January 16th marked the 60th anniversary of the opening night of Jerry Herman’s “Hello, Dolly!”, and on this week’s Dress Circle (1/28 7:00 p.m.), we’re going to be celebrating this beloved show with songs from the original and revival casts as well as a few foreign cast recordings to show exactly how universal the show is.
After its initial opening, “Dolly” would run for 2,844 performances and win 10 of the 11 Tony Awards for which it had been nominated (poor Charles Nelson Reilly), and over the course of its original run, there would be no fewer than eight notable Dollys including Ginger Rogers, Bibi Osterwald, Betty Grable, Phyllis Diller, Pearl Bailey, and Ethel Merman for whom Herman had written two new songs since she was Herman’s first choice for Dolly.
“Dolly” has been on Broadway five times, and as a testament to her stamina and longevity, Carol Channing appeared in four of those revivals over a 31-year span. Of course, Bette Midler appeared in the most recent revival in 2017.
We’re looking at three of the Broadway cast recordings as well as those in French, German, Spanish, and Hebrew, so join us this week to see what we choose for a program that will surely be a happy celebration of a revered friend that is still being performed around the world.
