Imelda Staunton is to star in a major revival of show stopping musical Hello, Dolly!
The West Hampstead actor is due back on TV screens later this month playing The Queen in the final season of Netflix's The Crown.
But next summer, Staunton will be at the London Palladium starring in the iconic Jerry Herman musical about irrepressible New York widow and meddling socialite Dolly Levi.
Set in the 1890s, as Dolly travels to Yonkers to find a match for the miserly, unmarried ‘half-a-millionaire’ Horace Vandergelder, everything changes when she decides the next match she needs to make is for herself.
Andy Nyman takes the role of Horace, while Olivier Award winner Jenna Russell plays Irene Molloy, and Tyrone Huntley is cast as Barnaby Tucker in the show which is directed by Dominic Cooke and begins a limited 10 week run on July 6, 2024.
Imelda Staunton said: "I’m delighted that we are announcing our new production of Hello, Dolly!, which is a truly joyous show. Dolly Levi is one of the great characters in musical theatre, and I can’t wait to join the company in bringing our new production to the iconic London Palladium."
Since the musical's Broadway debut in 1964, Dolly has been played by everyone from Barbra Streisand to Bette Midler, Ginger Rodgers and even Danny La Rue.
It features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman (La Cage aux Folles, Mack and Mabel) and book by Michael Stewart (42nd Street, Mack and Mabel, Barnum), with numbers such as ‘Put On Your Sunday Clothes’, ‘Ribbons Down My Back’, ‘Before the Parade Passes By’, ‘Elegance’, ‘It Only Takes a Moment’ and of course, ‘Hello, Dolly!’.
BAFTA and multi Olivier award winner Staunton has previously scooped plaudits for musical theatre roles in Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and Follies The revival, and has starred in films ranging from Harry Potter to Vera Drake.
Further details at www.HelloDollyLDN.com
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