Hello Dolly

[jerrybythesea]

You must have seen a different clip than I saw. That's been on Youtube for years and Streisand couldn't be more arrogant or condescending towards Merman if she tried. It's embarassing. She's a true bitch.

 

As for the current Hello Dolly. It's atrocious. Read Terry Teachout's review. It's spot on. Midler's voice is in tatters, she's awful. Hyde Pierce is horribly miscast.

 

Streisand was too young for the film, and Midler is too old for the stage.

 

 

Your comments about Hello Dolly are way off base. 99% of the reviews were outstanding. I saw it in a preview and was overwhelmed. Midler is NOT too old for the part and her singing was super ! Pierce was so good that A tony is waiting for him. The show is sold out thru August.

[bostonman]

Pierce will so good that A tony is waiting for him.

 

I have heard that Pierce is quite good. But I tend to think that Ben Platt has a better chance for the Tony. We shall see...

[Kenny]

Your comments about Hello Dolly are way off base. 99% of the reviews were outstanding. I saw it in a preview and was overwhelmed. Midler is NOT too old for the part and her singing was super ! Pierce was so good that A tony is waiting for him. The show is sold out thru August.

Miniver, like Teachout, is a conservative. Birds of a feather.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Miniver, like Teachout, is a conservative. Birds of a feather.

 

To me, being conservative or liberal has little to do with how someone feels about a show. It's subjective, emotional. I know more than a few people who share Miniver's opinion on Midler and that's their right... Even it it's not your shared opinion

 

I'm a liberal kind of guy and I wasn't thrilled with Bette. It happens.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[+ WilliamM]

Miniver, like Teachout, is a conservative. Birds of a feather.

 

@Benjamin_Nicholas, As important, Miniver is well known here for his very strong opinions.

 

For example, few people would agree with Miniver's comments about Barbra Streisand's first on stage encounter with Ethel Merman away back in 1963. Streisand was intimidated by Merman, not rude.

[Kenny]

I'm a liberal kind of guy and I wasn't thrilled with Bette.

Not being thrilled isn't the same as spewing vitriol, which is common among conservative birds.

[bostonman]

Not being thrilled isn't the same as spewing vitriol, which is common among conservative birds.

 

Mr. Miniver, as I remember from his past posts out here, rarely if ever has a kind word about any show or performer.

 

In the meantime, Mr. Teachout has given one of my productions, and my work specifically, a very positive review. And I'll take it.

[Kenny]

Mr. Teachout

He's actually quite smart. For a wing-nut.

[handiacefailure]

Looks like the cast recording is being released on May 12:)

[+ WilliamM]

Looks like the cast recording is being released on May 12:)

 

Here's a preview, perhaps incomplete:

 

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/08/527191829/first-listen-hello-dolly-new-broadway-cast-recording

[N13]

Listened and it sounds hollow. No passion.

[Bayman4Fun]

I'd pay a small fortune to have seen Bailey. The stories I've been told about her performances are legendary in the theatre community.

 

I saw Pearl Bailey play the role in Chicago. Billy Daniels as Horace.

 

As always, an announcer proclaimed use of flash photography prohibited. Some jackass started taking pics during the big title number. And Bailey stopped the show. Stopped it, just stood there on the catwalk around the orchestra, scolded the photographer and told a tale of someone blinded by the flash and falling into the pit. And then told the entire cast and orchestra to start the big number from the top. The audience went wild.

 

Both Bailey and Daniels performed after the finale.

 

Star power!

[jerrybythesea]

Listened and it sounds hollow. No passion.

 

Sounds great to me....wait, not only great, but beats all Dolly soundtracks with the exception of the movie with Babs.

[jerrybythesea]

I am sure it will enter the Billboard top 200 in the top 10 the first week !!! Not an easy task for a Bdway show to accomplish!

[bostonman]

all Dolly soundtracks with the exception of the movie with Babs.

 

The only "soundtrack" IS the one with Streisand. The others are not soundtracks (which is a term properly only used for film), they are cast recordings (the term properly used for a recording of a stage version of a show).

[+ WilliamM]

I saw Pearl Bailey play the role in Chicago. Billy Daniels as Horace.

 

This is embarrassing. I worked with Cab Calloway's much young half sister, Camilla, from 1979 to 1982 without knowing the relationship. If Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway did not play Philadelphia with "Hello, Dolly," during those years I may never have known.

 

Camilla was the director of HR, and not a particularly warm or friendly person.

 

@jerrybythesea, Pearl Bailey (Broadway) and Mary Martin (London) recorded original cast recordings as well.

Edited May 11, 2017 by WilliamM

[jerrybythesea]

Sorry, I meant cast recordings....and Bette's is the best of the group

[Bayman4Fun]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEsHQn1HPrE

[bostonman]

I finally listened to the new cast recording.

 

Gavin Creel sounds wonderful as Cornelius. Despite some questions of contemporary styling, Kate Baldwin makes for a nice Irene.

 

Midler, frankly, is very disappointing. She sings everything basically fine (some odd rhythmic choices notwithstanding), but it's generally very workmanlike, nothing more. Glimmers of joy here and there, but generally she's just "hitting her marks." Not a star turn whatsoever. But really, most of the album feels that way to me - the sound of the recording in general feels like no one (including the orchestra, who play the notes just fine, but...) was particularly excited to be in the recording studio. And when the ensemble comes in with those wonderful harmonies in "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" (one of my favorite parts of the score), it sounds like they all must have better things to do. (I was thinking they sound a bit like the Ray Conniff Singers might have sounded at 6am, lol. Smooth and precisely drilled, but dramatically uninvolved.)

