 Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman  Prominent American Broadway composer  Wrote music for 17 shows, including 12 on Broadway ▪ Nominated for 5 Tony’s, won 2  Still alive  Book by Michael Stewert  Based on Thorton Wilder’s The Merchant of Yonkers which was later rewritten by Wilder as The Matchmaker  First produced in 1964  Ran for 2,844 performances, the longest running musical of the time  Originally to be called Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman

 Dolly Levi-A nosy matchmaker for other people who decides that she wants to find herself a match in Horace Vandergelder.  Horace Vandergelder-A widowed half-millionaire looking for a new wife.  Cornelius Hackl-The head clerk at Horace's Hay and Feed store.  Barnaby Tucker-Cornelius's assistant at Horace's Hay and Feed store.  Ambrose-A poor artist who loves Ermengarde  Mrs. Irene Molloy-An attractive widow who owns a hat shop.  Minnie-Mrs. Molloy's assistant.  Ermengarde-Horace's heiress niece who loves Ambrose

 Takes place in the beginning of the 20 th century, in NY.  Revolves around Dolly, who is a matchmaker  “Meddling”  Dance and mandolin lessons  Seeking a match for half-millionaire Horace  Quickly intends to set herself up with him  Ambrose is in love with Horace’s niece Ermengarde, but Horace does not approve  Ambrose asks for Dolly’s help, and they travel to Yonkers to visit him. Call on Dolly (Prologue)

 In Yonkers, Horace is explaining to his two clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby about how he needs to find a wife to cheerfully do all the chores.  He plans to propose to widow Irene Malloy, who owns a hat shop in NYC  Dolly comes  falsely tells Horace that Irene’s first husband did not die of natural causes.  Mentions another possible suiter  Horace leaves for NYC anyways, leaves store to Cornelius and Barnaby It Takes a Woman

 Cornelius and Barnaby decide they should go to NYC and get in trouble and each find a girl to kiss  Dolly tells them to find Irene and her assistant Minnie  Dolly tells Ambrose and Ermengarde she’ll set them up in a polka tournament at Harmonia Gardens Restaurant to prove themselves to Uncle Horace  They all leave for NYC

 We meet Irene who tells Minnie that she wants a husband, but not Horace  Cornelius and Barnaby walk in pretending to be rich  Horace and Dolly walk in, and Cornelius and Barnaby hide in an armoire, which Horace almost opens  Cornelius sneezes, and Horace storms out knowing there are men hiding in the store (not knowing who they are) Ribbons Down My Back

 Dolly teaches the men to dance, and takes the two couples out to a restaurant to dance and then a parade  At the parade she asks her dead husband’s permission to move on and marry Horace  She runs into disgruntled Horace at the parade and convinces him to meet Ernestina and meet her at the restaurant that evening  Ernestina is not pretty nor rich like he thought, she becomes bored and leaves. Before the Parade Passes By

 Cornelius and Barnaby arrive at the restaurant with Irene and Minnie, not knowing Horace is there.  Irene and Minnie decide to order the most expensive items on the menu, but they are broke.  Dolly arrives and the waiters make a big deal about her arrival (she brings a lot of business)  Barnaby and Horace accidently mix up their wallets  Now Barnaby can pay, Horace cannot  Barnaby realizes that it’s Horace’s wallet and their group try to sneak out.  Horace recognizes Barnaby and Cornelius with Irene, but then sees Ermengarde and Ambrose Hello, Dolly

 The fight lands itself into night court  Cornelius and Barnaby confess they were not rich  They profess their love to Minnie and Irene  Ambrose professes love to Emengarde  Dolly states everyone is only guilty of being in love, except for Horace What is Horace’s reaction? Will Dolly’s scheme of winning Horace work? Or will Horace stay single and bitter while Dolly lives the high life?

 "Hello, Dolly!...has qualities of freshness and imagination that are rare in the run of our machine-made musicals. It transmutes the broadly stylized mood of a mettlesome farce into the gusto and colors of the musical stage” ~Howard Taubman, NY Times  Nominated for 11 Tony’s, won 9, including Best Musical  Record for most awards in a show until The Producers won 12 in 2001  Louis Armstrongs version of the song “Hello, Dolly” made #1 on the pop charts in 1964, making Armstrong the oldest person (age 63) to do so.  Kept the show alive by using famous actors after original cast started to leave (Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, etc)  One of three musicals from the 1960’s to surpass the 2000 show mark (Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady)  Three major revivals including an all black cast in 1975  Movie in 1969 starring Barbara Streisand and Walter Matthau, won 3 Academy Awards