish. She was married to a Jew.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 11:20am

First off, Dolly GALLAGHER Levi is not Jewish. She's an Irish lass who married a Jewish man. Therefore any Jewish mannerisms or inflection are wrong for the character.

Secondly, Dolly is a hysterically funny lady who doesn't know she's funny. That's how Carol played her and that's what made the part work so brilliantly for her. Carol actually patterned her performance after Thornton Wilder, the man who wrote THE MATCHMAKER. She felt he was a man who was always funny but never realized it. Therefore, I feel Georgia Engel is absolutely perfect for the part. Georgia played Minnie Fay in the Merman company of Dolly and was sensational. Now she's right for Dolly.

Horace: John Goodman

Cornelius: Eric McCormack

Irene Molloy: Rebecca Luker

Minnie Fay: Cheno

Barnaby Tucker: Chad Kimball

Rudolph: Dollypop

(You might be interested in reading the interview I did with Carol Channing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of HELLO, DOLLY! It's called "Broadway's Living Doll" and is archived here at BWW in the Interviews section.)

Updated On: 2/13/05 at 11:20 AM

Posted: 2/13/05 at 11:30am

You all are, of course, absolutely correct - and I was appallingly wrong. No excuses - just a perfect example of why one shouldn't post after a wine-tasting party. My sincerest apologies to all who know and love Hello Dolly. Updated On: 2/13/05 at 11:30 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 11:36am

To DGRANT:

Your apology is warmly and graciously accepted.

Have a wonderful day...and, in the words of Dolly Gallagher Levi: "May guardian angels watch over you always."

[Allie]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 12:07pm

...particularly at dinner.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 12:45pm

Dolly: Nanette Fabray
Horace: Sam Levene
Irene: Maureen Cannon
Cornelius: Gene Kelly
Minnie: Sono Osato
Barnaby: Charles Walters

Miriam

Posted: 2/13/05 at 12:51pm

Hello, Miriam I LOVE the thought of Ms. Fabray as Dolly! I haven't thought of her in years.

[Marquise]

Posted: 2/13/05 at 1:17pm

how about shelley fabares...


...just kidding