 

Give me the irresistible energy - the "full of shine and full of sparkle" - of the original Channing recording any day.

 

This one - it's a little lumpy, but it doesn't ring.

 

(And by the way, why does Midler meddle with some cheap channelling of Channing in "march, march march" in the Motherhood number?)

Edited May 28, 2017 by bostonman

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I finally listened to the new cast recording.

 

Gavin Creel sounds wonderful as Cornelius. Despite some questions of contemporary styling, Kate Baldwin makes for a nice Irene.

 

Midler, frankly, is very disappointing. She sings everything basically fine (some odd rhythmic choices notwithstanding), but it's generally very workmanlike, nothing more. Glimmers of joy here and there, but generally she's just "hitting her marks." Not a star turn whatsoever. But really, most of the album feels that way to me - the sound of the recording in general feels like no one (including the orchestra, who play the notes just fine, but...) was particularly excited to be in the recording studio. And when the ensemble comes in with those wonderful harmonies in "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" (one of my favorite parts of the score), it sounds like they all must have better things to do. (I was thinking they sound a bit like the Ray Conniff Singers might have sounded at 6am, lol. Smooth and precisely drilled, but dramatically uninvolved.)

 

Give me the irresistible energy - the "full of shine and full of sparkle" - of the original Channing recording any day.

 

This one - it's a little lumpy, but it doesn't ring.

 

(And by the way, why does Midler meddle with some cheap channelling of Channing in "march, march march" in the Motherhood number?)

 

 

An astute review and one that I share almost entirely... Along with heaping praise on Kate Baldwin, who has such a fantastic blend of head-to-belt that I could listen to her sing the phonebook. Her training and talent is clearly wonderful.

 

Midler has thankfully dropped the old lady shtick and now plays the role as straight as she can. I'm looking forward to seeing a real Broadway trooper like Donna Murphy go in for Dolly, mid-June. I want to see what a seasoned stage vet does with the role, along with a singer who can easily handle the songs.

[Chad Constantine]

So funny I just played Hello,Dolly for my friend/coworker today. Though I have never seen Hello, Dolly there is only 1 Dolly for me dand that is the one and only Carol Channing. Even hearing Barbara and Bette singing Hello, Dolly doesn't sound right to my ears. The only person that could take Carol Channing's spot in Hello, Dolly would be the one and only Kristin Chenoweth.

[+ nycman]

The more I read....and listen....the happier I am I passed on this one.

 

The tickets are outrageously expensive....for that price I want a life altering experience.

 

Sadly, this show doesn't appear to deliver as much as everyone had hoped.

[bostonman]

The only person that could take Carol Channing's spot in Hello, Dolly would be the one and only Kristin Chenoweth.

 

I will certainly vouch for Chenoweth's talent, energy, commitment, professionalism, and popularity (no Wicked reference intended, lol). And I wouldn't mind hearing her sing Dolly's songs. But I don't want to hear her squeaking her way through the script. (I know that at this point in her career there would be no point in her playing roles such as Minnie Fay or even Ernestina - but I think she'd be better there than as Dolly.)

[actor61]

I finally listened to the new cast recording.

 

Gavin Creel sounds wonderful as Cornelius. Despite some questions of contemporary styling, Kate Baldwin makes for a nice Irene.

 

Midler, frankly, is very disappointing. She sings everything basically fine (some odd rhythmic choices notwithstanding), but it's generally very workmanlike, nothing more. Glimmers of joy here and there, but generally she's just "hitting her marks." Not a star turn whatsoever. But really, most of the album feels that way to me - the sound of the recording in general feels like no one (including the orchestra, who play the notes just fine, but...) was particularly excited to be in the recording studio. And when the ensemble comes in with those wonderful harmonies in "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" (one of my favorite parts of the score), it sounds like they all must have better things to do. (I was thinking they sound a bit like the Ray Conniff Singers might have sounded at 6am, lol. Smooth and precisely drilled, but dramatically uninvolved.)

 

Give me the irresistible energy - the "full of shine and full of sparkle" - of the original Channing recording any day.

 

This one - it's a little lumpy, but it doesn't ring.

 

(And by the way, why does Midler meddle with some cheap channelling of Channing in "march, march march" in the Motherhood number?)

I had the great good fortune to be directed by the late, great Charles Nelson Reilly in the 1980s, and the even greater good fortune to count him as a friend. He told us (the cast of the show he was directing) many wonderful stories of the original Hello Dolly and how surprised he, Channing and Eileen Brennan were when they were cast in the leading roles, as they were considered such "quirky" performers. But that was the ultimate charm of the show as originally staged. Charles and Brennan were not your "normal" ingenues, and Channing was eccentric in her performance style to say the least, but their idiosyncracies, personalities, professionalism and talent made what is a rather ordinary musical into something very special. But the ultimate success and enduring popularity of Hello Dolly lies in Gower Champion's ingenious direction and choreography. Even fully "reconceived" productions of the show cannot escape his legacy.

[+ WilliamM]

I just finished reading Carol Channing's book "just lucky I guess" (2002). It is understood that appearing on Broadway 8 times a week demands complete attention. But, Carol claims she was totally surprised when Ethel Merman said, "Yeah, I turned that show down," when asked if she had seen "Hello, Dolly."

 

Carol writes, "And I found out years later she did indeed, but I suppose, naturally, nobody ever told me."

 

When Merman finished the "Hello, Dolly" run on Broadway, Ms. Channing claimed that Merman said," Nope, no pictures. Not wit' Carol."

 

It'a very strange book, but I do not want to go beyond the quotes concerning Dolly.