HELLO, DOLLY! Understudy Linda Mugleston Made Her Dolly Gallagher Levi Debut Yesterday!

BroadwayWorld has just confirmed that Linda Mugleston made her debut as Dolly Gallagher Levi yesterday afternoon in Hello, Dolly! Mugleston understudies the role and was filling in for Tony winner Bette Midler for the Wednesday matinee performance. Midler was indeed back on for the evening performance.

Ticket holders who came to see Midler were offered a refund for their tickets at the box office.

Mugleston's Broadway credits include: Beautiful; On the Twentieth Century; Cinderella; Anything Goes; Young Frankenstein; Wonderful Town; Nine; Into the Woods; Kiss Me, Kate; On the Town. Off-Broadway/regional: Sweeney Todd (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Guys and Dolls (Carnegie Hall); The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall); Sunset Boulevard (Portland Center Stage).

This new production of Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of this classic musical to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, will pay tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.

Based on Thornton Wilder's farce The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! caused an instant sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1964, starring Carol Channing in the title role. It went on to win a record-shattering ten Tony Awards, including those for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Producer of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design, and Best Costume Design. It was also named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics' Circle. Its original Broadway cast recording hit the top of the Billboard album chart, and years later was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It also marked the greatest producing triumph of legendary impresario David Merrick, running for 2,844 performances over seven years and breaking the record for the longest running show in Broadway history. In addition to Ms. Channing, an astonishing list of Broadway and Hollywood luminaries have inhabited the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, including Pearl Bailey, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman (in her last appearance on Broadway), and Mary Martin, who led the West End company.

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