Theater History: Hello Dolly
The first time I saw the film "Hello Dolly" I think I was in middle school. After a long day in the pool at my grandparents beach house, the whole Dvornik clan gathered in the TV room for family movie night. I will never forget the moment Dolly appears at the top on the grand staircase. That entrance was epic and glamorous! So In honor of this classic show taking Broadway by storm again, I thought it would be fun explore its long history on the Great White Way and beyond.
This classic musical is based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce "The Merchant of Yonkers". It was a total flop, so Wilder revised and re-titled it "The Matchmaker" in 1955. Hello Dolly was first produced in the 1960s by David Merrill. The musical was originally named something else but Merrill changed it after hearing Louis Armstrongs version of "Hello Dolly".
Hello Dolly opened on January 16, 1964 at the St. James Theatre, starring Carol Channing. She originated the role of Dolly Levi, won a Tony award for her performance, and never missed a single show. The musical was an immediate success on Broadway and then became even more popular when the cast album reached number one on the Billboard charts in 1964.
Hello Dolly was nominated for eleven Tony Awards that season and won ten, including the award for Best Musical. That incredible night tied Hello Dolly with the previous record holder "South Pacific" for most awards won. Hello Dolly held the title for the next thirty seven years until "The Producers" broke the record in 2011.
After an incredible run and 2,844 performances, the show closed on December 27, 1970. Five years later, the first revival opened at the Minskoff Theater with an all black cast and starring Pearl Bailey. The show only ran for 42 performances but was revolutionary. The second and third revivals in the late 1970s and mid-1990s both starring Carol Channing and were very well received. Americans love spectacle and nostalgia!
The fourth Broadway revival of Hello Dolly, starring Bette Midler, opened on April 20, 2017 at the Schubert Theatre. (The reviews have been mixed but no one really cares because they just want to see Bette Midler.) Hello Dolly is one of the most iconic Broadway shows of all time and I am so glad it's home again on the Great White Way.
FUN FACTS
The red satin costume Channing wore was donated to the Smithsonian and currently lives at the National Museum of History
The show album cast recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.
The film adaption of Hello Dolly premiered in 1969. The movie received seven Oscar nominations and won three.
The film was directed by the legendary Gene Kelly
Two songs from Hello Dolly are featured in the Disney/Pixar movie "Wall-E". ("Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment")
There have been four Broadway revivals.
On December 2, 1965, almost two years after the Broadway premiere, Hello Dolly opened on the West End. The show ran for 794 performances at the Theatre Royal, Durrell Lane. Since then, Hello Dolly has been revived three times on the West End.
REVIVALS
ONE
Starred Pearl Bailey, all black production
November 6, 1975 - December 28, 1975
42 performances, Minskoff Theatre
TWO
Starred Carol Channing
March 5, 1978 - July 9, 1978
147 performances, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
THREE
Starred Carol Channing
October 19, 1995 - January 28, 1996
116 performances, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
FOUR
Starring Bette Midler & David Hyde Pierce
Previews: March 17, 2017. Opened: April 20th.
Schubert Theatre.
