Bette Midler is returning to Broadway as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, her first book musical on Broadway since Fiddler on the Roof in the late '60s. So obvi theater fans exploded with a range of reactions.
Soon the interwebs were chatting: Who will be her love interest, Horace Vandergelder? Who will eventually go in to replace? What theatre is this going into? Ya know, chat. Meanwhile, we’re pacing the floor imagining what two young Broadway stars will play the coveted roles of Corneilus Hackl and Irene Molloy.
The OBC of Dolly! featured Tony winner Charles Nelson Reilly (Match Game) as Cornelius and Eileen Brennan (Private Benjamin, Clue, Will & Grace) sporting ribbons down her back as Irene.
Now since Bette is a HUGE star, there’s a good chance that these plum roles will go to Broadway names (rather than full-out movie stars), and here are 10 pairs of performers we’d love to see reunite as Hello Dolly’s young lovers.
Santino Fontana & Laura Osnes (Cinderella)
Rob McClure & Brynn O’Malley (Honeymoon in Vegas)
Bryce Pinkham & Lauren Worsham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder)
Stark Sands & Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots)
Josh Grisetti & Sierra Boggess (It Shoulda Been You)
John Cariani and Kate Reinders (Something Rotten!)
Max von Essen & Jill Paice (An American in Paris)
Joshua Henry & Nikki Renee Daniels (Porgy and Bess)
Tony Yazbeck & Laura Benanti (Gypsy)
Telly Leung & Katie Rose Clarke (Allegiance)
As for their buddies Barnaby Tucker & Minnie Fay, here’s to hoping for an Alex Wyse or Jay Armstrong and a Melanie Moore or Joaquina Kalukango.
Hello, Dolly! begins performances March 13, 2017.
