The Firehouse Theatre presents Hello Dolly!

Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman

Book by Michael Stewart Based on the play The Matchmaker by Thorton Wilder

Directed by Pamela Anglero'

Music Directed by Billy Veer

Choreographed by Victoria Anne Lee

Set Design by Maggie Sproul

Costume Design by Dayna Dutton

Sound Design by Dylan Hearn

Lighting Design by Gabe Coleman

Props Design by Hannah Tolle

Cast

Stacia Goad-Malone

Michael Brightman

Molly Robinson

Tilda Grace

Garrett Holton

Max Morgan

Kenneth Lane

Arianna Reed

Cameron Wisener

Brooke Matthews

Nathan Benson

Emily Dye

Emilia Gambucci

Jordan Leigh Gibson

Justin Konopka

Octavian Lewis

Emiliano Pliego

Danielle Smith

Dance Captain

Emilia Gambucci

My thoughts on Hello Dolly! or…”it only takes a moment” to fall in love with this Dolly.

Over my past five years in DFW The Firehouse Theatre has produced some shows that have made me ecstatically happy. They are the kind of shows that you wish you could replay in your mind on those days when your spirits need a boost. The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde, and Once On This Island come to mind first. I’m adding Hello Dolly! to that list. Director Pamela Anglero', Music Director Billy Veer, and Choreographer Victoria Anne Lee have made this Hello Dolly! a glorious, euphoria inducing evening of theater.

Having seen the recent production of the musical about the clever matchmaker with Bette Midler in the lead, I was concerned that this Dolly would suffer in comparison. Yes, it’s smaller in scale, but the incredibly talented cast, the wonderful staging and singing. and, most especially, the choreography send this Hello Dolly! into the stratosphere.

The choreography in Hello Dolly! is demanding. From “Dancing” to “The Waiter’s Gallop” to the title number, precision and skill in choreography is required and precision and skill are exactly what Choreographer Victoria Anne Lee delivers, along with high energy and many surprises. It is a marvel to watch. This is a high stepping, sure footed hoofing ensemble who even dance up and down the stairs of the set designed by Maggie Sproul. Dance captain and ensemble member Emilia Gambucci keeps Lee’s choreography sharp and is a very impressive dancer herself.

Thanks to Music Director Billy Veer this ensemble sings as marvelously as they dance and many people in the ensemble step into roles in the show. Nathan Benson becomes the charming, dancing head waiter Rudolph who keeps the Harmonia Gardens staff in check. Brooke Matthews, who sings like a dream, becomes Dolly’s friend Mrs. Rose. Octavian Lewis, one of the best performers in DFW, shows what a great actor can do with a brief scene as the judge. Cameron Wisener, who is nothing short of magical sunshine on stage, brings her comic all to Horace’s nightmare date Ernestina. The entire ensemble which also includes Jordan Leigh Gibson, Emily Dye, Justin Konopka, Emiliano Pliego (keep your eye on him for one of the biggest laughs of the show just before Dolly enters the Harmonia Gardens), and Danielle Smith are perfection. Without a tight, skilled ensemble Dolly would not work and Director Anglero' struck gold (or is that oil here in Texas?) when she cast this group.

The entire cast here is superb and make this Dolly a gem. As a reviewer, I love to see supporting actors in smaller roles bring scene stealing charm to the stage. Kenneth Lane as the artist Ambrose Kemper and Arianna Reed as his love interest Ermengarde are the charmers here. I smiled every time the pair appeared. Lane’s exuberantly appealing and determined Ambrose and Reed’s hilarious, constantly in tears Ermengarde are a delight.

Molly Robinson, as the widow milliner Irene Molloy, has a gorgeous soprano and makes “Ribbons Down My Back” both beautiful and touching. She also brings just the right touch of naughtiness to the character. As her assistant Minnie Fay, Tilda Grace is spot on as the “proper young woman” ready for some adventure. Grace is one of the most accomplished and exciting young actors around and makes me wish I was a casting director. She would always be working.

Max Morgan is irresistible as Barnaby Tucker, the assistant clerk of Vandergelder’s Hay and Feed. He makes Barnaby a goofy. lovable, and slightly befuddled teen. Morgan is also quite a song and dance man and his Barnaby pairs perfectly with Grace’s Minnie Fay.

As Cornelius Hackl, Garrett Holton is winning and charismatic. There’s a quiet desperation to his Cornelius that makes the character all the more believable. We want him to find the “world outside of Yonkers” and find love with Mrs. Molloy. Holton’s splendid vocals make his songs, especially “It Only Takes A Moment” major highlights of the show.

Michael Brightman is Horace Vandergelder, the “half a millionaire" first citizen of Yonkers. Horace knows that “It takes a woman” and is on a quest to find a wife. Vandergelder is appropriately gruff, but Brightman is such a talented actor, he is able to hint at, and eventually show the heart of the lonely man who lies beneath the surface. The stern exterior Brightman gives Vandergelder makes him the perfect challenge for the wiles of Dolly Levi.

Dolly Levi, that incomparable woman who arranges furniture and daffodils and lives, is portrayed by the incomparable Stacia Goad-Malone. When Goad-Malone appears from behind the newspaper, you know a pro has hit the stage. Goad-Malone makes the iconic character her own from the get-go. and we are devoted to her immediately. It’s not her outstanding singing and dancing that captivates the audience. Sure, that’s part of it, but it is her phenomenal acting that makes us believe every word she utters. As Act I concludes Dolly decides that she is going to rejoin the human race “before the parade passes by.” There is an incredibly poignant soliloquy that Goad-Malone delivers with such power that many in the audience were in tears. It’s a mini-master class in acting. And in the celebrated scene where Dolly returns to the Harmonia Gardens and is greeted by the waiters singing the title song, Goad-Malone, resplendent in one of costumer Dayna Dutton’s period gowns and jeweled to the hilt, proves once and for all that she is a DFW treasure.

Pamela Anglero' and her creative team have made this a dazzling Dolly. It’s inventively staged with heavenly singing and spectacular dancing. It will “only take a moment” for you to fall in love with The Firehouse Theatre’s Hello Dolly!