Tony Sheldon and Ashley Brown Join Klea Blackhurst in Goodspeed's HELLO, DOLLY!, Beg. Tonight

Dolly looks swell as ever as Goodspeed Musicals brings everyone's favorite meddlesome matchmaker to its main stage. Hello, Dolly! will run from tonight, June 28 - September 14 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Official Press Opening will be July 17, 2013.

Hellooo Dolly! Well Hellooo Dolly! Join us when one of the greatest musicals ever written lights up the Goodspeed stage for the very first time. You'll grin from ear to ear as Dolly Levi meddles in many a person's affairs while at the same time seeking her own "half a millionaire." Jerry Herman's rousing score is bursting with joy and tunes like "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," "Before the Parade Passes By," and "It Only Takes a Moment." Sparkling, dazzling, delightful-one musical that you cannot miss!

Music and lyrics for Hello, Dolly! are written by Jerry Herman and the book is by Michael Stewart based on Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker.

Leading the cast in the role of Dolly Levi will be cabaret diva KLea Blackhurst. Ms. Blackhurst is best known for her award-winning tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow, which she has performed in venues across the U.S. and in London. She was most recently seen in Happy Huntingat The York Theatre. She also created the role of Miss Lemon in the new musical The Nutty Professor, which premiered this past summer in Nashville.

The cast also includes Ashley Brown as Irene Malloy. Ms. Brown created the title role in Broadway's Mary Poppins and played Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast. Horace Vandergelder will be played by Tony Sheldon whose turn in Broadway's Priscilla Queen of the Desert earned him a Tony nomination. Jeremy Morse will play Barnaby Tucker. Brooke Shapiro will play Ermengarde. Spencer Moses of Broadway's Guys and Dolls and The Farnsworth Invention will play Cornelius Hackl. Charles MacEachern will play Ambrose Kemper. Minnie Fay will be played by Catherine Blades who appeared in Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie and Goodspeed's Hello, My Baby! at The Norma Terris Theatre.

The ensemble includes Maddy Apple, Will Burton, Jack Doyle (Broadway's Young Frankenstein, The Music Man, and The Will Rogers Follies and Goodspeed's Pajama Game, Annie 2, Leave It To Jane, and Miss Liberty), Steve Geary (Broadway's Cats, Miss Saigon, Aida, and Contact), Drew Humphrey (Broadway's Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Goodspeed's Singin' In The Rain), Matthew Kilgore (Broadway's Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Goodspeed's My One And Only and How To Succeed...), Frankie Paparone (Broadway's Shrek The Musical), Kristyn Pope (Broadway's Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Goodspeed's My One And Only and 42nd Street), Robbie Smith, Kathryn Lin Terza, and Melodie Wolford. The swings are Melissa Chaty and Gregory Dassonville.

Hello, Dolly! will be directed by Daniel Goldstein who directed the recent Broadway revival of Godspell and Goodspeed's The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown at The Norma Terris Theatre. Choreography will be by Kelli Barclay. Ms. Barclay served as Associate Choreographer for Broadway's Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Assistant Choreographer for Broadway's 42nd Street. She also choreographed Goodspeed's Hello, My Baby at The Norma Terris Theatre, My One And Only, and How To Succeed...

Scenic designs will be by Adrian W. Jones who designed Goodspeed's Something's Afoot, Cutman at The Norma Terris Theatre, andCarnival!. Costumes will be designed by Wade Laboissonniere whose Broadway credits include Costume Designer for The Story of My Life and Associate Costume Designer for That Championship Season, Collected Stories, and The Sound of Music. His Goodspeed credits include Cutmanand The Story of My Life. Lighting design will be by Jason Lyons who served as Lighting Designer for Broadway's Bring It On The Musical, Rock of Ages, The Threepenny Opera, Barefoot in the Park, and Good Vibrations. Mr. Lyons' Goodspeed credits include Cutman and The Story of My Life. Sound design will be by Jay Hilton who is in his 28th season at Goodspeed.

The Music Director for Hello, Dolly! will be Michael O'Flaherty who is in his 22nd season as Goodspeed's Resident Music Director. F. Wade Russo will be assistant music director. Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange, who has created the orchestrations for numerous Goodspeed productions.

Hello, Dolly! is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

Hello, Dolly! will run tonight, June 28 through September 8, 2013 [Official Press Opening July 17, 2013]. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.). There will also be performances on Tuesday, August 13 and 27 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or on-line at goodspeed.org. For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events and more visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional works at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. The first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed celebrates another milestone, its 50th Anniversary, in 2013. In addition to the two theatres and production facilities, Goodspeed maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride