5:40pm Tuesday 6th May 2008
Reader Geoff Billingsley reviews Hello Dolly! starring Anita Dobson
We have been spoiled rotten so far this year for varying musical shows at The Churchill....but Hello, Dolly! is one of the greats.
Carol Channing became a star as Dolly Levi in 1964 on Broadway. Ethel Merman once turned it down, would you believe? But, a few years later, she corrected that rare error of judgement. And who could forget Barbra Streisand in the film, now almost 40 years ago?
Dobson proves she can be a glamorous stage star as well as holding her own in the singing stakes.
Anita Dobson, famed for her role as EastEnders' Angie Watts, starred as Dolly and sets a cracking pace.
Dobson proves she can be a glamorous stage star as well as holding her own in the singing stakes. She plays matchmaker for Horace Vandergelder (David McAlister) but ends up matching herself with him.
Vandergelder owns a feed store and employs Cornelius Hackl (a now pleasantly plump Darren Day) as his assistant - but he won't allow him even one evening off which is why Cornelius hatches a plan to get a night out in NYC.
Jerry Herman's score is just wonderful.
Jerry Herman's score is just wonderful. Beside the title song itself, we have Put On Your Sunday Clothes and Before the Parade Passes By with the beautiful "It Only Takes a Moment" sung by Louise English as Irene, my personal favourite.
The two rising stars here are Amanda Salmon as the hilarious Minnie Fay and Hamilton Sargent as Barnaby Tucker, buddy of Cornelius. Both provide excellent support and manage to stand out individually too.
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