Betty Buckley "DOLLY" opening in Cleveland/ Casting News ? — Page 12

There were some minor differences in the orchestration at the beginning of “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” when the song first starts up with “Out there, there’s a world outside of Yonkers...”. But it was still beautifully done, and the scene where all the colorful dresses and suits come out is still stunning. And there was one missed line in the hat shop scene during “Dancing”. I don’t think anyone other than those quite familiar with the lyrics would have noticed. Nic Rouleau (Cornelius) and Jess LeProtto (Barnaby) were a true delight to watch, the latter has his comic routine down pat, and Analisa Leaming (Irene) sang “Ribbons Down My Back” beautifully.

And “Before The Parade Passes By” with the 14th Street Parage got lots of applause.

Now...

If Act 1 was good, Act 2 was superb. The Waiter’s Gallop and the title song, along with the extended dance routine, both got roars of approval and huge, huge applause. There was one dropped plate and another dropped dish towel during that portion, and when Dolly splits the curtain at the top of the staircase part of it stuck on her shoe, and it took a second to free it, but no one seemed to have really minded through the huge applause and cheers. And I tell you something, the harmonizing and vocals of the waiters during the title song were simply gorgeous.

The “dumpling and beets” part of the Harmonia Gardens dining scene, which extends to the courtroom scene, were very, very funny, but it’ll take some work to beat Bernadette and Bette, who were both masterful at it. And I thought Nic and Analisa did a very good job singing “It Only Takes A Moment”.

Several times during her talks with Ephraim, and at the end when she’s taking with Horace in his store, again, I’d swear she was wiping away real tears.

Betty Buckley and Lewis J. Stadlen were quite the team up there on that stage, and as it was mentioned earlier in the thread, they played well off of each other. In time these two will be simply fantastic.

When the curtain came down the applause and cheers were again deserving of this wonderful show, and when the final dance scene and curtain calls came, more bursts of cheers for the main cast, especially when Betty Buckley came out.

At the end she was given a huge bouquet of flowers, and as the curtain fell for the final time tonight, the applause continued as everyone departed the theater.

With all the minor differences and little missed cues, what an absolute true joy it was to have seen this show again. I had a smile on my face and watery eyes most of Act 2.

And I can’t wait to see it again tomorrow!

Updated On: 10/6/18 at 11:21 PM

Bwayfan292 said: "Im so glad you had such a fun time dmwnc!!! Enjoy it again tomorrow!!! "

It was wonderful! Another long day tomorrow, but for the drive back to WV after the 1:30pm matinee I’ll have the OBCR to sing and listen to for four hours. And that ain’t bad at all. :)

This just posted 20 minutes ago -- Cleveland Jewish News Review:

https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/even-the-overture-gets-an-ovation-in-soon-to-be/article_37de35b6-c977-11e8-832e-df82694b530a.html

The new stills of the production look amazing.

Updated On: 10/6/18 at 02:52 PM

Found this rave on Cleveland.com and now need to figure a way to see this.



https://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2018/10/hello_dolly_betty_buckley_and.html#incart_river_index

One other thing I thought of late last night. It was fascinating watching and listening to the audience reactions to the show over the last two days: when and how much they applauded, cheered, laughed, and what they reacted to, differently.

For instance, during the Overture before the show, when the music reaches the “Hello, Dolly!” tune, Friday’s crowd burst into applause whereas Saturday’s audience waited until the piece was finished. The Friday night audience was much more excited and animated. The Saturday crowd seemed more intense and focused.

The first laughter of the show always seems to come when the “horse” enters the stage carrying its three passengers reading newspapers. Neither audience caught it when, at the Harmonia Gardens dining table, Dolly says “Here, let me cut your wings”. I thought that was a great line. At the end of every song there was applause, sometimes cheers, hooting, and hollering, but the intensity was there more so for the evening performance than the matinee, which the latter seemed to have a much older audience.

But the most touching and notable moment came Saturday, near the very end, when Dolly asked Horace what was going on upstairs, to which he replied that he was having that room redone in blue wallpaper. There was small, quick, but very audible gasp and awww across the theater that brought chills to me. I had never heard that reaction in the three previous viewings of the show. It was emotionally very moving.

And that’s what I love about live theater. Every moment from show to show can be different in some small way: the cast read their lines maybe a little faster, a different ad lib here or there, a spontaneous laugh or applause from the audience that wasn’t there before. What I saw in Cleveland will be slightly more refined by time it hits Chicago. And then the next city after that. I look forward to those reports when they come.

