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| Hello, Dolly! | |
| |
| 1994 Cast Recording Cover | |
|---|---|
| Music | Jerry Herman |
| Lyrics | Jerry Herman |
| Book | Michael Stewart |
| Based upon | Play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder |
| Productions | 1964 Broadway 1969 Film 1975 All-black Broadway revival 1978 Broadway revival 1995 Broadway revival 1996 Mexico City |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Tony for Composer and Lyricist Tony Award for Best Book |
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder\'s 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955.
Hello, Dolly! was first produced on Broadway by David Merrick in 1964, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and nine other Tonys. The show album Hello, Dolly! An Original Cast Recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.Grammy Hall of Fame Award The show has become one of the most enduring musical theatre hits, enjoying three Broadway revivals and international success. It was also made into a 1969 film that was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
Contents |
The plot of Hello, Dolly! originated in Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Will Go on a Spree), an 1842 play by Austrian Johann Nestroy, which was itself based on an 1835 English play, A Day Well Spent. Wilder adapted Nestroy\'s play into his 1938 farcical play, The Merchant of Yonkers, a flop, which he revised, expanding the role of Dolly, and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955, starring Ruth Gordon. The Matchmaker became a hit and was much revived and made into a 1958 film of the same name starring Shirley Booth. The story of a meddlesome widow who strives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant also features prominently in the 1891 hit musical A Trip to Chinatown.Curtain Up article
Although the part of Dolly Levi in the musical was originally written for Ethel Merman, she turned it down, and although Merrrick considered Nancy Walker, eventually Carol Channing was hired, giving her the opportunity to create her most memorable role.Musicals101 article Director Gower Champion was not the producers\' first choice, either; Hal Prince and other directors (among them Jerome Robbins and Joe Layton) turned down the job of directing the musical.Before the Parade Passes by: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical, John Anthony Gilvey (2005) St. Martin\'s Press, p. 117 ISBN 0312337760 Hello, Dolly! had rocky out-of-town tryouts in Detroit and Washington, D.C.Musicals101 article After receiving the reviews, the creators made major changes to the script and score, including adding the song "Before the Parade Passes By."Gilvey, p. 149 Hello, Dolly! was originally entitled Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman,Bloom, p. 152 until Merrick heard Louis Armstrong\'s recording of the song and changed the name of the show.
The original Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and produced by David Merrick, opened to rave reviewsBovson article on January 16 1964 at the St. James Theatre, becoming a Broadway blockbuster in the 1960s and running for 2,844 performances. The title role was written with Ethel Merman in mind, but she declined, as did Mary Martin. The part eventually went to Carol Channing. The supporting cast included David Burns as Horace, Charles Nelson Reilly as Cornelius, Eileen Brennan as Irene, Jerry Dodge as Barnaby, Sondra Lee as Minnie Fay, Alice Playten as Ermengarde, and Igors Gavon as Ambrose. Although facing stiff competition from Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand, Hello, Dolly! swept the Tony Awards that season, winning awards in ten categories (out of eleven nominations), a record that remained unbroken for 37 years until The Producers won twelve Tonys in 2001.
After Channing left the production, Merrick kept the show playing to capacity houses by casting big name stars in the title role, including Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey (in an all-black version with Cab Calloway), Dorothy Lamour, Phyllis Diller, and Ethel Merman, for whom Herman originally wrote the show. Two songs cut prior to the opening — typical Mermanesque "belters" entitled "World, Take Me Back" and "Love, Look in My Window" — were restored for her run.
The original Dolly production went on to become the longest running musical (and third longest-running show)see "Playbill list of longest running shows" under external links in Broadway history up to that time, surpassing My Fair Lady and then being surpassed in turn by Fiddler on the Roof. According to the 2004 book, Broadway: The American Musical, the Broadway production of Hello Dolly grossed US$27 million. "The 1960s was the decade that nurtured long-running blockbusters in unprecedented quantities: ten musicals passed the rarefied 1,000 performance mark, three of them passed the 2,000 mark...."Kantor, p. 302, also noting that "Fiddler on the Roof passed the 3,000 mark, earning back $1,574 for every dollar put into it." Hello, Dolly! and Fiddler remained the longest-running Broadway record holders for almost 10 years until Grease pushed them both down a rank.
Hello, Dolly! was revived three times on Broadway, including an all-black production (with Bailey and Billy Daniels) in 1975 (42 performances), and two with Channing, the first in 1978 (147 performances), the second in 1994 (116 performances). It was also made into a 1969 musical film, directed by Gene Kelly and starring Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau, that was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three (including Best Music).
