Tovah Feldshuh stars as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Paper Mill Playhouse production.
By: Stuart Duncan
If there was any question as to whether or not Tovah Feldshuh could handle Hello, Dolly! with conviction, relax she’s just plain terrific. We all knew she was a fine actress, even that she could handle comedy with style, but there were some doubts that her singing voice was up to the challenge of the Jerry Herman score or that she could carry the entire show as, indeed, Dolly must.
No more. And the enthusiastic standing ovation at every performance at Paper Mill Playhouse is no fluke. And without apologies to Sinatra, she does it her way without a hint of Carol Channing, Ethel Merman or Mary Martin. She plays the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi with the emphasis on the middle name, and with a tiny Irish brogue.
The basic plot of the show has a long history of adaptations. The original version was an English play, A Day Well Spent, by John Oxenford, produced in London in 1835. Several years later, Johann Nestroy wrote a German adaptation, produced in Vienna in 1842. It was almost a century before the next version appeared. In 1938 Thornton Wilder wrote The Merchant of Yonkers, deliberately following the Nestroy comedy. That production had only a short run in New York, with Jane Cowl in the lead. Then about 15 years later, Wilder adapted his own work, titling it The Matchmaker. It opened in London in 1954 with Ruth Gordon and became an instant hit. Next, the show was taken to Broadway in late 1955, and was a huge success. Ruth Gordon again starred, but further down the cast list was a future star Robert Morse.
A film version followed with Shirley MacLaine in the starring role (and with Robert Morse in the cast). And then, of course, there was the musical version, Hello, Dolly!, which opened in January 1964 and became Broadway’s longest-running show to that point. Writer Michael Stewart followed the main plot fairly closely, but cut some of the characters.
The opening night audience could hardly believe the stories about terrible troubles on the road. Even director Gower Champion termed the Detroit tryout "a disaster." It was producer David Merrick who stepped in and kept only four musical numbers, insisted that the writers redo the rest. Almost every part of the show was rewritten, and opening night on Broadway was one of the New York theaters greatest triumphs. By the time Carol Channing reached the title number in act two, stepping onto a special runway in front of the orchestra in a stunning red dress set with jewels, the staid opening-night crowd was on its feet, critics included, to let the world know it was one of the biggest show-stoppers in musical theater.
Tovah Feldshuh’s gown is not quite so red, nor does Paper Mill director Mark Hoebee allow for quite the extravagant reception, but there are other moments. One in which Dolly calmly stuffs food into her mouth while the courtroom is waiting for her testimony is hilarious, and in that elegant crossover just mentioned, a timely wink lets us all know not only what fun she is having, but how wonderfully silly the whole concept is.
By no means does Feldshuh have to carry the entire evening. Walter Charles, who plays the Yonkers merchant Horace Vandergelder, has performed the role multiple times and is entirely comfortable. Moreover, he exhibits none of the silliness some actors choose for the part. Kate Baldwin, who plays Irene Molloy, has been seen before at Paper Mill (recently as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls) and she is a delight. Jonathan Rayson and Brian Sears, who play Cornelius and Barnaby, steal whole scenes, making their Paper Mill debuts wildly successful.
It’s fairly obvious that both set designer Michael Anania and costume designer James Schuette were on limited budgets, but you probably won’t care much. Dolly is back at the Hamonia Gardens and all’s right with the world.
Hello, Dolly! continues at Paper Mill Playhouse, Brookside Drive, Millburn, through July 23. Performances: Wed. 7:30 p.m.; Thurs., Sun. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $19-$68, $16 student rush. For information, call (973) 376-4343. On the Web: www.papermill.org