Bette Midler sets departure date for Hello, Dolly!

It has been officially confirmed that Tony Award winner Bette Midler will play her final performance as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! on January 14, 2018.

Hello, Dolly! began previews at the Shubert Theatre on March 15, 2017, and officially opened to excellent reviews on April 20.

Hello, Dolly! features a book by Michael Stewart, and music & lyrics by Jerry Herman.

Directed by four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks, this production features choreography by Tony winner Warren Carlyle, based on the original work by Gower Champion.

Synopsis: "At the turn of the 20th century, all of New York City is excited because widowed but brassy Dolly Gallagher Levi (Midler) is in town. Dolly makes a living primarily through matchmaking and is currently seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire, but it becomes clear that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself."

The principal cast of Hello, Dolly! includes Tony Award, three-time Emmy and three-time Golden Globe winner and two-time Oscar nominee Bette Midler (as Dolly Gallagher Levi), Tony and four-time Emmy winner David Hyde Pierce (as Horace Vandergelder), Tony winner Gavin Creel (as Cornelius Hackl), Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (as Irene Molloy), Taylor Trensch (as Barnaby Tucker), Will Burton (as Ambrose Kemper), Melanie Moore (as Ermengarde), and Tony nominee Jennifer Simard (as Ernestina).

The creative team behind Hello, Dolly! features scenic & costume design by Santo Loquasto, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Scott Lehrer, music direction by Andy Einhorn, orchestrations by Larry Hochman, vocal arrangements by Don Pippin, and dance arrangements by Glen Kelly.

At the 71st Annual Tony Awards, the production took home the trophy for "Best Revival of a Musical," as well as "Best Costume Design of a Musical," "Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical" (for Gavin Creel) and "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical" (for Bette Midler).

Hello, Dolly! first premiered on Broadway at the St James Theatre in 1964, picking up a grand total of 10 Tony Awards, including "Best Musical." It has since been revived three times - 1975 at the Minskoff Theatre, and 1978 and 1995 both at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. A film adaptation was released in 1969, directed by Gene Kelly and starring Barbra Streisand.