By Kathryn McElfresh
“I wanna feel my heart coming alive again/Before the parade passes by” sings Dolly Gallagher Levi, the title character of the classic musical “Hello, Dolly!” A musical currently playing on the West End (Europe) well worth going to see. “Hello, Dolly!” opened for a limited run this summer at the London Palladium starring Imelda Staunton which was truly an amazing performance. While there were a few unexpected choreography changes to those familiar with the show, it did not detract from the spectacle. What made this revival so amazing is the chemistry that was displayed throughout the show and the emotions that were projected so clearly. “Hello, Dolly!” always has a star playing Dolly at the start of a production, thus the right people are needed to portray the complex emotions throughout the performance of this show, which this cast had in abundance.
If unfamiliar with the show, Dolly Levi is what one might call a “professional meddler”, having a business card for every sort of issue one might run into with help from her circles of society. The musical centers around her quest to find a new wife for half-a-millionaire from Yonkers, Horace Vandergelder all the while aiming to take that role herself as she re-enters society post death of her late husband, Ephraim. Shenanigans ensue when Vandergelder travels to New York City and his clerks Cornelius and Barnaby decide to close the store and follow him. Aided in their plans by Dolly, she sends them to the hatmaker and her friend, Irene Malloy, and her assistant, Minnie. All the characters eventually end up in the Harmonia Gardens, the most expensive restaurant in New York where Dolly is well known, leading to the title song as the waiters express their joy that Dolly has returned to society. To say more would contain spoilers!
The lineup of musical numbers in the show are phenomenal with amazing orchestrations. Louis Armstrong may have brought his version of the title song to the top of the Billboard charts, but other songs have been taken into other contexts, particularly “Elegance,” “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” and “It Only Takes a Moment” are a few of the other songs that make the show great with their catchy tunes and relevance even to our modern culture. To watch them be performed by the amazing cast of this West End revival is a once in a lifetime experience that wonderfully brought the musical to life. 10/10 would see again!
