Quuen Latifah in HELLO, DOLLY?

[somethingwicked]

musicaltheatreman2, the rumor is that Jerry Herman was very insistent on Jack O'Brien (who was to direct the production with LuPone) simply recreating the original Gower Champion staging, which neither O'Brien nor LuPone were interested in.

[nasty_khakis]

Somethingwicked is correct. From what I understand Herman holds this show very near and dear and doesn't want it to come back in a "new" way and fail since it would be the last production in his lifetime. He wants to stick with what in his mind works and can not fail (the original staging). I truly wish he was more open to new stagings of his work and take the Sondheim approach even if we have to say "Oh, so Mame doesn't work set in a 1920 asylum where they play instruments, but at least they tried!"

[musicaltheatreman2]

i know that herman wrote dolly, but does he have that much of a say on how a production is staged?

[nasty_khakis]

Yup, most authors/composers have yes or no power over casting/director/etc in major productions and revivals of their works. Just like how Arthur Laurents had a list of actresses he banned from playing Rose.

[jayinchelsea]

Sorry, I'm a bad typist. But why wouldn't this be a color-blind version, with a star like Queen, and Michael Urie as Barnaby etc? Even if the original staging were used (and it is pretty nifty), I can't believe that Jerry wouldn't want to see his best show revived. Of course it would succeed again; with a new star in the lead, it would feel like a new show.