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Tony Nominated Actress Starring In Wichita Production Of 'Hello, Dolly!'

Tony-nominated, Olivier Award-winning actress Karla Burns is starring in the title role as Dolly Levi in the Broadway classic "Hello, Dolly!" at Wichita’s Forum Theatre. Actor Huron Breaux portrays Horace Vandergelder, the object of Dolly’s affection.

Wichita-native Karla Burns, well known for her Broadway performance as Queenie in Showboat, says she is thrilled to have the opportunity to star in "Hello, Dolly!" The show was made popular by several actresses back in the 1960s, including Carol Channing on Broadway, Pearl Bailey who starred in an all-black cast production and Barbara Streisand in a movie version.

Burns says as you watch the story unfold, Dolly realizes what she wants to do– make sure her love interest, Horace Vendergelder, doesn’t get interested in the other women.

Actor Huron Breaux is originally from Louisiana but has lived in Wichita for 12 years. Breaux says unbeknownst to his character, Horace Vandergelder, Dolly has herself in mind as his suitor and she purposely sets him up with all of the wrong type of women.

In 2007, Burns had throat surgery and it took her three years of grueling work to sing again. Burns said a couple of songs are usually OK, but she sings 10 in this show. Burns says she couldn’t talk for a long time, let alone sing, but vocal therapy allowed her to sing again and take part in productions like "Hello, Dolly!"

"Hello, Dolly!" runs through April 7 at The Forum Theatre.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.