Posted: 8/1/19 at 5:42pm
Seeing this again in 10 days when the tour passes through Pittsburgh. It’ll be my third time for the tour, and twice for Broadway. Hoping to catch Betty Buckley one last time. Any recent reviews out there? Very much looking forward to seeing this, but there sure are a lot of empty seats up in the balcony for its run here. :)
Posted: 8/1/19 at 5:53pm
Posted: 8/1/19 at 5:59pm
DAME said: "I might catch Betty again in Boston ."
I truly enjoyed seeing her twice last October when the tour launched in Cleveland. Hope she’s on for the matinee on 8/11. I’d actually be disappointed if she wasn’t. Definitely wearing my bright red tour shirt!!! And like I don’t have enough Hello, Dolly! souvenirs already, I’m sure I’ll find an excuse to pick up a few more. lol
Posted: 8/6/19 at 9:00pm
For the fans of the movie classic, don’t forget there’s a 50th Anniversary screening this weekend at a theater near you!
https://www.fathomevents.com/events/tcm2019-hello-dolly-50th-anniversary-1969
Posted: 8/7/19 at 11:13pm
Posted: 8/11/19 at 12:23pm
Picked up my Will Call ticket (exchanged my old location for a front row center balcony) and waiting for 1pm to roll around so I can get inside and glance the cast board to see if Betty Buckley is on for the matinee. Spent the morning sightseeing and taking pictures of the Andy Warhol Bridge and North Shore area of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River down to the Roberto Clemente Bridge and PNC Park. Lots of people in the streets and it’s almost too gorgeous to be inside this afternoon. But it’s my last chance to see the National Tour and I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world. :)
Posted: 8/11/19 at 12:27pm
Miles2Go2 said: "Enjoy!!!"
It’ll only be my 5th time seeing the show (twice on Broadway, twice in Cleveland at the Tour Launch, and now today) but nothing compared to how many times DollyPop has seen HD! This is still among my Top 5 ever of all the shows I’ve seen and the only one other than Hamilton that I’ve seen more than once (like you have).
Posted: 8/11/19 at 12:33pm
Posted: 8/11/19 at 1:22pm
Posted: 8/11/19 at 1:48pm
And Betty Buckley walked by really fast too right after Nic. The only replacements on the cast board are Rudolph and the judge.
Updated On: 8/11/19 at 01:48 PM
Posted: 8/11/19 at 3:24pm
Intermission, and Betty Buckley’s performance is absolutely knocking it out of the park! The audience reactions will of course never match what we heard at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway, but this crowd here, if their reactions and applause are any gauge, loves her and the show so far. Sorry this will be the last time I’ll ever see Hello, Dolly!, so I’m glad it’s with Betty Buckley. :)
Updated On: 8/11/19 at 03:24 PM
Posted: 8/11/19 at 4:36pm
Posted: 8/11/19 at 9:21pm
What a gorgeous production, and it was even better than I remembered from when I saw it in Cleveland just over 300 days ago. There’s been very little if anything in the past year (or in my life, for that matter) that’s given me such pure, totally utter, absolute, heartfelt joy than this show, and I will miss it very much. Meeting Nic Rouleau was amazing, and seeing Betty Buckley with her beautiful trademark silver hair was all very exciting. But that was just the beginning.
When the orchestra started up with the Overture my face instantly went to a huge ear-to-ear grin that lasted nearly the entire show. Sitting front row center balcony I could easily see the entire performance with no issues. And there were some very special moments that were not to be missed: like when Dolly Levi is teaching Cornelius Hackl to dance and she sings “Put your hand on her waist and stand, with her right in your left hand, and one two three, one two three...”, when Nic took Betty’s hand he smiled the most sincere and amazing smile at her that was genuine, like he truly loved and admired who he was dancing with; and I don’t know what Betty is thinking when she sings Before the Parade Passes By, but those were real tears that streamed down her face, and she moved me to near tears with her conversation with Efraim, Let Me Go...
If I could find any fault with the entire show it was with Sean Burns as Barnaby Tucker. He just wasn’t as charismatic as Jess LeProtto and Charlie Stemp. His dancing and performance were fine enough, but I think his performance needed a bit more charm and oomph in parts.
And I still think Lewis J. Stadlen is the best of the three Horace Vandergelder’s that I’ve seen.