I’ve also included some pictures from this weekend....

LINK:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57377062@N04/albums/72157698865514882

Updated On: 10/7/18 at 11:00 AM

Zamedy154 said: "Were there any adlibs by Betty during the dance break in the title song?"



None that really stick out in my mind. Keeping in mind that this was only the 7th and 8th show of the new tour (including the two Previews), Betty will make the role her own and grow quickly as she learns what ad libs work and don’t in front of a live audience. I could see differences just between those two shows where she was stronger. Like I’ve said before, I thought she did a really fine job, and the show is an absolute joy to watch. I couldn’t be more thrilled with my road trip investment to see this show again and again. I’m already making plans to see it twice in Columbus, OH next May because I can’t wait until August for Pittsburgh.

Updated On: 10/7/18 at 05:10 PM

The other daily review is less complimentary. Sounds like Buckley is still finding this character's comedy.

"So what kind of Dolly is Buckley?

Sadly, she is the least interesting thing on stage.

While in great voice and exuding the confidence of a pro, Buckley brings little to the role while stand-out performances by Lewis J. Stadlen as the comic foil Vandergelder, Nic Rouleau and Jess LeProtto as his endearing young clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby, and Analisa Leaming and Kristen Hahn as their adorable love-interests, Irene Molloy and Minnie Fay, are inventive, energetic and always entertaining.

Magnificently orchestrated company numbers orbit around Buckley rather than include her. And while she gets at the heart of the character when asking her late husband to bless her renouncement of widowhood and rejoin the human race in “Before the Parade Passes By,” her comedic moments — elongated in anticipation of the raucous reaction earned by past performers — fall rather flat.

“Hello, Dolly!” remains triumphant, but not because of the star at its center."

Auggie27 said: "The other daily review is less complimentary. Sounds like Buckley is still finding this character's comedy.”



Having seen the show twice on Broadway (Bette and Bernadette), as well as the tour twice, I still say Betty Buckley did a fine job despite that review. Yes, she is still finding her footing in some scenes, but overall she was very good and I truly enjoyed her performances.

I’m not a theater critic by any stretch of the imagination, and I go to shows to enjoy them and not professionally dissect them. With that said, there was very little I found in Betty Buckley’s performances that she won’t quickly improve on. Gauging by the two different audience’s reactions, and the people I talked to at intermission, around me, and after the show, they all really enjoyed the show - and that includes Betty Buckley’s performance. And from the numerous comments I’ve read on personal Instagram and Twitter accounts, the feelings are all the same regarding Betty Buckley. I’m not saying she was great - Bernadette was great. Betty Buckley did do a very fine job.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and critics have been known to be wrong too, but to say that she is the least interesting thing on the stage is just wrong. Sure, Lewis J. Stadlen is probably the standout of the show. He’s loud, rough around the edges, gruff, and grumpy, and did I mention loud, and people absolutely loved that. And Jess LeProtto is charming and cute. If I had to pick a favorite standout from Broadway it wouldn’t be the mega-stars, but Charlie Stemp who stole the show. Hell, even then Bette Midler at times was the least interesting thing on the stage, if you want to put it that way.

There were indeed a couple of scenes where Betty Buckley stood back and let the other cast members take over, because that worked best for that moment in the scene, and not to trample over every single scene - look at ME - but she was out front when and where it mattered. She wasn’t trying to be “Bette playing Bette playing Dolly”, so much so that it almost drowns everyone else out in every scene, and she wasn’t as comedic as Bernadette, who I thought played Dolly best of the shows I saw on Broadway. I didn’t see Donna Murphy. And now that I’ve seen the movie version with Barbra Streisand, I’d even go as far to say she wasn’t very funny in a lot of lines. Sarcastic, yes. Not funny, and not comedic.

And during the title number when the waiters are performing Betty also stood back a time or two to enjoy their performance, and it only enhanced that magnificent choreography and harmonizing that you saw and heard.

But Betty Buckley was, is, and will continue to be a good Dolly Levi, improving with every show, every city, and every critic.

As I’ve said before, once the show runs its three weeks in Cleveland and hits Chicago, many more reviews from forum members and newspapers will hit the internet.

Updated On: 10/8/18 at 08:44 AM