Hello Dolly

Hello Dolly is a classic well established and loved musical; nearly all the music is iconic and the characters are well established and equally well known. There is very little a director can do to stamp his own mark or deviate from the well known dialogue without audiences feeling they have been ‘short changed’. So a director will look for another angle to bring the show into the 21st century and in this instance he chose speed. The show raced along at such a pace that I hardly had time to draw breath and I missed the opportunity to relish the comedy of certain scenes with well remembered dialogue as I was rushed into the next. But this show delighted the audience with its good routines and excellent and very colourful costumes. (Dolly’s finale outfit was to die for!)

The scenery for The Harmonia Gardens and Feed Store was excellent as were many very good cloths, so I thought  playing so many scenes in front of black tabs was a mistake, it reduced the scenes to ‘concert version’ and was a disappointment. I can imagine the reason for not playing the final scene in the feed store was to use the dramatic Harmonia Gardens for the walk down, but this actually diminished the final scene which is so vital in completing the story. (The blue wall paper and ‘thank you Ephraim’ got lost.)

The chorus singing was excellent with the MD keeping total control of the orchestra and the tempo’s, but of course he couldn’t control some of the ‘bum’ notes from the brass section. The sound was excellent and I could hear every word, particularly necessary in a ‘brassy’ show. 

The choreography was good, but the actual execution of the given chorography was excellent. I felt the company and dancers, who were very well rehearsed, were capable of much more exacting routines. The Waiters Gallop was well executed but could have been more exciting. I also wondered what was achieved by the company and principals walking off stage so often only to reappear a moment later to continue a routine. 

The principal characters all performed with flair and talent and held the show together. I loved the routine and singing of ‘It takes a woman’ and ‘The Parade Passes By’ routine was very entertaining. Mrs Malloy and Minnie Fay both had lovely voices and performed very well, they perfectly complemented the excellent Cornelius and Barnaby (the latter being very funny). Dolly and Vandagelder made the perfect pairing with their comic timing and excellent vocal abilities. Everyone worked extremely hard and deserved the excellent ovation, from a sadly depleted audience, during the final bows. Congratulations Frome MTC, once again another very good evening’s entertainment.

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