I still love it when the cast enters from stage right, all smiles and sparkly-eyed, with their brilliant colored costumes and that entire song and strolling performance during Put On Your Sunday Clothes, and I damn near broke into tears when the train’s bell rings and it comes on stage; the dance routine in Irene Molloy’s hat shop is always so lovely and fun; the Waiter’s Gallop is still my least favorite part (I just think it’s a bit long) and that turkey that’s supposed to get speared always hits the floor, and the audience always groans Oohhhhhh (Ernestina said I hope that’s not our chicken!); the resounding applause when Dolly appears at the top of the staircase; the stunning, simply gorgeous harmonies of the waiters as they sing the title song, and that entire dance routine around the (fake) passerelle is always phenomenal; It Only Takes a Moment is such a touching, beautiful song, and Nic sings so well; and the Finale with Horace and Dolly was so well received that you could feel the joy all across the theatre. And when the curtain came back up and the final bows were given, everyone was on their feet cheering and applauding enthusiastically until that curtain dropped for the final time.
During intermission I had overheard a couple of conversations of people saying that they weren’t initially going to come, but they were sooo glad they did, and I talked to quite a few people on the slow motion walk out of the theatre back to the streets and en route to the parking garage who all really enjoyed the show.
And as I had mentioned before, from the various responses and loud applause after so many wonderful song performances, the audience also really enjoyed the show.
The only souvenirs I bought were the tote bag and souvenir show program, the latter which is much more tour-centric with a picture of Betty Buckey in the heart-shaped cover as opposed to the Bernadette insert into Bette Midler’s Broadway version of the booklet, but it still contains pictures from Broadway productions from Channing to Midler. I think it’s quite worth the $25.
All-in-all it was an absolutely wondrous, joyous day at the theatre. And I departed the Benedum Center knowing I had just seen Hello, Dolly! for the final time, sad, but still so very, very happy I had the opportunities I did today. And I will treasure them always.
Updated On: 8/11/19 at 09:21 PM
Posted: 8/12/19 at 2:41am
Posted: 8/12/19 at 4:12am
dmwnc1959, you have seen Hello, Dolly a lot more than I have, but your review brought back fond memories of seeing the tour earlier this year. It's a genuinely joyous show, old-fashioned in all the best ways, and wonderfully performed. My wife and I would probably fall in the category of theatergoers initially uncertain about whether to see it, despite all of the praise for the Broadway revival, but we had a wonderful time. When the show gets around to the title song, there's an air of celebration and happiness that's irresistible. It was one of the most enjoyable shows I've seen this year, including my Broadway trip, and one I'll remember.
Posted: 8/12/19 at 6:34am
Posted: 8/12/19 at 12:42pm
Great show
Updated On: 8/12/19 at 12:42 PM
Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:32pm
You saved me the need to write a review from having seen the show in NY, Chicago and DC. My only difference is that I was 2nd row orchestra in DC, which was lovely.
So - ditto on everything below (except I rather enjoyed Sean Burns).
dmwnc1959 said: "What a gorgeous production, and it was even better than I remembered from when I saw it in Cleveland just over 300 days ago. There’s been very little if anything in the past year (or in my life, for that matter)that’s given me such pure, totally utter, absolute, heartfelt joy than this show, and I will miss it very much. Meeting Nic Rouleau was amazing, and seeing Betty Buckley with her beautiful trademark silver hair was all very exciting. But that was just the beginning.
When the orchestra started up with the Overture my face instantly went to a huge ear-to-ear grin that lasted nearly the entire show. Sitting front row center balcony I could easily see the entire performance with no issues. And there were somevery special moments that were not to be missed: like when Dolly Levi is teaching Cornelius Hackl to dance and she sings “Put your hand on her waist and stand, with her right in your left hand, and one two three, one two three...”, when Nic took Betty’s hand he smiled the most sincere and amazing smile at her that was genuine, like he truly loved and admired who he was dancing with; and I don’t know what Betty is thinking when she sings Before the Parade Passes By, but those were real tears that streamed down her face, and she moved me to near tears with her conversation with Efraim, LetMe Go...
If I could find any fault with the entire show it was with Sean Burns as Barnaby Tucker. He just wasn’t as charismatic as Jess LeProtto and Charlie Stemp. His dancing and performance were fine enough, but I think his performance needed a bit more charm and oomph in parts.
And I still think Lewis J. Stadlen is the best of the three Horace Vandergelder’s that I’ve seen.
