Hello, Dolly! Ad Pulled from The New York Times' Election Special Because Dolly's With Her

Dolly Levi wants you to put on your Sunday pantsuit, but The New York Times was not keen to have a political Hello, Dolly!  ad in its pre-election coverage. The paper declined to publish an advertisement for the Scott Rudin-produced revival on the front page of the November 1 special section. The ad would have featured the phrase “It Takes a Woman” underneath the Times’ profiles of presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

The proposed strip ad featured the classic lyrics in bold letters with ticketing and show information below. Though the ad seems to be in agreement with the Times’ endorsement of the Democratic candidate, the paper ultimately decided the placement was too political.

An ad for The Humans, another Rudin production, ran in its place, with a full-page ad for Hello, Dolly! featured further in the section. Both shows’ advertising is handled by SpotCo.

The production, headlined by Bette Midler (a vocal Clinton advocate herself) and directed by Jerry Zaks, is set to begin performances on March 15, 2017, at the Shubert Theatre.

This isn’t the first time Dolly Levi has played a part in a presidential campaign. In 1964, less than a year after the musical premiered at the St. James Theatre, original star Carol Channing performed a reworked version of Jerry Herman’s title song in support of Lyndon B. Johnson at the Democratic National Convention. This was after producer David Merrick had Republican nominee Barry Goldwater cease his own usage of the tune as part of his campaign. Check out Channing’s performance below.