For the 10th Anniversary of the Shakespeare Festival, Oxford put on a crowd-pleasing performance of “Hello, Dolly!” in the Main Hall of the Ford Center on Thursday, June 27.
Based on Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker,” “Hello, Dolly!” is one of the most popular musicals on Broadway.
Mary Donnelly Haskell plays Dolly Levi. She brought not only a powerful voice to the stage, but also a great sense of timing for delivering comedic lines. Dolly Levi is known for her love of life and meddling with the lives of others, and Haskell played her part perfectly. She seemed extremely comfortable in the role she was playing, as though she was born to be Dolly. Haskell’s own sense of humor came out in the role, and, as an audience member, I could tell she was amsued with the idea of meddling with her fellow cast members on the stage. I had not expected to fall in love with the character of Dolly, but Haskell seemed so fun and full of life that I could not resist.
Written by five-time Tony Award winner Jerry Herman, the play follows Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi, a matchmaker extraordinaire, as she sets off on a quest to make sure all the people in her town of Yonkers find love.
Dolly herself has set her sights on Horace Vandergelder (Ed Hanson) the well-known half-a-millionaire. She plans on taking him as her own husband to spread his wealth throughout the lives of others.
Director of the play Rene E. Pulliam has brought to the stage a caring, witty, and confident Dolly Levi.
The play begins with a slow build up from the orchestra, conducted by Robert Aubrey, into the opening of Act One. The townspeople of Yonkers fill the stage in their stunning la belle epoque attire. The cast becomes intimate with the audience by sharing their fond thoughts of Dolly. The act brings both music and dialogue to the stage which introduces a whole new level of involvement between the audience and characters. Dolly is then wheeled onto the stage and smiled upon as she begins to pair up the single men and women with one another, whereafter she “shoos” them from her advisory.
Ed Hanson plays Dolly’s love interest, Horace Vandergelder. Vandergelder is known for his ill-humored response to life and Hanson certainly played his part well. I was not expecting to dislike Vandergelder as much as I did. Though the part was played well, it seemed odd that someone so loving and caring as Dolly could ever fall for a man of his like. Hanson helped win me over by the end of the last act; however, it took convincing.
I was pleasantly surprised by Vandergelder’s clerks, Cornelius Hackl (Garrett Lawson) and Barnaby Tucker (Kyle Davis) who filled the audience with humor and life. The duo were so full of hopes and dreams for their futures that one could not help but fall in love with them. Their witty banter and innocent nature almost stole the show for me. They were so well cast that I couldn’t imagine them in any other state.
Though all the cast members of the play filled the auditorium with beautiful voices, Mary Haskell’s stood out the most. She performed every song with beauty, grace and a bit of spunk, and it was lovely to listen to her throughout the night.
I fell in love with the characters and storyline of “Hello, Dolly!” and very much enjoyed my Thursday night.
