Bette Midler returning to Broadway in ‘Hello, Dolly!’

A new production of Hello, Dolly! is heading to Broadway, with the perfect star for the title role: Bette Midler.

Producer Scott Rudin told The Associated Press that Midler will star as Dolly Gallagher Levi, the matchmaker who has trouble finding a love of her own. The production will start next year on March 13, 2017. The official opening is set for April 20, 2017.

“There has not been a new production in 50 years,” Rudin noted. “Partly it was the difficulty of who could play Dolly. It had to be someone who could take it to a different level. Bette is the only one who can. Never has there been something more inevitable than her in this role.”

Playbill reports that four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks will direct and Tony winner Warren Carlyle is choreographer.

Dolly is one of the most famous female roles in musical theater history and was originated by Carol Channing. Michael Stewart wrote the book, which is based on Thornton Wilder’s play The Matchmaker. Lyrics and music were by Jerry Herman. It was revived on Broadway in 1975, 1978 and 1995.

The original 1964 production broke the record for Tony wins with 11 and ran for 2,844 performances. In 1969, Gene Kelly directed Barbra Streisand in a the film version.

Midler was last seen on Broadway in 2013’s I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers.

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