A record was broken on Broadway over the weekend.
Bette Midler scored the best first day sales in Broadway history for her revival of “Hello, Dolly!”
The musical, also starring David Hyde Pierce, racked up $9,082,497 as tickets went on sale. Shubert Theatre presidents Bob Wankel and Phil Smith cried a little before pouring Champagne.
Jerry Zaks directs the revival, which opens on April 20th after previews begin March 15th.
Bette Midler was so happy she even Tweeted about it. I hope she knows she’ll be in that show a long time. Carol Channing didn’t miss a performance from 1964 to 1968. Pearl Bailey followed her, and Ethel Merman closed the show after seven years. It was revived briefly in the 1990s with Channing, who is now five thousand years old and will be there opening night.
PS The album from this show is going to be a big hit for whichever label was smart enough to snap it up!