The musical has also enjoyed international success. Mary Martin played Dolly in the West End production of Hello, Dolly!, as well as in Japan and Vietnam for a special U.S.O. performance for U.S. troops. The original German production of Hello, Dolly!, with the title character\'s surname "Wassiljewa" (Vasilyeva) rather than "Levi," starred Tatjana Iwanow (Tatyana Ivanov). In 1996, Mexican diva Silvia Pinal starred in the Spanish language version of the musical ¿Qué tal Dolly? ("What\'s Up, Dolly?") opposite Ignacio Lopez Tarso in Mexico City.[citation needed]
Act I
Widowed but brassy matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi makes a living through what she calls "meddling" – matchmaking and numerous sidelines including dance instruction and mandolin lessons. She travels to Yonkers, New York to visit her client, grumpy Horace Vandergelder, a prominent citizen and wealthy bachelor in need of a wife to tend to himself and his home. It is soon clear, however, that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself and to "send his money circulating among the people like rainwater," the way her late husband taught her.
At Vandergelder\'s Hay and Feed Store in Yonkers, Dolly convinces Vandergelder, his two stock clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, his weepy niece Ermengarde, and her artistic beau Ambrose Kemper, to "put on [their] Sunday clothes” and take the train to New York City. Cornelius, Barnaby, Dolly and Horace all arrive at the hat shop of widow Irene Molloy. Dolly cleverly steers Horace away from Irene, with whom she is supposed to be setting him up, and instead arranges a match between the two clerks and the bored milliner and her perky shop assistant, Minnie Fay. Dolly catches up with the annoyed Vandergelder as he is playing in a band during the great Fourteenth Street Association Parade, and she convinces him to give her matchmaking one more chance. She tells him of a lonely heiress that would be perfect for him, and asks him to meet her at the swanky Harmonia Gardens that evening. Alone, she decides to put her dearly departed husband Ephram behind her, and move on with life "Before the Parade Passes By".
Act II
Dolly has now arranged for everyone to meet at the Harmonia Gardens. Ermengarde and Ambrose have entered the polka competition, so Ambrose can demonstrate his ability to be a bread winner to Uncle Horace. Cornelius and Barnaby are taking Irene and Minnie there on a date and are determined to get a kiss before the night is over. As the clerks have no money for a carriage, they convince the girls that walking to the restaurant shows that they\'ve "got elegance". At the Gardens, Dolly makes her triumphant return and is greeted in style by the restaurant staff ("Hello, Dolly!"). A web of complicated entanglements ensues, culminating in a free-for-all and a trip to night court. Cornelius professes his love for Irene, Barnaby for Minnie, and Ambrose for Ermengarde. Dolly convinces the judge that the only thing everyone is guilty of is being in love. Everyone, that is, except Mr. Vandergelder.
Back at the hay and feed store, Cornelius and Irene, Barnaby and Minnie, and Ambrose and Ermengarde are each setting out on their own. A chastened Horace Vandergelder finally admits that he needs Dolly in his life, but Dolly is unsure about the marriage until her late husband sends her a sign – Vandergelder repeats a saying of Ephram\'s: "Money is like manure. It\'s not worth a thing unless it\'s spread about, encouraging young things to grow."
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| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Tony Award for Best Musical 1964 | Succeeded by Fiddler on the Roof |
| Preceded by Oliver! by Lionel Bart | Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist 1964 by Jerry Herman | Succeeded by Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick |
| Preceded by A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart | Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical 1964 by Michael Stewart | Succeeded by Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein |
| Jerry Herman Musicals |
|---|
From A to Z • Milk and Honey • Hello, Dolly! • Mame • Dear World • Mack and Mabel • The Grand Tour • La Cage aux Folles • Mrs. Santa Claus • Showtune • Jerry\'s Girls • An Evening with Jerry Herman • Miss Spectacular |
| Tony Award for Best Musical: Winners (1949–1969) |
|---|
1949: Kiss Me, Kate •
1950: South Pacific •
1951: Guys and Dolls •
1952: The King and I •
1953: Wonderful Town •
1954: Kismet •
1955: The Pajama Game •
1956: Damn Yankees •
1957: My Fair Lady •
1958: The Music Man •
1959: Redhead •
1960: The Sound of Music† •
1960: Fiorello!† •
1961: Bye Bye Birdie •
1962: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying •
1963: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum •
1964: Hello, Dolly! •
1965: Fiddler on the Roof •
1966: Man of La Mancha •
1967: Cabaret •
1968: Hallelujah, Baby! •
1969: 1776
Complete List · Winners (1949–1969) · Winners (1970–1989) · Winners (1990–2009) |
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