I still love it when the cast enters from stage right, all smiles and sparkly-eyed, with their brilliant colored costumes and that entire song and strolling performance during Put On Your Sunday Clothes, and I damn near broke into tears when the train’s bell rings and it comes on stage; the dance routine in Irene Molloy’s hat shop is always so lovely and fun; the Waiter’s Gallop is still my least favorite part (I just think it’s a bit long) and that turkey that’s supposed to get speared always hits the floor, and the audience always groans Oohhhhhh (Ernestina said I hope that’s not our chicken!); the resounding applause when Dolly appears at the top of the staircase; the stunning, simply gorgeous harmonies of the waiters as they sing the title song, and that entire dance routine around the (fake) passerelle is always phenomenal; It Only Takes a Moment is such a touching, beautiful song, and Nic sings so well; and the Finale with Horace and Dolly was so well received that you could feel the joy all across the theatre. And when the curtain came back up and the final bows were given, everyone was on their feet cheering and applauding enthusiastically until that curtain dropped for the final time.
During intermission I had overheard a couple of conversations of people saying that they weren’t initially going to come, but they were sooo glad they did, and I talked to quite a few people on the slow motion walk out of the theatre back to the streets and en route to the parking garage who all really enjoyed the show.
And as I had mentioned before, from the various responses and loud applause after so many wonderful song performances, the audience also really enjoyed the show.
The only souvenirs I bought were the tote bag and souvenir show program, the latter which is much more tour-centric with a picture of Betty Buckey in the heart-shaped cover as opposed to the Bernadette insert into Bette Midler’s Broadway version of the booklet, but it still contains pictures from Broadway productions from Channing to Midler. I think it’s quite worth the $25.
All-in-all it was an absolutely wondrous, joyous day at the theatre. And I departed the Benedum Center knowing I had just seen Hello, Dolly! for the final time, sad, but still so very, very happy I had the opportunities I did today. And I will treasure them always."
Posted: 8/13/19 at 12:31pm
Posted: 8/18/19 at 3:22pm
Friends of mine saw HELLO DOLLY in Boston last night, and said the show was incredible. This was their first time seeing it on-stage, but very familiar with the Streisand movie. They thought Buckley was sensational, and the whole cast was incredible. They posted a few photos on Facebook from the outside of the theater, and their view from their seats - great seats!
So glad they went (this couple needed a jolt of 'Dolly' right now) and enjoyed.
Posted: 8/18/19 at 5:34pm
Also saw the show yesterday. Thought it was one of the best touring productions I've ever seen. Lewis J Stalden, wow. Just incredible. Along with Ms. Buckley of course. Great talent all around and a great evening! Whoever replaces this cast has a lot to live up to.
Posted: 8/25/19 at 5:09pm
Posted: 8/26/19 at 4:23am
Skip23 said: "Crazy how much better the show is with the touring cast. Saw it in Boston today.
Maybe Zaks toned down the Broadway cast.
The tour cast is running on high energy with breakneck pacing (which works for this show - you dont want to think too much about what’s really going on) and impeccable comic timing. Lewis Stadlen is a national treasure. The last of a dying vaudeville taught breed. Every line is hysterical. Nic Rouleau captures that naive and slightly strange aspect of Cornelius but with a killer voice and charm for days. Anilasa Leamimg as Irene made me cry one minute singing “Ribbons” and then roaring with her comedy. The dancers are choreographed with a bit more focus and spirit which works greatly to the audience’s benefit. The waiters finally stop the show with the Gallop.
Soo glad I went back again. Except for Bernadette and David, the Broadway casts never wow-ed me.
"
I don't agree with all of this, but one point I absolutely do agree on: Lewis Stadlen was a revelation (I'd never seen him in anything before), and I found it nagging at me that he didn't get a run on Broadway in the role of Horace. Sad that he doesn't seem likely to stay for year 2; I'd love to see him opposite Carolee!
Posted: 8/26/19 at 12:18pm
msmp said: I don't agree with all of this, but one point I absolutely do agree on: Lewis Stadlen was a revelation (I'd never seen him in anything before), and I found it nagging at me that he didn't get a run on Broadway in the role of Horace. Sad that he doesn't seem likely to stay for year 2; I'd love to see him opposite Carolee!"
Oh no! I thought it had been confirmed he was staying with Carolee. Saw him with Jessica Sheridan in the Chicago stop and he was just perfect.
