Hello, Dolly! to star Imelda Staunton and run at the Adelphi Theatre

Imelda Staunton to headline Hello, Dolly! showing at the Adelphi Theatre!

Following recent news that Imelda Staunton would be starring in series 5 and 6 of The Crown on Netflix, the former Harry Potter actress has now been confirmed to be starring in the West End revival of Hello, Dolly!. The production is to be directed by Dominic Cooke and opens on 11 August at the Adelphi Theatre in London where it will run for a 30-week season until 6 March 2021. (Press night is scheduled for Thursday, 27 August 2020).

Joining Staunton in the London cast of Hello, Dolly! will be Jenna Russell (The Bridges of Madison County, Fun Home). The musical features choreography by Bill Deamer, musical supervision by Nick Skillbeck, and design by Rae Smith.

On being cast for the role of Dolly, Imelda Staunton said: “Well, I’m delighted and daunted in equal measure to be doing a new production of Hello, Dolly! in London next year. I am so excited to be working again with Dominic Cooke, Michael Harrison and David Ian, and we all can’t wait to bring Hello, Dolly! — which is a truly joyous show — back to the West End after all these years." 

The new production of Hello, Dolly! The Musical will not only reunite Staunton with Dominic Cooke (Follies), but also with producers David Ian and Michael Harrison. The trio last collaborated on the Savoy Theatre production of Gypsy, which notably won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival as well as Best Actress In A Musical for Staunton's performance in the role of Momma Rose.

Further Hello, Dolly! casting will be announced in due course.

Spotlight on Imelda Staunton

Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, CBE is a highly-prolific, London-born actress who began her career in repertory theatre before branching out into major West End productions, film, and television. Her most notable stage credits include A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), Entertaining Mr Sloane (2009), Good People (2014), Guys and Dolls (1996), Gypsy (2016), Into the Woods (1991), Sweeney Todd (2013), The Beggar's Opera (1982), The Corn is Green (1985), The Wizard of Oz (1987), and Uncle Vanya (1988).

Staunton's most notable film credits include the voice of Bunty in Chicken Run (2000), her multi-award-nominated performance in the lead role for Vera Drake (2004), and her role opposite Hilary Swank in Freedom Writers (2007), in which she played Margaret Campbell, an evil education department chair at a troubled school in Los Angeles. Her portrayal of the character in Freedom Writers greatly mirrored her performance in the role of Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), as both characters were in positions of educational power and largely hated by the protagonists in their respective stories.

Other film credits of Imelda Staunton's include Mrs Joan Blatherwick in Nanny McPhee (2005), the voices of Tall Flower Faces in Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Knotgrass in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) while her most notable TV credits include Alma Hitchcock in The Girl (2012), an episode of Doctor Who (2011), and, most recently, six episodes of A Confession (2019).

About Hello, Dolly! The Musical

Hello, Dolly! was adapted from Thornton Wilder's play The Matchmaker and received its world premiere on Broadway over 50 years ago. It tells the story of a matchmaker and socialite named Dolly Gallagher Levi who travels to Yonkers to find a suitor for the penny-pinching Horace Vandergelder — her toughest client yet. That is, until she decides to find a match for herself! 

Featuring a book by Michael Stewart and timeless music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, Hello, Dolly! includes such classic earworms as "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", "Ribbons Down My Back", "Before the Parade Passes By", "Elegance", "Hello Dolly" and "It Only Takes A Moment" that will have you humming for days.

Hello, Dolly! tickets on sale 27 November 2019!

Don't miss out on the star-studded production of Hello, Dolly! at The Adelphi next summer!