“HELLO, DOLLY!” through Nov. 18, Hale Center Theater Orem, 225 W. 400 North, Orem (801-226-8600 or haletheater.org); running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (one intermission)
OREM — Dolly Levi is to the 1890s what Facebook is to 2017: the social medium of its day.
And, similar to your favorite Instagram account, there’s a lot to like about Hale Center Theater’s “Hello, Dolly!” that runs through Nov. 18.
Back when social introductions and matchmaking were a lot more complicated than stalking an online profile, Dolly was the woman to know. Arranging things — or flat-out meddling — was her specialty, whether it was in dates, dance lessons or furniture. The musical highlights the fast-talking, crazy-making, jack-of-all-trades who finds herself in a web of romances that need her impeccable touch.
Dolly starts off with a matchmaking assignment for Horace Vandergelder, Yonkers' prestigious half-millionaire. Dolly’s lined him up with Irene Molloy, a New York City milliner and widow. But, for reasons only a matchmaker could skew, Dolly really intends the ornery Vandergelder for herself.
When Vandergelder heads to New York City for the day, his store employees, lovelorn Cornelius and penny-pinching Barnaby, decide to play while the cat’s away and have a well-deserved Big Apple adventure of their own. Through a twist of fate — which Dolly, of course, had a hand in — Cornelius instead falls for Irene Molloy and Barnaby for her assistant Minnie.
Actresses who step into the role of Dolly have big shoes to fill. With Carol Channing, Barbara Streisand and currently Bette Midler to be compared with, Dolly is an intimidating character.
Ashley Gardner Carlson (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday cast), though she seems young, holds her own in this iconic role, delivering Dolly’s brassy banter charmingly and convincingly (“I’ve made up your mind,” she states to Vandergelder). Like online personas, Dolly’s private self seems lonelier and more cautious than what she projects to her acquaintances. Carlson navigates Dolly’s complexity easily and has great timing, particularly during a painfully funny turkey dinner scene.
As Vandergelder, David L. Walker (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday) gives a solid performance, but part of the mystery of the show is if Dolly sees anything in the grump besides his money. He views a wife as a maid instead of a match, singing, “It takes a woman all powdered and pink to joyously clean out the drain in the sink.” It’s not until the last few minutes of the show that audiences begin to see what Dolly must have known all along: Stubborn Vandergelder has a softer side.
The dreaming duo of Cornelius, David Matthew Smith (single cast), and Barnaby, Peter Reid Lambert (single cast), add an engaging element. The two are bright-eyed, full of cheesy moves and become particularly endearing during the “Dancing” number with Irene, played by Laurel Asay Lowe (Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday); Minnie, Kenna Smith (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday), who lights up the scenes she’s in; and Dolly.
There’s no shortage of frills, fluff, color, puffed sleeves or plaid suits in “Hello, Dolly!” The most memorable ensemble is from the show’s namesake song, in which Dolly returns to her old stomping ground — the Harmonia Gardens. Her sequined emerald green frock almost steals the spotlight from Dolly’s grand entrance and the waiters’ fancy footwork.
Describing the infectious songs, like “Put on Your Sunday Clothes, “Elegance” and “Before the Parade Passes By” could also describe Dolly and, really, the show itself: confident, lively and hard to forget. #dollywillnevergoawayagain
Content advisory: The show includes social drinking, a few mild swear words and two “holy cabooses.”
Emily Edmonds is an online communications instructor for BYU-Idaho. She is the former editor of BYU's Marriott Alumni Magazine. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in mass communications from BYU.