OFFICIAL: Hello, Donna! Donna Murphy Will Play Dolly Levi Once a Week in HELLO, DOLLY!

Producer Scott Rudin announced today that, beginning Tuesday, June 13, two-time Tony Award®-winner and one of Broadway's most treasured stars, Donna Murphy, will step into the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi for Tuesday evening performances of the upcoming Broadway revival of Michael Stewart's (book) and Jerry Herman's (music and lyrics) Hello, Dolly!, starring the legendary Bette Midler. (Ms. Murphy will also take over the role during Ms. Midler's vacations.)

Directed by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, Hello, Dolly! will begin performances at Broadway's Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) on March 15, 2017, with an official opening night of April 20, 2017.

An award-winning star of stage and screen, Ms. Murphy has captivated audiences and critics alike with the depth and range of her work, including Tony Award-winning performances in Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's Passion and Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I, Tony nominated performances in Wonderful Town, LoveMusik and The People in the Picture, and The Witch in The Public Theater's acclaimed production of Into The Woods. Ms. Murphy earned a Daytime Emmy for her work in HBO's "Someone Had to Benny," and her many TV credits include the PBS period drama Mercy Street, ABC's Resurrection, VH1's Hindsight, The Good Wife, and Royal Pains. On the big screen, Ms. Murphy was last seen in The Bourne Legacy, Todd Solondz' Dark Horse and Vera Farmiga's Higher Ground. Her other memorable film performances include The Nanny Diaries, Center Stage, Star Trek: Insurrection, and the voice of Mother Gothel in Disney's hit animated feature Tangled.

This news ends months of speculation about the casting of an alternate Dolly, which led to the creation of the Twitter account @MatineeDolly and hashtag #matineedolly.

This new production of Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of this classic musical to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, will pay tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.

Based on Thornton Wilder's farce The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! caused an instant sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1964, starring Carol Channing in the title role. It went on to win a record-shattering ten Tony Awards, including those for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Producer of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design, and Best Costume Design. It was also named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics' Circle. Its original Broadway cast recording hit the top of the Billboard album chart, and years later was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It also marked the greatest producing triumph of legendary impresario David Merrick, running for 2,844 performances over seven years and breaking the record for the longest running show in Broadway history. In addition to Ms. Channing, an astonishing list of Broadway and Hollywood luminaries have inhabited the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, including Pearl Bailey, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman (in her last appearance on Broadway), and Mary Martin, who led the West End company.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos