Broadway NewsWell, Hello, Bernadette!: Bernadette Peters Opens in Broadway’s Hello, Dolly! February 22Victor Garber, Charlie Stemp, and Molly Griggs are also new to the cast of the Tony-winning revival at the Shubert Theatre.
By
Andrew Gans, Ryan McPhee
February 22, 2018
Bernadette Peters
Julieta Cervantes
Three-time Tony Award recipient Bernadette Peters officially opens in the Tony-winning revival of Hello, Dolly! February 22 at the Shubert Theatre. The Broadway favorite began performances inthe title role of matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi January 20, succeeding Bette Midler in the Tony-winning revival.
Victor Garber, Charlie Stemp, and Molly Griggs
Also new to the production are Tony nominee Victor Garber (last on Broadway in 2010's Present Laughter) as Horace Vandergelder, Charlie Stemp (an Olivier nominee for London's Half a Sixpence) as Barnaby, and Molly Griggs in her Broadway debut as Minnie Fay. The three took over for David Hyde Pierce, Taylor Trensch (now starring in the title role of Dear Evan Hansen), and Beanie Feldstein.
“It's a wonderful show, it's a wonderful part, and I'm glad that I am joining that sisterhood,” Peters told Playbill of joining a legacy of women who've taken on the iconic role, including Midler, Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, and Pearl Bailey. Tony winner Betty Buckley will also soon join the roster when she heads the national tour of Hello, Dolly! this fall.
Rounding out the principal cast on Broadway are Tony nominee Kate Baldwin as Irene Molloy, Will Burton as Ambrose Kemper, Melanie Moore as Ermengarde, and Tony nominee Jennifer Simard as Ernestina. It was recently announced that Tony nominee Santino Fontana will temporarily replace Tony winner Gavin Creel in the role of Cornelius Hackl while Creel recovers from back surgery. Understudy Christian Dante White has been playing Cornelius at recent performances.
Peters last appeared on Broadway as Sally Durant Plummer in the 2011 revival of Follies. A Tony winner for Song and Dance and Annie Get Your Gun (plus an honorary award in 2012), her additional Broadway credits include memorable performances in A Little Night Music, Gypsy (also at the Shubert Theatre), Into the Woods, and Sunday in the Park with George. She can currently be seen on the Amazon comedy Mozart in the Jungle (the show's fourth season premiered February 16) and CBS All Access' The Good Fight.
