Producer Scott Rudin announced today that Charlie Stemp, whose stunning debut in Half A Sixpence “has taken the West End by storm” (The Evening Standard), will make his Broadway debut as Barnaby Tucker in the most successful and beloved Broadway production of the year: Hello, Dolly!.
Mr. Stemp will begin performances opposite the previously announced stars Bernadette Peters and Victor Garber on Saturday evening, January 20, 2018, prior to a Thursday, February 22 opening night. Taylor Trensch will play his final performance as Barnaby Tucker on Sunday, January 14 ahead of taking the lead role in Dear Evan Hansen.
Mr. Stemp’s turn as Arthur Kipps in Half A Sixpence has been called “one of those fairy-tale performances that’s the stuff of legend” (The Sunday Telegraph). He has been universally praised by critics as “a huge find” (The Telegraph), who is filled with such “undiluted charm” (The Daily Express) and “magnetism” (New York Post), that “you just have to sit forward and stare” (The Times of London) at his “megawatt glow” (The Evening Standard) – which contains “enough energy to light up the West End” (The Daily Mail).
Charlie Stemp will replace Taylor Trensch (shown above) as Barnaby Tucker in ‘Hello, Dolly!’ Photo by Julieta Cervantes
This production of Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! instantly became the most coveted ticket of the year when it broke the record for best first day of ticket sales in Broadway history. By the time it began previews, it had the largest pre-performance advance sale in Broadway history. It went on to win four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Bette Midler), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Gavin Creel), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Santo Loquasto), and has continued to break the Shubert Theatre house box office record over and over and over and over again.
Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, Hello, Dolly! began performances on Broadway on March 15, 2017, and officially opened on Thursday, April 20, 2017.
This Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of the classic musical (based on Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker) to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, pays tribute to the work of its original director/ choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.
Mr. Stemp is appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance to this production.
Charlie Stemp as Arthur Kipps in ‘Half a Sixpence’ Photo by Manuel Harlan
Charlie Stemp (Barnaby Tucker) garnered unprecedented critical acclaim for his star-making performance in the West End revival of Half A Sixpence. The production premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre and transferred to the West End in 2016, where it received rave reviews. For his performance as Arthur Kipps, he was nominated for the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, the 2017 Carl Alan Performer’s Award, and was honored with the 2017 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In addition, for the Chichester production, he received a 2016 UK Theatre Award nomination for Best Performance in a Musical. Mr. Stemp made his professional debut in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, before playing Eddie in the international tour of Mamma Mia!. He was born in London and graduated from Laine Theatre Arts.
BROADWAY.COM AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED
New York, NY (May 19, 2017) – The Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards were revealed today ahead of the winners’ cocktail reception taking place on Thursday, May 25th in Manhattan. The winners were selected by fans who voted in a comprehensive Broadway.com survey that included 22 competitive categories.
This year, Dear Evan Hansen proved to be the most popular, winning eight awards including Favorite New Musical and Favorite New Song for “Waving Through a Window.” The Hollywood stars also made a mark on Broadway this year, with two wins for Bette Midler (Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical, Favorite Diva Performance) and awards for Sally Field (Favorite Leading Actress in a Play), Mark Ruffalo (Favorite Leading Actor in a Play), and Danny DeVito (Favorite Featured Actor in a Play). Last year’s Audience Choice Award favorite Hamilton managed to grab another award this year, taking the title of “Favorite Long Running Show” from Wicked, breaking an eight-year streak.
In its 17th year, the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards celebrate the fan favorites of the season by giving the vote to the people. A full list of winners (bolded) is included below. The voting period opened Monday, May 8th at 5pm and concluded on Wednesday, May 17th at 11:59pm. Voting was open to everyone through Broadway.com. Winners in each category will be invited to a private cocktail reception in celebration of the awards.
Winners for the 2017 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards
Favorite New Musical
**Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite New Play
**The Play That Goes Wrong**
Favorite Musical Revival
**Falsettos**
Favorite Play Revival
**The Glass Menagerie**
Favorite Long-Running Show
**Hamilton**
Favorite Tour
**Wicked**
Favorite Leading Actor In A Musical
**Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Leading Actress In A Musical
**Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!**
Favorite Leading Actor In A Play
**Mark Ruffalo, The Price**
Favorite Leading Actress In A Play
**Sally Field, The Glass Menagerie**
Favorite Featured Actor In A Musical
**Andrew Rannells, Falsettos**
Favorite Featured Actress In A Musical
**Laura Dreyfuss, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Featured Actor In A Play
**Danny DeVito, The Price**
Favorite Featured Actress In A Play
**Lindsay Mendez, Significant Other**
Favorite Funny Performance
**Will Roland, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Diva Performance
**Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!**
Favorite Onstage Pair
**Laura Dreyfuss and Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)
**Mike Faist, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Female)
**Laura Dreyfuss, Dear Evan Hansen**
Favorite Replacement (Male)
**Todrick Hall, Kinky Boots**
Favorite Replacement (Female)
**Sara Bareilles, Waitress**
Favorite New Song
**“Waving Through a Window” – Dear Evan Hansen**
Shows with Multiple Wins
Dear Evan Hansen: 8 Falsettos: 2 The Glass Menagerie: 2 Hello, Dolly!: 2 The Price: 2
Performers with Multiple Wins:
Laura Dreyfuss (Dear Evan Hansen): 3 Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!): 2 Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen): 2
ABOUT BROADWAY.COM Broadway.com is the premiere Broadway theatre website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. It has been cited as the most influential source for obtaining Broadway information since 2009, according to The Broadway League Audience Demographics report. Broadway.com offers its subscribers and its visitors (over 25 million annually) complete editorial coverage, unique content and show information.
Broadway.com is a subsidiary of The John Gore Organization (JGO). JGO is the leading developer, producer, distributor and marketer of Broadway theatre worldwide. Under the leadership of 9-time Tony Award winning theater producer and owner John Gore, its family of companies also includes Broadway Across America, The Broadway Channel, Broadwaybox.com and Group Sales Box Office. Its productions span Broadway, Off Broadway, London’s West End, Japan, China, Canada and 41 domestic markets. It has won Tonys in every producing category as well as numerous other Drama League, Drama Desk and Olivier awards. For more information, www.johngore.com.
