Bette Midler’s ‘Hello, Dolly!’ goodbyes bring big bucks, more theater news

THE SHOW “Hello, Dolly!”

THE DEAL Bette Midler ended her Broadway run in “Hello, Dolly!” with a bang at the box office, earning $2,436,207 over seven performances, plus an additional $598,200 from her final performance, on Jan. 14, which served as a benefit for the Actors Fund. Bernadette Peters takes over as the show’s new leading lady on Jan. 20. Victor Garber replaces David Hyde Pierce, while Charlie Stemp and Molly Griggs take over for Taylor Trensch and Beanie Feldstein, respectively.

THE SHOW “Candide”

THE DEAL John Lithgow, who is currently appearing on Broadway in his one-man show, “John Lithgow: Stories by Heart,” will lead a one-night-only benefit concert performance of the 1956 musical “Candide” at Carnegie Hall on April 18. “Candide,” which is based on the Voltaire novel and contains music by Leonard Bernstein, has undergone countless revisions over the years. Last year, Hal Prince — who directed the 1974 and 1997 Broadway revivals — staged it for the New York City Opera.

THE SERIES Encores! Off-Center

THE DEAL This summer’s season at City Center of the series, a variation of the popular Encores! series of musicals in concert that focuses primarily on smaller-scale Off-Broadway titles, will include new productions of Jason Robert Brown’s 1995 debut work, “Songs for a New World;” Micki Grant’s 1971 revue “Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope,” which explores issues of African-American life; and Michael Friedman’s 2003 documentary musical “Gone Missing,” based on interviews about everyday items that get lost. Friedman, who died of complications of HIV/AIDS in September, served as the artistic director of the Off-Center series in 2017.

THE SHOW “Children of a Lesser God”

THE DEAL Deaf actor, model and activist Nyle DiMarco, who won fame on “America’s Next Top Model” and “Dancing with the Stars,” has signed on to become a producer of the spring Broadway revival of Mark Medoff’s drama about the difficult romance between a teacher and his deaf student. In a statement, producer Hal Luftig said that DiMarco “will have an integral role in the creative process working with [director] Kenny Leon.”