"Hello Dolly!" at the California Music Theatre in Sacramento

                On June 20. 2016 I went with a group to see “Hello Dolly!” at the California Music Theatre in Sacramento. ” This is a classic musical that I had never seen so I was glad to sign up. I knew it was about a character named Widow Dolly Levi, matchmaker who set her cap at Horace Vandergelder, with Music & Lyrics by Broadway legend Jerry Herman and choreography by Gower Chapman. Carol Channing had played “Dolly” in the original Broadway production in 1964 and Barbra Streisand in the 1969 movie. 

 Many recorded the title song including Sinatra, Bobby Darin and jazz musician Louis Armstrong. There is a funny story attached to the Armstrong recording. In 1964, his agent persuaded him to make some recordings of show songs.  About three or four months later while they were playing their usual jazz numbers in Nebraska, the audience called out for “Hello Dolly!" Without him knowing it, the recording had become a great hit on the radio and jukeboxes and he had completely forgotten he had recorded it and had to send for the music. They put the number in the act, with Louis playing the 32 bar trumpet solo and singing the chorus. The first night they played it, pandemonium broke out and his recording became the No.1 Song in the United States for several weeks. This had never happened to a jazz musician before and in 2001, his version was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Anyway, back to “Hello Dolly!” in Sacramento. The thing that struck me was the excellence of the orchestra conducted by Craig Barra who has been with the Music Circus for almost thirty years. They were so sharp and bright so I felt we were in for a good show. 

I was pleased and delighted to see there was more than just Dolly Levi (Lynne Wintersteller) and her antics in this show. The romantic leads were actually a middle-aged couple Cornelius Hackl (John Scherer) in love with Irene Molloy (Jacquelyn Piro Donovan)and he gets to sing the beautiful  “It Only Takes a Moment”  to his love. 

Above everything else, the dancing captured my attention. In the second act, we get to see the classic “Hello Dolly!” number set in the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant. Rudolph (John B. Williford) and the six waiters entertain us with “The Waiters’ Gallop.” Cheers to the costume designer for their outfits: the combination of white spats, apron and shirts with black shoes and pants highlighted with red bow tie and waistcoats and their magnificent dancing were the highlights of the show for me. Dolly Levi enters the restaurant and the theatre explodes as she greets each of the waiters.

A lovely uplifting afternoon!