DOLLY program curiosity -- can someone help ID this?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/16/06 at 8:51pm

I found a souvenir program for the original Channing run of HELLO DOLLY at an antique store the other day, and it has me stumped. Channing, Sondra Lee (the original Minnie Fay) and David Burns (Vandergelder) are in the cast, but Patte Finlay "makes her Broadway debut" as Irene and Lawrence Holofcener plays Cornelius. Problem is, neither of them show up in the Broadway Data Base in any of the replacements. It's not a touring production; of that I'm almost dead certain, because I dont think Burns and Lee went on the road with this. To make things even more obscure, it has a photo of the famous "Butterflies" production number that was cut in Boston.

Anyone have any idea what this is or when it might be from the run? There's no date, but all of the photos are from the original run, not the revivals. I'm almost tempted to say it's from the out of town tryouts, but I'm not sure.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/16/06 at 9:01pm

It's from the latter part of Channing's run. Many of the supporting players didn't renew their contracts because David Merrick was an absolute tyrant even after the production opened. Both Eileen Brennan and Charles Nelson Reilly were the first to jump ship. Patte Finley was a delight as Irene Malloy. Eventually Will Mackenzie took over the role of Cornelius and was top notch.
They both remained in the roles for the 1 1/2 years that Ginger Rogers manned the helm.

As HELLO, DOLLY! tried out in Detroit and NOT in Boston, the "Butterflies" number wasn't cut there. In fact, the "Butterflies" number was replaced by the Polka Contest after the show opened in New York. The picture of David Burns and the Butterfly Girls remained in the souvenir program even after Rogers replaced
Carol Channing.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/16/06 at 9:12pm

Thanks for the info (and the out of town correction). I was pretty amazed that there was nothing about this at IBDB -- and try googling for Patte Finlay: nothing comes up. Holofcener seems a lost Broadway wonder: singer, actor, lyricist.

[D2]

Posted: 12/16/06 at 10:08pm

IBDB, while a fantastic resource, is not infallible, and there are MANY instances where it falls short in listing cast members, particularly in the replacements of long running shows.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/16/06 at 11:38pm

There's no need to thank me. I never tire of talking about HELLO, DOLLY!

[elmore3003]

Posted: 12/17/06 at 12:00pm

The Butterflies number was engraved for the published vocal score before the polka contest replaced it. The original dance captain told me it was written out for the national tour with Mary Martin and the same change rehearsed by the Broadway cast at the same time.