Believe it or not, I\u2019ve never seen any<\/em> incarnation of this iconic musical before! Growing-up in New York, with teacher parents, I saw at least thirty or forty shows a year, but somehow, in all that time, I missed Hello, Dolly<\/em>! I never even saw the film<\/em> version!<\/p>\n So I thank the Pantages immensely for finally filling that hole in my musical theater education.<\/p>\n Photo by Julieta Cervantes, as is the one at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n As to this actual touring production, it\u2019s delightful! It\u2019s chock full of talented people, everything is colorful, the music is fun and familiar, and it has a happy ending. What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n If, like me, you know nothing about the story going in, this is all the heads-up you need: it\u2019s about an old-timey matchmaker in New York. And it\u2019s one of those classic musical comedies, with plenty of \u201cscrapes\u201d that are just waiting to be resolved.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never<\/em> seen any<\/em> version of Hello, Dolly<\/em>, you\u2019ll really enjoy this one. And if you have<\/em> seen the show before, I think you\u2019ll love this particular presentation even more.<\/p>\n The glorious Betty Buckley. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.<\/p><\/div>\n The Pantages opening night audience went nuts over it all, but they were especially enthusiastic about Betty Buckley. Every little word she uttered, lyric she sang, and move she made brought wild applause. The guy behind me was so gaga over her, I thought he was going to have a heart attack!!!<\/p>\n I have to admit that I had never seen her back-in-the-day TV series, Eight Is Enough<\/em>, nor her Tony Award-winning work in Cats<\/em>, (another uber-popular musical I\u2019m in the dark about,) so I was thrilled to finally witness her full talent, especially her singing. (I did<\/em> see her in Grey Gardens<\/em> here in LA a few years ago, but it wasn\u2019t a big singing role. And she wasn\u2019t even in the first act, though, as I indicated in my review of that show, her Prologue was a thing of beauty. So this<\/em> performance was pretty much a revelation for me.)<\/p>\n And let me tell you, Betty Buckley sings great<\/em>! (It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that I detected that she was fighting a bit of a cold that night. If that was, indeed, the case, then that makes her achievement that much more incredible.)<\/p>\n Photo by Julieta Cervantes.<\/p><\/div>\n Even though the role of Dolly is the one I assume everyone goes to see, there\u2019s so much more to the show than that. The entire production is excellent and charming. Yes, I do realize that Hello, Dolly<\/em> is very old-fashioned–not just the plot but everything about it\u2014but not every musical has to be Hamilton <\/em>or Dear Evan Hansen<\/em>. (Actually, I prefer for them not<\/em> to be!) This one is just a lot a fun; nothing deep about it. (For me, there\u2019s enough of that in real life; I don\u2019t need to see it in my escape entertainments.)<\/p>\n But there\u2019s absolutely nothing<\/em> old-fashioned about the fabulous choreography by Warren Carlyle, (with a nod to Gower Champion\u2019s original<\/em> steps.) Many of you know what a fan of dance I am, and I could not get enough of it here. The dancers are stupendous, every single one of them, especially in the jaw-dropping number, The Waiters\u2019 Gallop<\/em>. As lengthy as that dance is, I wish it had gone on for twenty more<\/em> minutes!<\/p>\n The waiters’ Gallop. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.<\/p><\/div>\n And what great tunes! I had no idea that so many famous songs come from this show. In addition to Hello, Dolly<\/em>, (which I knew about, of course\u2014duh,) it features Before The Parade<\/em> Passes By<\/em>, Elegance<\/em>, Put On Your Sunday Clothes<\/em>, and It Only Takes A Moment<\/em>, (which I haven\u2019t been able to stop singing all week!)<\/p>\n What a wonderful spectacle this whole show is! I loved all the colors–of the sets, of all<\/em> the costumes, and, of course, of the piece de resistance\u2014Dolly\u2019s red gown as she comes down the stairs in Act II. The crowd I saw it with was cheering for that entrance<\/em>, before any words were even sung or spoken! The entire evening is quite the celebration of theatre.<\/p>\n The highlight of the entire shebang for me was getting to see Jess LeProtto, one of my all-time favorite dancers on So You Think You Can Dance<\/em>, work in person. That guy can dance\u00a0his butt off! I\u2019m so glad this production gives him that opportunity to shine, and not just blend in. This is very inside, but for other dance fans, you\u2019ll understand\u2014Jess reminds me of a grown-up JT Church, perhaps my favorite dancer ever<\/em>! So that\u2019s how impressed I am with Jess!<\/p>\n The males of the company, with Jess LeProtto and Nic Rouleau on the bottom left. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.<\/p><\/div>\n Everyone<\/em> in the cast is spot-on, but the other stand-out for me is Nic Rouleau, who joins Jess as the duo of clerks in the store owned by Dolly\u2019s love interest. He has the perfect Broadway singing voice. And the two of them do that musical comedy schtick together with aplomb.<\/p>\n Seeing this show was especially poignant at this time, because the original Dolly, Carol Channing, passed away just two weeks before. A few times on opening night, I found myself picturing her up on that stage. Having Hello, Dolly<\/em> run in Los Angeles at this time is an unexpected tribute to her, which is the icing on an already delicious cake.<\/p>\n Hello, Dolly\u00a0<\/em>running through February 17, 2019<\/strong> Okay, here\u2019s my personal Betty Buckley story:<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/8_Hello-Dolly-National-Tour-Company-2018-Julieta-Cervantes.jpg\")
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\n Pantages Theatre \u00a06233 Hollywood Blvd. \u00a0800-982-2727\u00a0www.hollywoodpantages.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n