"Hello, Dolly!" was done as a movie starring Barbra Streisand as Dolly Gallagher,
a widow who is a matchmaker for a living. Michael Crawford made his debut
as Cornelius Hackel, and did a wonderful job. It's amazing to see how far he has
come from the gangly young man to the powerful character that he displays as the
Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera". Walter Matthau
("Grumpy Old Men" and "Grumpier Old Men") as Horace Vandergelder did a
fantastic job as he led the chorus in "It Takes a Woman". Barbra was a sensation,
singing "When the Parade Passes By" with her dynamic voice, and charming
everyone with the hit song "Hello, Dolly!" with a special appearance
by Louis Armstrong and his band. The waiter routine was absolutely thrilling,
followed by a soft love song which has captured the hearts of thousands across
the USA, "It Only Takes a Moment". This Broadway hit is fun and enjoyable,
and definitely worth seeing!
The Plot and Setting
The story begins with Horace and his niece arguing about her wanting to marry a
young artist. He decides to send her off with Dolly to New York, while Dolly
plots to help the young couple enter a dance contest and win. Dolly schemes
throughout the entire play of how to win Horace Vandergelder over and therefore
become Mrs. Vendergelder, wife of the Yonkers' own millionaire.
In the midst of all this, Cornelius Hackel and his assistant Barnaby Tucker have
the time of their lives in New York with Mrs. Irene Molloy and her shop assistant
Fanny. They take them to dinner and run into Mr. Vandergelder, who therefore fires
them. The next day, they return to the shop to collect their pay so that they can
set up a feed and grain store right across the street from them. Dolly enters and
has a little talk with Horace, and then Dolly is soon to become Mrs. Gallagher.
Cornelius and Barnaby are given their positions back and also given a raise, and
his niece and her fellow are allowed to be married. Everyone ends up happy, and
the famous quote of the musical is: "You see, I've always thought of money as
manure, excuse the expression. It's not worth a thing until it's spread around,
encouraging young things to grow." :-)
The Western Nebraska Community College Little Theater Performance of
"Hello, Dolly!"
Theater West performed "Hello, Dolly!" in the summer of 1995. It was directed
by Phil Martin, musically directed by Jim Schmucker.
