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Civic's 'Dolly' Wise, Mirthful

Civic's 'Dolly' Wise, Mirthful image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
May
Year
1984
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Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
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Civic's 'Dolly' wise, mirthful

By CHRISTOPHER POTTER
NEWS THEATER CRITIC

Phooey on all those skeptics (this writer included) who -- sight unseen, of course -- used to debunk “Hello Dolly!” as a schmaltzy theatrical antique.

Ann Arbor Civic Theater’s current production at Power Center enunciates with gusto what we all should have known all along. Now a mature 20 years old, “Dolly” remains what it always REVIEW was -- a jazzy, brassy, toe-tapping delight that worships America’s golden yesteryears with a dynamism as modern as tomorrow.

Last year, the original Dolly, Carol Channing, waltzed into Detroit with a bubbling anniversary revival of the Michael Stewart-Jerry Herman musical. It’s no tepid tribute to say that Civic Theater’s energetic efforts prove nearly as capable as those of Channing’s New York professionals. Ably anchored by star Judith Dow’s Dolly -- as different from Channing’s as night from day -- director Mikell Pinkney’s company sings and dances its way to near perfection.

It’s a show that would have made Thornton Wilder beam with pride. Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” inspired Stewart and Herman’s musical ode to the playwright’s immortal heroine, Dolly Gallagher Levi -- wheeler-dealer and unofficial feminist of Gay Nineties Yonkers. Dolly makes no bones about her hustler’s calling: “Some people paint, some sew -- I meddle."

Meddle she does, yet always with heart-of-gold intentions. Dolly’s not merely a professional matchmaker -- she’s a practicing expert at everything from dance instructor to lawyer to healer of varicose veins. Yet, to tell the truth, Dolly’s growing weary of living constantly by her wits. So she trains her awesome powers of persuasion on a single goal: “I’m gonna marry Horace Vandergelder for his money!”

Horace (played by H.D. Cameron) is a feed-store tycoon and “well-known Yonkers half-a-millionare.” Alas, Horace is also a professional grump -- a growling, miserly curmudgeon who pays slave wages to assistants Cornelius Hackl (Edward Smit) and Barnaby Tucker (Jeffrey Seller), and tyrannizes over weepy niece Ermengarde (Lynne Mostaghim).

Blunt misogynist though he is, Horace is reluctantly searching for a wife. Dolly has betrothed him to Irene Molloy (Jennifer S. Hilbish), a young, widowed New York hat shop owner tired of being known as a “wicked woman” due to her unmarried state. Of course, Dolly now wants to subvert the arrangement by whatever chicanery she can devise. She is, of course, the acknowledged master of genteel doublespeak: By the time the show’s mismatched maneuverings have climaxed -- straight through a riot at New York’s poshest restaurant and subsequent courtroom battle -- four separate romances have bloomed based on true devotion.

“Dolly’s” lovelorn antics are too manic to ring corny, too good-hearted to seem malevolent. Add to the fun a gentle dose of cornpone Wilderian socialism (Quoth Dolly: “Love is like manure -- it’s not worth a thing unless you spread it around to help young things grow”), and you have a musical as wise as it is mirthful.

And what wonders Civic Theater works with this American classic! Herman’s brilliant song score contains at least half a dozen legitimate show-stoppers, and Civic’s cast does every one of them justice. Tutored by choreographer TeDee Theofil and music director Bradley Bloom, nearly 40 performers blaze their way through the train-station bustle of “Put on Your Sunday Clothes," the courthouse passion of “It Only Takes a Moment,” the spectacularly intricate “Waiters’ Gallop” restaurant dance.

Is “Hello Dolly’s” title song the best show-stopper ever written? You’d get no argument from Civic’s rendition -- a high-strutting celebration of its heroine so radiant that you still want to stand up and cheer. Judy Dow’s Dolly is a more refined, elegant creation than that of Channing -- who basically remains an event all by herself. Though archly reserved by comparison, Dow’s performance is a refreshing change of pace -- lending her famous lady a human being’s touch in contrast to Channing’s cartoon lovability.

H.D. Cameron’s Vandergelder is leagues above Tom Batten’s performance in Channing’s company. Stomping and bellowing like an elephant with hemorrhoids, Cameron lights up the stage without ever threatening to devour his fellow thespians. Smit’s Cornelius and Hilbish’s Irene make an effervescent young couple giddily in love with life, while Seller as Barnaby and Laurie Grieg Atwood as Irene’s uptight assistant, Minnie Fay, play their comic-relief roles to perfection. A bevy of supporting players never miss a beat.

“Dolly’s” orchestra (positioned behind the cast at stage’s rear) booms out with vigor, helped by stage-front speakers. Thomas Martone and Don Stewart’s sets are a sheer marvel, oscillating from Grand Central Station to street parade to posh restaurant with effortless grace and loveliness -- particularly a transition from strobe-light restaurant riot to courtroom trial done so smoothly the transition is like magic.

“Hello Dolly!” a fossil? You might as well condemn American musical theater itself. Civic Theater argues the case with sublime persuasiveness.

HELLO DOLLY!
The Ann Arbor Civic Theater presents a musical by Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman.
Director, Mikell Pinkney; co-producers, Carol Deniston and Marilyn Kennedy; musical director, Bradley Bloom; choreography, TeDee A. Theofil; co-set designers, Thomas Martone and Don Stewart; co-lighting designers, Thom Johnson and Mike Price; costume designer, Gwenn Angle Proegler; stage manager, Dean Napolitano.
Cast includes Judy Dow, Marian Miner, Alan Bennett, H.D. Cameron, Lynne Mostaghim, Edward Smit, Jefrey Seller, Jennifer S. Hilbish, Laurie Greig Atwood, Marietta Baylis, Charles Sutherland, Jim Posante, Alan Madeleine, Kim Mackenzie.
Performances continue at the Power Center, 121 Fletcher St., tonight and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Call 662-7282 for information.

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