On May 2, 2011, it was announced that Donovan would take over the title role in "Hello, Dolly!", produced by North Carolina Theatre, late in rehearsals. Cybill Shepherd had withdrawn from the production after sustaining injuries in a mishap on stairs at her apartment complex. Almost exactly one year later, on May 11, 2012, history repeated itself when it was announced she would replace an injured Lorna Luft as Dolly in the North Shore Musical Theater's production of the same show.