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Hello, Dolly!
had opened at the St. James Theatre on January 16, 1964 with
a cast that featured Carol Channing (Dolly), David Burns (Horace),
Charles Nelson Reilly (Cornelius), Jerry Dodge (Barnaby), Eileen
Brennan (Irene), and Sondra Lee (Minnie Fay). The show won 10
Tony Awards and ran for 2,844 performances, briefly holding the
record for the longest-running Broadway production before it
was overtaken by Fiddler on the Roof. With a score
by composer-lyricist Jerry Herman and a libretto by Michael
Stewart, it tells the story of a shrewd widow who brings
young lovers together and finds a husband for herself (a cranky
Yonkers store owner, Horace Vanderguilder) in 1890s New York.
The role of Dolly was first offered to Ethel
Merman, but she was still recovering from her long run in Gypsy,
and declined. This opened the way for Carol Channing to
take on the most memorable role of her career.
During the Broadway run, Ms. Channing was succeeded by Ginger
Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Bibi Osterwald, Pearl Bailey,
Phyllis Diller, and Ethel Merman (who had originally turned down
the role.)
PERIOD AND COSTUMES:
Turn of the century: New York City
and Yonkers. Bright, cartoon costumes of the dress and styles
of the period. (Ruffled dresses, large hats, parasols, striped
pants, vests, spats, waistcoats), shopkeeper smocks, horse costume,
green waiter suits with white aprons, floor-length evening dresses,
lodge uniform, tights, high-button shoes, parade costumes (police,
sports club, dance-hall girls, opera Association etc.), male
formal suit and evening cape, "Hello, Dolly" evening
dress, sailor dress, traveling clothes for ensemble.
CASTING:
14 parts, 7 principals. plus various
non-speaking roles, chorus and dance ensemble.
* Dolly, engaging female arranger, accomplished character woman
who also sings, minor dancing.
* Horace, strong-willed character man, sings.
* Ambrose, sings in one number.
* Cornelius and Barnaby, comics who sing and dance well.
* Irene Molloy, legit voice, minor dancing.
* Minnie Fay, dancer who sings.
Large male dancing chorus. Large singing chorus of males and
females who also do minor dance steps in company numbers. Total
cast, 34-50.
Musical Numbers
* I Put My Hand In - Dolly Levi, Company
* It Takes a Woman - Horace Vandergelder, Instant Glee
Club
* World, Take Me Back - Dolly Levi
* Put on Your Sunday Clothes - Cornelius, Barnaby, Dolly
Levi, Ambrose, Ermengarde
* Put on Your Sunday Clothes (reprise) - The People of
Yonkers
* Ribbons Down My Back - Irene Molloy
* Love, Look in My Window - Dolly Levi
* Motherhood - Dolly Levi, Horace Vandergelder, Irene Molloy,
Minnie Fay, Cornelius, Barnaby
* Dancing - Dolly Levi, Cornelius, Barnaby, Minnie Fay,
Irene Molloy, Dancers
* Before the Parade Passes By - Dolly Levi, Horace Vandergelder,
Company
* Elegance - Irene Molloy, Cornelius, Minnie Fay, Barnaby
* The Waiter's Gallop - Rudolph, Waiters
* Hello, Dolly! - Dolly Levi, Rudolph, Waiters, Cooks
* Come and Be My Butterfly - Ambrose, Muses, Nymphs, Flowers,
Butterflies *
* It Only Takes a Moment - Cornelius, Irene Molloy, Prisoners,
Policemen
* So Long Dearie - Dolly Levi, Horace Vandergelder
* Hello, Dolly! (reprise) - Dolly Levi, Horace Vandergelder
* Finale Company
* Replaced by The Polka Contest
Scenes and Settings
The action takes place in Yonkers and New York City in the
1890s.
Act 1
Scene I: Along Fourth Avenue, New York City. _Scene 2: Grand
Central Station. _Scene 3: A Street in Yonkers. _Scene 4: Vandergelder
's Hay and Feed Store, Yonkers. _Scene 5: The Yonkers Depot.
_Scene 6: Outside Mrs, Molloy's Hat Shop. Water Street, New York
City. _Scene 7: Inside the Hat Shop. _Scene 8: A Quiet Street.
_Scene 9: Fourteenth Street.
Act 2
Scene 1: In front of the Hoffman House Hotel on Fifth Avenue.
_Scene 2: Outside the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant on the Battery.
_Scene 3: Inside the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant. _Scene 4: Tableaux
Vivantes._Scene 5: A Courtroom on Centre Street. _Scene 6: The
Hay and Feed Store, Yonkers.
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