Hello Dolly!

Hello Dolly! works like comfort food. It may not be particularly nourishing theatre with its two-dimensional characters and a plot that is obvious from the start, but when done right, it can be a rousing musical that is funny, touching and thoroughly entertaining.

The musical actually has a rather impressive pedigree. The original source is The Matchmaker, by pioneering American playwright Thornton Wilder. The music and lyrics are by Jerry Herman, arguably one of modern theatre’s greatest talents, and it contains some of musical theatre’s most cherished numbers. The original Broadway show was the longest-running production of the 1960s and held the record of winning the most Tony Awards for almost 40 years, beaten only recently.

Unfortunately, the current touring production is weak. The staging is functional, the light and set design adequate and the costumes generally nice. There were a few problems with the set on the opening night, probably due to the stage crew unfamiliar with the theatre space’s dynamics, and the amplified music constantly drowned the lyrics.

The strangest aspect of the production is how much better a lot of the supporting actors are in comparison to the leads. David McAlister as Horace Vandergelder and Darren Day as Cornelius Hackl both have nice voices and serve their roles well, but Hamilton Sargent, who plays Hackl’s best friend Barnaby, is far superior in energy and comedic timing. Louise English and Amanda Salmon, who play Irene Molly and Minnie Faye respectively, exhibit excellent voices and light the stage with their performances.

But any production of Hello Dolly! can only be truly measured by the performance of it’s lead, and Anita Dobson’s interpretation of matchmaker extraordinaire Dolly Levi is fine. Unfortunately, for such a character, ‘fine’ is simply not good enough. Dolly is the type of character that should reverberate off the back wall and stir the audience. If it weren’t for her microphone and the sequins on her costumes, Dobson’s Dolly would be lost to anyone past the fifth row of the stalls. She’s far better in the second half, giving a fairly competent comedic performance, but the energy and passion she has near the end of the evening is where she should be at the start. She’s likable, but is not the comedic tour de force that the show requires.

By no means a poor night out, Hello Dolly! is still a disappointment, even if the positive outweighs the negative. Fans of the musical will find joy in seeing the show brought to theatrical life again. Those unfamiliar will probably question the production’s relevance.