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Timeless Broadway classic will have audiences on their feet and singing along at Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts July 14-30, 2023!
(Matthews, NC)—Rehearsals for the blockbuster Broadway hit, Hello, Dolly!, are underway at Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts. The beloved Tony Award winning musical transports audiences to the late nineteenth-century Yonkers, NY with captivating performances and unforgettable musical numbers accompanied by live musicians and dazzling choreography worthy of any Broadway stage. Hello, Dolly! follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker searching for a suitable match for the miserly Horace Vandergelder. Through various twists and turns, Dolly manages to change the lives of everyone she meets, including her own.
Hello, Dolly! has been widely praised by critics since its original Broadway debut and has received numerous awards over the years, including ten Tony Awards for the original production and additional awards for subsequent revivals. NBC New York describes Hello, Dolly! “as blissful an escape as anyone could want” while Variety describes the show as “the quintessential Broadway musical, the kind of audience-pleaser that will never go out of fashion.”
The production features a talented cast of regional actors led by Lisa Smith Bradley as Dolly Gallagher Levi, a widow who decides to rejoin life by marrying the rich and curmudgeonly Horace Vandergelder played by Matthew Corbett. Matthews Playhouse Founder and Executive Advisor, June Bayless, is directing with acclaimed choreographer Ron Chisholm.
The full cast list is as follows (in the order of appearance)
Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi - Lisa Smith Bradley
Ernestina Money/Ensemble - Becky Kirby
Ambrose Kemper - Daylen Jones
Horace Vandergelder - Matthew Corbett
Ermengarde - Mary Lynn Bain
Cornelius Hackl - Reed Alexander
Barnaby Tucker - Connor Jones
Irene Molloy - Keenan McGrath
Minnie Fay - Layne Harder
Mrs. Rose/Ensemble - Lisa Ulanow
Rudolph/Ensemble - Chip Bradley
Judge/Ensemble - Mike Carroll
Court Clerk/Ensemble - Gabriel Craig
Ensemble- Andrew Pippin, Josiah Jackson, Alexander Joles, Riley Schauer, Amanda Pippin, Hope Joubert, Ellen McNeill, Melissa Lindemann, Jeannie Ware, Aaron Scott Brown, Jordan Hartley, Bailey Bass
Matthews Playhouse Executive Director, Sarah Baumgardner, believes the production is one of the must-see performances of the summer and will be a delightful and entertaining experience for all who attend. “With its timeless charm and unforgettable characters, Hello, Dolly! is one of those shows that will remain a beloved classic for generations to come” says Baumgardner. “We look forward to bringing this charming, upbeat story and its iconic songs to local audiences.”
'Hello, Dolly!'
Who: Directed by June Bayless. Choreography by Ron Chisholm and Music Direction by Ellen Robison. Book by Michael Stewart, based on "The Matchmaker," by Thornton Wilder. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.
When: Opening July 14, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. on Fri., 2:00 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. through July 30th. There is a Pay-What-You-Can Performance benefitting Matthews Help Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 27th.
Where: Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts ●100 East McDowell Street ● Matthews, NC
Tickets: $18-$26, visit www.matthewsplayhouse.com/hello-dolly for tickets.