On November 1st, 2018, my dad and I saw the Michael Stewart / Jerry Herman musical "Hello, Dolly!" at the Oriental Theatre (now called the Nederlander Theatre). The Broadway Revival opened in April of 2017 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. My mom saw Bernadette Peters in that production. Bernadette Peters starred in the Broadway Production after Bette Midler left the show. But when Bernadette Peters left, Bette Midler returned to play Dolly again until the Broadway Production closed on August 25, 2018. The morning after my mom saw Bernadette Peters in "Hello, Dolly!" I told her the National Tour of the revival was coming to Chicago in the fall, and that Betty Buckley would be starring in it. My mom said "interesting," and soon after I was officially going to the show.
Along with Betty Buckley, the Touring production starred Lewis J. Stadlen, Nic Rouleau, Analisa Leaming, Jess LeProtto, Kristen Hahn, Garett Hawe, Morgan Kirner, Jessica Sheridan, and Wally Dunn. The production featured scenic design by Santo Loquasto. It differed slightly from the Broadway production, where a pathway extended from the stage, surrounding the orchestra pit. In the Touring production, the path didn't extend beyond the proscenium.
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Marquee of the Oriental Theatre (Chicago, IL). Nov. 2018 (I took this photo).
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. This was the first time I saw Betty Buckley live on stage. The only cast member in the production I had seen on stage before was Nic Rouleau when "The Book of Mormon" had its Cbicago premiere six years before. In that production, Roleau played Elder Price. This was also my first time seeing "Hello, Dolly!" I had never seen the musical on stage, and I still haven't seen the movie starring Barbara Streisand. Chicago was the third tour stop for this production, after the tour premiered in Utica, then played in Cleveland. The last tour stop was in Boston during the Spring of 2020, around the time the Shelter in Place orders were enforced for the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was the first show I had seen in a while. Once I saw this show, I wanted to see more and more--whether or not they were musicals. I think the next show I saw after this one was "The Woman in Black" at the Royal George Theatre. Then, if I remember correctly, Chicago had the polar vortex, after which I saw "How to Catch Creation" at the Goodman Theatre, across the street from which an enormous ad for the upcoming Chicago Engagement of "Dear Evan Hansen" had been put up. One thing is certain... "Hello, Dolly!" was one of my favorites.
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Betty Buckley and Lewis J. Stadlen in "Hello, Dolly!" (Photo by Julieta Cervantes).
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On September 24th, 2019, Betty Buckley left the touring production of "Hello, Dolly" and was replaced by Carolee Carmello. At that point in time, the tour had just begun its engagement at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. About nine years before, I had seen Carolee Carmello in the World Premiere Production of "The Addams Family Musical," also at the Oriental Theatre. I wonder why Betty Buckley left the show. Could be the Buckley's demand for a private hotel room for her and her dogs at every tour stop was no longer "cost effective" for the tour. Though I wonder if Carolee Carmello had any demands of her own? "No one is permitted to speak in rhyme around me."
When my dad and I saw the show--or rather, before the show started--a guy a few rows back kept talking about "Caaarrollll Chaaaaannniiinng"... how he saw "Caaarrrolll Chaaanniiinnnggg..." Well, of course he saw Carol Channing in "Hello, Dolly." Not only did she originate the role of Dolly in the early 1960's (the World Premiere Production performed from November 18th through December 14th, 1963 at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit; the next Pre-Broadway Tryout production performed from December 18th, 1963 through January 4th, 1964 at the National Theatre in Washington DC; the Broadway Production opened on January 16th 1964) but she played the role in national tours in the 60's through the '90s... She also starred in a Broadway Revival of the musical. With the exception of the National Tours of "Hello Dolly!" that starred Mary Martin and Pearl Bailey (as well as the early tours where Eve Arden, Betty Grable, and Ginger Rogers played the leading role after Channing left the production) you couldn't see a production of"Hello, Dolly!" that didn't star Carol Channing. That's what made the 2017 Broadway Production and the 2018 National Tour so special. Audiences got to see Dolly played by different Broadway legends.
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| Betty Buckley and the cast of "Hello, Dolly!" (Photo by Julieta Cervantes). |
Around the time my dad and I saw "Hello, Dolly!" was when Kathryn and I started referring to Betty Buckley as Bready Buckley. It mostly had to do with these photo mash-ups I used to make involving baguettes and marble rye using production stills (photos usually taken by Joan Marcus, but it wasn't personal) from the musical "Sunset Boulevard." In one photo mash-up, Betty Buckley, as Norma Desmond, was losing it over the sight of freshly made bread. Around her was bread made from a bread machine, which was on the floor next to her. Kathryn said "I like how she freaks out at the sight of freshly made bread, but finds bread machine bread perfectly acceptable." Alan Campbell, as Joe Gillis, was wearing a chefs hat and looked confused and shocked. I think I only made one bread mash-up using a photo from "Hello, Dolly!" and the critically acclaimed Bready Buckley. It proved difficult to create one without a souvenir program from the show. Oh well. Don't dwell. Too bad. So sad. Don't dread. Make bread. Oops. I'm rhyming.
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| Marquee of the Oriental Theatre (Chicago, IL). Oct. 2018 (I took this photo). |
The following weekend after my dad and I saw "Hello, Dolly!" we went out to the suburbs to have lunch with my grandparents, my aunt, and uncle. My aunt asked how I liked the show, and before long, I was enthusiastically talking about my favorite scenes. "So, then," I said, "She lowers the newspaper that is concealing her face and says 'Dolly Levi!'" I must have overdid it with the enthusiasm, because my grandma says, "ok...ok..." The strange thing is that I had made a mental note not to get to excited prior to telling everyone about the show. I'm glad I didn't demonstrate the newspaper scene by holding the menu up in front of my grandma's face while elbowing her drink off the table in the process.
Not long after seeing "Hello, Dolly!" My dad and I were walking along Randolph and passed the Oriental Theatre where the show was still playing for a few mote days. My dad asked me if I wanted to see "Hello, Dolly!" again, and offered to by me a ticket up in the balcony section if it wasn't too costly. I thought about it and decided against it. I had such fond memories of seeing this amazing show with my dad. I didn't want to spoil it by seeing if again and possibly not enjoying myself (as much).
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| Another marquee photo I took from when "Hello, Dolly!" was playing at the Oriental Theatre. |
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