One of Orange County's newest theater companies, 3D Theatricals, will present HELLO, DOLLY! from July 9 through August 1 at the O.C. Pavilion Theatre in the Arts District of downtown Santa Ana. The hit stage and screen musical marks 3D Theatrical's fourth production for 2010. Starring in the iconic role of Dolly Levi will be Broadway vet (and L.A.-area stage favorite) Ruth Williamson (Guys and Dolls).
Based on the play The Matchmaker by Thorton Wilder, the original 1964 Broadway production was produced by David Merrick, and was directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and features a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman (Mame, La Cage aux Folles). The Original production won 10 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical and spawned a hit film version in 1969 starring Barbra Streisand under the direction of Gene Kelly.
HELLO, DOLLY! is the story of Mrs. Dolly Levi's efforts to marry Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire, and send his money circulating among the people like rainwater the way her late husband, Ephraim Levi, taught her. Along the way she also succeeds in matching up the young and beautiful Widow Molloy with Vandergelder's head clerk, Cornelius Hackl; Cornelius' assistant, Barnaby Tucker, with Mrs. Molloy's assistant, Minnie Fay; and the struggling artist, Ambrose Kemper, with Mr. Vandergelder's weeping niece, Ermengarde.
Mrs. Levi tracks Vandergelder to his hay and feed store in Yonkers, then by train back to Mrs. Molloy's hat shop in New York, out into the streets of the city where they are all caught up in the great Fourteenth Street Association Parade, and finally to the most elegant and expensive restaurant in town, the Harmonia Gardens. There, Dolly is greeted by the waiters, cooks, doormen and wine stewards in one of the most famous songs in the history of American musical comedy, Hello, Dolly!
What happens in the end? Dolly gets her man, of course. Even makes him glad she caught him. Dolly leaves the stage at the end of Act II with a wink to the audience as she takes a peep into Vandergelder's bulging cash register, and promises that his fortune will soon be put to good use. She quotes her late husband as she says, "Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow."
HELLO, DOLLY! is an ebullient and irresistible story of the joy of living, glittering with happy songs, shining with loving scenes, alive with the personality of one of the most fabulous characters on the musical stage...Dolly Gallagher Levi!
Classic musical numbers include "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," "Ribbons Down My Back," "Before the Parade Passes By," "Elegance," "It Only Takes A Moment" and "So Long, Dearie."
In addition to Williamson as Dolly, the cast also includes David Allen Jones*, Bryan Feldman*, Taylor Simmons, Viva Weber, Hannah Simmons, Garrett Deagon, Dani Kerry, Clare Solly, Jay Wallace, Michael Hill, Sheila Karls, Paul Romero Jr.*, Ami Russ, Archer Altstaetter, Brittany Hammond, Jenny Rose Hobbs, Dennis Bendersky, Jenn Aedo, Jenna Wright, Karlee Ferreira, Kevin Ling, Maggie Howell, Michael Milligan, Nathan Wise, Neil Starkenberg, Shannon McFarland, Stephanie Draude, Zsolt Banki.
3D Theatricals' production of HELLO, DOLLY! is directed by Calvin Remsberg with musical direction by Jerry Sternbach, choreography by Kami Seymour, set design by John Iacovelli, lighting design by Jared Saveg, and sound design by Julie Ferrin.
* Denotes a member of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States of America
Photo of Ruth Williamson by Linda Lenzi/BroadwayWorld.
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Tickets to HELLO, DOLLY! at the OC Pavilion are available online at www.ocpavilion.com or by calling 714-550-0880. Performances run from July 9 through August 1, Thursdays through Sundays. Tickets start at $20. Student and Youth (16 and under) tickets are available for $15.
The OC Pavilion is located at 801 N. Main Street in Santa Ana. Visit www.ocpavilion.com for more information.
