Olivier Award winner Janie Dee will take the lead role in Leicester Curve’s Christmas production of Hello, Dolly!
The production reunites Dee and Curve’s artistic director Paul Kerryson who collaborated on The King and I in 2010.
Hello, Dolly! will also feature Dale Rapley as Horace, Michael Xavier as Cornelius, Ngo Ngofa as Minni, Kerry Washington as Ernestina, Laura Pitt-Pulford as Irene, Jason Denton as Barnaby, Keisha Atwell as Ermengarde and Simon Donovan as Ambrose Kemper.
Dale Rapley plays Horace Vandergelder. His theatre credits include The Lady in the Van (Hull Truck/UK tour), Mother of Him (Courtyard Theatre, Hoxton) and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe).
Michael Xavier plays Cornelius Hack. He was in The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre), Soho Cinders (Soho Theatre), Wonderful Town (The Lowry / UK tour), Into the Woods (Regent’s Park Open-Air Theatre) and Oklahoma (Chichester Festival Theatre).
Ngo Ngofa was last seen at Curve in Paul Kerryson’s production of Hot Stuff. Other credits include the UK tours of The Witches of Eastwick and Fame.
Hello, Dolly! includes numbers such as "Put on Your Sunday Clothes", "Before the Parade Passes By" and the title song. Music and lyrics are by Jerry Herman.
Designs are by Sara Perks, choreography by David Needham and new musical direction by Ben Atkinson.
The musical comedy previews from Friday (30 November) and opens on Wednesday 5 December. It runs until Saturday, 12 January.