Hello, Dolly! Barnaby understudy MICHAEL HARTUNG

At this performance (June 14th - 8pm) the role of Barnaby Tucker will be (was) played by Michael Hartung.

WOW OMG Michael was absolutely AMAZING!

This was my second time at the current revival of Hello, Dolly! The first performance of this revival included Christian Dante White as the understudy for Gavin Creel's role of Cornelius Hackl. I was super excited to get to see Gavin especially with his fresh Tony win just a few days ago. Gavin has always been a favorite performer of mine. 

During the performance when Gavin and Michael first appear it clicked for me: wow...I specifically remember being entranced watching Michael Hartung bouncing, smiling and giving his all on my first visit. As Michael continued last night in the role of Barnaby I started to think OMG I so want to watch Gavin's every move and facial expression but Michael's were just as captivating. I didn't know who I wanted to watch more!

Michael Hartung is going to be someone to watch in the coming years. He is not only a phenomenal dancer but last night showed his acting and singing skills as well. Thank you Michael for a spectacular performance! 

 

We were there last night, and he was just wonderful.

And Bette brought him forward at the end for a one of those special bows.

 

It sounds like all of the understudies and as well as the alternate are doing great jobs.  I do hope that when I see the show next Wednesday that I get to see the original cast for my first viewing.   

May I just chime in here? I was at my first Hello Dolly! last night, and this was wonderful. We too were super impressed with the understudy Michael Hartung. He was terrific, as was everyone else. I totally forgot he was an understudy until Bette brought him forward for the bow at the curtain call and yes, to echo above, we noticed he looked like he was particularly BEAMING at this gesture and the applause. Great show, great night.

I'm happy to hear this.  I recently saw Dolly without any understudies and thought everyone was excellent expect for the actor playing Barnaby. The actor grossly overacted, wasn't a great singer or dancer and just plain didn't fit in with the rest of the cast.  

Thought Taylor was charming.

I saw him Thursday night and thought he was solid enough but I did feel like his Barnaby had a secret crush on Cornelius. He hit all of his marks and moved well but the character interpretation was too broad. Perhaps he could have worked with a shyness that blossomed; looking up to Cornelius and following his lead while inhabiting some specific character traits and choices.

Gavin and Kate were quite wonderful. I was impressed. Bette had a brain fart with her lines at one point and was quite funny in her search to remember them. There was such a rush to get through the first act that I think she lost her self within the speed of things. It was almost like she was trying to keep up rather than being in control of the situations that were coming her way. Her second act was much more relaxed and she was excellent. David Hyde Pierce was top notch and trusted himself enough not to ever push.

The show was well directed however; I do think one has to be careful when establishing the acting style that picking up cues and energy levels does not produce scene work that does not feel authentic and lacks spontaneity.

Updated On: 6/16/17 at 02:08 AM

I saw Trensch at the Wednesday matinee and thought he was spectacular! As Gavin has said several times, his performance works so well because of Trensch's performance.

I wish I would have seen Taylor. If After Eight thought he was charming he must have passed the mustard. I thought the understudy was the one weak link of the evening.

The "pudding" reference comes from the original source, Thornton Wilder's THE MATCHMAKER. The lines were added to this production.