EXCLUSIVE: The of the crown Imelda Staunton will direct a revival of Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s classic Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! next summer at the London Palladium, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
With the words to the theme song by composer and lyricist Herman, the show’s producer Michael Harrison commented that “it’s so nice to have Imelda back on the stage where she belongs.”
Directed by Dominic Cooke, the production, starring Staunton as matchmaker Dolly Levi, opens at the Palladium on July 6 for a strictly limited ten-week season, ending September 14.
Designed by Frank Matcham, the Palladium opened on a site near Oxford Circus in 1910, the year King Edward VII died. It became the favorite place of the royal family and was often the site of annual events Royal variety show in the presence of the late Queen Elizabeth II, great-granddaughter of Edward VII.
Perfect for Staunton, who gives a deeply moving performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the acclaimed Netflix series The crown. The drama ends with the two-part sixth season, which starts on November 16 and initially starts with four episodes. Watch a trailer here.
“I actually think Imelda deserves her season at the Palladium and in this role,” Harrison said. “If you look at this Wall of Fame and the people who performed there, I’m glad she gets the opportunity to stand on these famous boards.”
Famous names who have played at the Palladium include the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Shirley Bassey and Julie Andrews.
Staunton signed up for the role of Dolly in 2019. The show was originally scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2020, but was delayed by both the pandemic and the star’s filming schedule on seasons 5 and 6 The crown. Hello, Dolly! was postponed to 2022 and then again to 2023.
The deadline was announced last year Hello, Dolly! would finally open in 2024 after Staunton confirmed she would “definitely” be playing Dolly. “I’ll be ready for them,” she added.
Cooke, who sent in Staunton Follies At London’s National Theater in 2017, he said that the very last professional thing he did before collapsing in March 2020 was to work with set and costume designer Rae Smith to portray Staunton. Dolly Sentence. At the time it was made for the much smaller Adelphi Theater where Hello, Dolly! should have opened.
In late 2019, Staunton met with Herman, who died on December 26, 2019, to ask permission to use “Just Leave Everything to Me”, a song sung by Barbra Streisand in the 1969 film version Hello, Dolly! Another song, “Love, Look in My Window,” added during Ethel Merman’s run as Dolly on Broadway, will also be broadcast at the Palladium.
Cooke told us that the show also features another Herman song, “Penny in My Pocket,” which appeared in the recent Scott Rudin Broadway production with Bette Midler, a solo number for Yonkers store owner Horace Vander Gelder. Andy Nyman has been confirmed for this role.
Hello, Dolly! based on the story by Thornton Wilder The matchabout a widow wondering how to get on with her life.
“Hello, Dolly!is known as this shiny, flashy piece, which it is, but I’ve always thought there was a lot more to it because The match is about a woman who returns to life after grief. She asks herself: ‘Do I have the energy for a second round?’ I think there’s something profound about that,” muses Cooke. “Many people give up after losing their partner.
“So Dolly says, ‘Okay, I’m ready!’ And so it starts with this decision. And that’s why Imelda was the right person. Of course she can sing and dance, but she has so much depth, that’s why I wanted her to do it.
“Carol Channing’s very first production in 1964 was sensational, funny and delicious, but it lacked depth,” Cooke said. “That’s the texture we’re looking for.”
“Great musicals have something in the background,” Cooke added. “It’s about taking them seriously without being strict and boring. You should enjoy it. If you look at all the great musicals – Rodgers and Hammerstein is a good example – they have something underneath that they explore quite deeply. They are true works of art; It’s not just escapist entertainment.”
Cooke admitted that “you could tell” Staunton didn’t buy into it at first.
“She really had to think carefully about whether my version of it made sense to her, which was to take into account the slightly more complicated moments, and we had a lot of conversations early on.”
After making her decision, Staunton didn’t hesitate. She kept up Hello, Dolly! despite all the many delays.
Cooke called Staunton “one of our greats” and noted that she had worked in regional theater for a decade before ever doing a show in London. “She did everything – she did Shakespeare, she did Alan Ayckbourn, musicals. She did most of it.”
He revealed that Staunton and Nyman will attend a preview in January, “with just her and Andy, hanging out, singing and talking about the show.” Just exploring because she likes to spend a lot of time preparing and thinking. “
Staunton also took singing lessons to get her voice in shape because, as Cooke said, “she hasn’t done a musical since.” Follies.”
When Hello, Dolly! Tickets for the Adelphi go on sale in late 2019 and early 2020 for an advance payment of 3 million pounds ($3.64 million). Ticket money was refunded to ticket holders in 2020.
The Adelphi season mentioned above would have lasted 30 weeks. However, with the Palladium’s seating capacity at 2,300 – 800 more than the Adelphi – Harrison emphasized that “the Palladium’s ten weeks of eight shows a week is the same capacity we would have had in thirty weeks of seven shows a week.” week. at the Adelphi.”
Hello, Dolly! im Palladium has a capitalization of £5 million ($6.1 million) and weekly operating costs of £400,000 ($487,400).
Such costs, Harrison said, meant “ticket prices will be a bit high”, but he promised “a wide range of prices across the house”, with the lowest seat in the range £25 ($33.33). He argued that high energy costs and other taxes “forced us to set high prices”. “We’re all affected, and in the end it’s the producer that’s left.”
He had harsh words for less considerate competitors. “The criminal thing is when everything is at the top and there are no accessible tickets, and then it gets a little greedy.”
One of the reasons for the Palladium’s popularity is its excellent sight lines. There’s not really a bad seat, “even if you go to the upper circle and the back of the stalls,” Harrison said.
Harrison, who first worked with Staunton in the West End in the award-winning production at The Chichester Festival Theater Gypsies relocated to the Savoy Theatre, has confirmed that Jenna Russell as Irene Molloy, Tyrone Huntley as Barnaby Tucker and Harry Hepple as Cornelius Hackl will join Staunton and Nyman.
The creative team includes Smith, sets and costumes; Bill Deamer, choreography; Paul Groothuis, sound design and Nick Skilbeck, musical director, music director and music arrangements; Jon Clark, lighting design; and Finn Ross, video designer.
There will be an 18-piece orchestra with a cast of 35 people. Practices begin in May. Priority booking starts December 6.
Source: Deadline
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
