Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Close, Midler lead Broadway offerings
Two Broadway titans in Bette Midler and Glenn Close return to the Great White Way this spring.
Midler will star in a revival of “Hello, Dolly!” offering theatergoers a chance to hear her sing “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “Before the Parade Passes By” and “So Long Dearie.” The Divine Miss M, whose co-star will be David Hyde Pierce, steps into the role previously performed by Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Barbra Streisand and, of course, Carol Channing. Previews begin March 15 at the Shubert Theatre.
Close will take her latest crack at the aging silent film star Norma Desmond from the musical “Sunset Boulevard.” The English National Opera’s stripped-down revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical starring Close will land with a 40-piece orchestra. Previews have begun at the Palace Theatre. Here’s a look at some of the other highlights: Kevin Kline is returning to Broadway, after a decade, in a delightfully frantic comedy about a narcissistic actor and the chaos that inevitably erupts in his posh London household — Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.” Previews begin March 10 at the St. James Theatre.
Jake Gyllenhaal will star in a revival of the musical “Sunday in the Park With George” that will be the first show in 50 years at the Hudson Theatre, which is being renovated into Broadway’s 41st venue. Previews begin Saturday at the Hudson Theatre.
Just three years after the last Broadway revival of “The Glass Menagerie” left, it’s coming back. Sally Field will play Amanda Wingfield, the faded Southern belle at the heart of the Tennessee Williams play. Previews begin Feb. 14 at the Golden Theatre.