NEWS
‘Hello, Dolly!’ brings an over-the-top Broadway spectacle to Louisville
Betty Buckley is dubbed “The Voice of Broadway” for a reason.
The powerhouse vocalist sang her heart out at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday night in the PNC Broadway in Louisville production of “Hello, Dolly!”
Buckley was charismatic, charming, witty and delightful on stage, just like the touring production, which wowed with its top-notch sets and stunning costumes. (Seriously, I left the show kind of wanting to own a dress with a bustle.) At 71, she is nothing short of the epitome of what a legendary star of Broadway should be. And she’s just the latest in a long line of greats who have played Dolly Gallagher Levi on the stage and the silver screen.
The Tony Award-winning production is no stranger to seriously famous performers, including Carol Channing, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters. Oh, not to mention Ethel Merman, Pearl Bailey and Mary Martin.
It’s exhausting just listing how many great actresses have helmed this show. But don’t worry, the show itself is far from that. Set in the late 1880s in Yonkers, New York, and New York City, “Hello, Dolly!” tells the whimsical (and often earnest) tale of a matchmaker who is hired to set Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire who hails from Yonkers, with his second wife.
