Three-time Tony recipient Bernadette Peters, who will succeed Tony winner Bette Midler in the title role of Broadway's Hello, Dolly!, was a guest on NBC's Today January 11.
Peters discussed her upcoming return to Broadway as well as her work on TV's Mozart in the Jungle, which returns for its new season February 16.
Peters told Hoda Kotb and guest co-host Keir Simmons that Dolly Gallagher Levi “is such a beautiful role. She's a matchmaker… She puts people together. She makes things happen… She gets what she wants, but it's all for a good [cause].” Kotb also asked Peters what goes through her mind just before she steps on a Broadway stage. “You try to be open-hearted and centered and have a purpose… My first line is directly to the audience,” Peters explained.Watch the complete interview below.
Peters, most recently on Broadway in the 2011 revival of Follies, will play her first performance as matchmaker Dolly January 20, 2018, at the Shubert Theatre.