Last spring, after I wiped away all the tears I shed during Hadestown: Teen Edition, I knew we needed a change of pace. As I brainstormed possible titles, I realized that I had an M.O.: if left to my own devices, I would pick a tragic, narrator-led musical every year. So I forced myself to venture out of my comfort zone and took an adventure into a very different story. Hello, Dolly! (1964) came to Broadway at the end of the “Golden Age” of musicals. These movies and plays leaned into camp, color, and comedy, including massive dance numbers, huge set pieces, and big stars, like Barbra Streisand. While these musicals are beloved both in and out of the theater community, I’ve heard many criticize them for their saccharine story lines peppered with ingenues falling wildly in love, repetitive encores, and cheesy dance breaks. They’re “feel good” stories with happy endings and a big finale. Although many people don’t always stay to look past the sugar-coated surface, these musicals still address themes and experiences that are difficult and real.
First, the musical addresses several pertinent social issues, including gender roles and social class. A strictly feminist approach of this show might consider how this show both satirizes and brushes off gender dynamics: Dolly is undoubtedly the powerhouse of the show, and she takes agency over her live, and the lives of others, in a way that was not afforded to women at the time of the show (1890s). As she says in “I Put My Hand…” she arranges love lives like society would have expected her to arrange “furniture and daffodils.” Meanwhile, Horace, who believes he has all the power as the patriarch of the story, is thwarted at every turn and must learn to acknowledge that he might not have all the answers. As a company, the cast and I discussed what it looks like for the women in this musical to hold power, even if society doesn’t allow them to wield it openly.
The story also explores the value of money, and how it should be used to “encourage young things to grow.” While Horace Vandergelder may have become the richest man in Yonkers by being friendless and mean, it also makes him the loneliest by the end of the play. In fact, all of the characters must determine their relationship with money and how it is meant to be used. Dolly acknowledges that she needs money to live, but she also works to ensure that other people are given financial opportunities to achieve their freedom. Irene decides she wants to leave her business, and that the money isn’t worth the frustration hat-making brings her. Cornelius and Barnaby must both decide to throw caution to the wind and spend the little money they have on an adventure. Ermengarde and Ambrose fight for their love, despite her uncle’s threats to cut her off should she marry an artist. The characters who chose to share their wealth, however much they have, spend a joyful day in New York City, while Horace pushes people away by attempting to control them through money. With Dolly’s help, he realizes that living on top of a mountain of riches gets rather lonely, so distanced from everyone else.
This musical, based on The Matchmaker by Thorton Wilder, is an encouragement for people to choose a “fuller, freer participation in life,” as Wilder puts it. All the characters in this story are faced with a simple choice: take action and live your life to the fullest despite the risks, or hide yourself away for fear of ever getting hurt. Dolly, Horace, Irene, and Ermengarde all must navigate grief in this show: Dolly and Irene have decided to stop actively mourning their husbands, and are determined to remarry to reenter society and live their lives with agency. Ermengarde, who seems to have lost both of her parents, chooses love over the unhappy home her uncle has made for her. Horace, however, holds onto his money and uses it as a way to distance himself from everyone else and their “foolish” ways. “But,” as Wilder says through Dolly, “there comes a moment in everybody’s life when he must decide whether he’ll live among human beings or not – a fool among fools or a fool alone.”
This show has reminded me that it’s important to let down my guard a little bit, and enjoy the adventure of life, through all of its ups and downs. That it’s okay to be a little foolish, and that it helps us find joy with others. That we need to take risks and step out of our comfort zones in order to grow and feel alive. I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had among these wonderful, silly, talented fools, and I hope I’ve created a safe space for them to be confidently, joyfully foolish themselves.
