TAMPA — A steaming locomotive pulls onto the stage of the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, into a depot full of townspeople in pastel topcoats and long dresses with bustles. Throughout Hello, Dolly!, they’ll put on their Sunday clothes about 12 different times as couples pair off and dancing waiters slide down banisters. Jerry Zaks’ revival of the hit musical, which captivated Broadway audiences in 2017, had nearly sold out out Tuesday’s opening night. It’s a fun show, an amplified version of New York nostalgia that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a feel-good musical. Read MORE

When Bette Midler sang the words “Dolly’ll never go away again” in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! in early 2017, she wasn’t kidding. Bernadette Peters followed in her legendary footsteps on the Great White Way, and then Midler reprised her role for one last blast in a mid-to-late summer run this year. Read MORE

Women rule the roost across the heartland this holiday season with two productions featuring unconventional leading ladies taking on iconic roles. Read MORE

Lewis J. Stadlen co-stars in the production that runs through Dec. 9

It took Betty Buckley a lot of years to appreciate Jerry Herman’s hit musical “Hello, Dolly!” and a leading role the Tony Award-winner never imagined herself playing during her career. But now she couldn’t be happier leading a national tour that stops at the Straz Center in Tampa beginning Tuesday. Read MORE

The grin hits your face early in Hello, Dolly! and stays there till the bows are done. Read MORE