NEWS
REVIEW: BETTY BUCKLEY IN ‘HELLO, DOLLY!’ BROADWAY TOUR BRINGS STAGE CLASSIC TO NEW GENERATIONS
It takes a special talent to step into the heel-kicking shoes of that legend of stage, the irrepressible Dolly Levi.
Throughout the decades, the title character role of Broadway‘s “Hello, Dolly!” has been played by everyone from Pearl Bailey, Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable and Phyllis Diller as well as Barbra Streisand cast to play her for the 1969 film version.
And of course, Carol Channing, a larger-than-life personality both on and off stage and camera, started it all. Channing, who will celebrate her 98th birthday in January, is Broadway royalty and I was fortunate to see her revive her Dolly identity on stage in 1994 at the old Shubert Theater in Chicago. She originated the role in the Jerry Herman musical when it first debuted in 1964.
Through Nov. 17, there’s a new Dolly in town saying and singing “hello” to audiences, courtesy of Broadway In Chicago presenting the four-week run of the four time Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival “Hello, Dolly!” at the historic Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. with Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Betty Buckley smiling at audiences from under those signature plumes and wide-brimmed hats.
