Hello, Dolly! - London Palladium (2024)

I was just pointing out the website has changed. Which implies the announcement must be imminent.

Still Imelda?

Imelda is def still doing it. The others I don’t know - hopefully not Jenna Russel

Imelda would be an interesting Dolly. My favorite memory of Imelda is not one of her big roles, which I enjoyed, but her rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" in They Shoot Horses Don't They (RSC/Mermaid).

I've seen two Dollys: Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey, both wonderful. After the curtain call of the latter production, Pearlie Mae moved downstage to make a short speech, the gist of which was not entirely specific; something about a tragedy and the cast not knowing what to do. My friend and I went to get her autograph at the stage door. She told us that, during the performance, the (all-Black) cast learned of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Sharon D. Clarke would make a great Dolly!

I think he'd look good in the red Harmonia Gardens dress but still a bit too young.

I am neither, I just think she'd be great fun!

But set it in Wakefield so that the accents don’t jar.

I saw him as Barnaby.  Do not see him as Cornelius.  

I would not hold your breath on that one. Imelda famously is a trooper and does all 8 shows. She didn’t have an alternate for Gypsy or Sweeney, so she won’t for this.

I love Hello Dolly, so would be so excited to see this happen.

Yeah, I'm not too hopeful... it's not a hard sing, nor is it an especially demanding show from a general stamina viewpoint, even at her age, so I'm sure she'll be super professional and won't miss a performance unless something really prevents her from it.

BUT... unfortunately I'm really not a fan of her work, and unless I know in advance her understudy is meant to go on as Dolly I think I'll be saving some money and sit this one out.