It’s so nice to have you back where you belong
I think I first realized I loved Bette Midler during the
Beaches era, which coincided with the release of Wind Beneath My Wings. I loved the fast-talking frizzy-haired woman
on screen and was equally drawn to her soaring vocals. Since the late 80s I have been a devoted
Bette fan, collecting all of her albums and movies (there is no such thing as a
bad Bette album or film). So my
excitement levels sky-rocketed when I read that she was going to play iconic
matchmaker and meddler Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway. Talk about a role that was made for her. But then imagine my disappointment when I
heard that her role would be taken over by Bernadette Peters in January 2018,
before I would have the opportunity to see The Divine Miss M on stage. However, the Universe generously provided
another chance to see Bette as Dolly when she announced that she would reprise
her role for the final six weeks of the shows’ run.
I also have a personal connection to Hello, Dolly! as one of
the teachers involved in our school’s production of the musical at the Baxter
Theatre in Cape Town three years ago.
This was my first introduction to the play and I thoroughly enjoyed
learning more about the multifaceted matchmaker, her mean, friendless and rich
love interest as well as the comical supporting characters, not to mention
getting to know the songs (which I was soon singing or humming in the shower,
in my car and probably in my sleep). My
favourites are Put on your Sunday Clothes, Before the Parade Passes By and
Elegance and loved seeing them on the Broadway stage (and singing along in my
head).
Bette was simply spectacular from her first scene until the
last and had the audience cheering louder than any Broadway audience I’ve
experienced. She captured every nuance
of Dolly’s larger-than-life personality and her voice was mesmerising. David
Hyde Pierce also did an outstanding job as the “tough as nails” half-a-millionaire
Horace Vandergelder. Gavin Creel and Taylor Trensch were excellent as the
bumbling but adorable clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby, who elicited an abundance
of laughter from the audience.
Source: sentinelsource.com
One of my favourite scenes takes place in Mrs Malloy’s hat
shop with plenty of physical comedy and fast-talking from the ladies as they
attempt to distract Horace from finding his two employees hiding in the
shop. Of course, the scene that I was
most looking forward to was Dolly’s staircase entrance at the “swanky” Harmonia
Gardens restaurant. It was even more
spectacular than I expected (I may or may not have gasped when Bette appeared,
in a red gown, shimmering neck piece and a halo of red feathers) and prompted a
standing ovation by the end of the number.
Dolly and Horace’s exchange at their table in the restaurant was also hilarious
and another one of my favourite scenes.
Source: nytimes.com
The scenic design, courtesy of Santo Loquasto, was beyond beautiful,
from the rustic look of Vandergelder’s Hay and Feed Store to the feminine
pastels of Irene Molloy’s hat shop and of course, the luxurious interior of
Harmonia Gardens. Eben Shapiro, from
Time, maintained that “for scenic design geeks, the painted backdrops of turn-of-the-century
New York are practically worth the steep price of admission”. Similarly, the costumes were a visual feast that
wowed the audience throughout the show.
In 2017 Bette won the Tony for Leading Actress in a Musical
for her role as Dolly. In her acceptance
speech, she stated that “this has been
one of the greatest professional experiences” of her life. For me, as a long-time fan finally experiencing
the on-stage magic of Bette, I can say that it was one of the greatest theatre
experiences of my life.
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