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Stage Review: 'Hello, Dolly' at West Virginia Public Theatre moves with confidence
Friday, July 07, 2000 By John Hayes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The best musicals are built around stories. Some are built around a single song. "Hello, Dolly!" is built around a staircase.
West Virginia Public Theatre's lavish version doesn't skimp on the stairway, part of a beautifully elaborate rented set and costume combination that provides more than backdrop. World-class set pieces, giant period line drawings, gaslight facades and clothing that illustrates just how far Yonkers is from Manhattan complement the work of this production's formidable cast.
The linchpin that holds it all together is the meddling matchmaker's grand entrance from the top of the stairs at her old Manhattan stomping grounds and the catchy, accompanying title song. Without it, "Dolly" is a weak reflection of Thorton Wilder's original romantic comedy. Co-directors and choreographers Bob Durkin and Gavin Pamer, from the Gargaro camp north of the border, play up the centerpiece scene with lush choreography that grows bigger and bigger each time the tune is repeated over and over and over again. Smart movement ideas project the muscular strength of Dolly's male admirers against her bustle-and-corset curves in one of the most memorable scenes in musical theater.
Instead of trying vainly to mimic Carol Channing, Alene Robertson wisely becomes her own Dolly Levi, playing it more powerfully than many actors to amplify her character's hidden vulnerabilities. A WVPT veteran, Robertson growls and coos, wails and whispers, winks and flirts with the crowd. A strong singer and sensitive actor, she's smart enough to back off in ensemble scenes and talented enough to carry quiet moments when she's alone on stage.
J. Lee Flynn got off to a sluggish start on opening night, but by the time his cantankerous feed store entrepreneur shares a quarrelsome dinner with Dolly, his comedic timing was precise. He and Robertson click like clockwork as Dolly connives to capture Vandergelder in wedlock, or headlock, as the case may be.
When it comes to chemistry, Connie SaLoutos and Mark Campbell seem to bond at the molecular level as a lonely hat shop owner and a lowly clerk who collide in a chance encounter. SaLoutos has a magically rich singing voice and a convincing style of acting. Campbell makes his stereotypical character seem almost believable.
Jennifer Smith spices up the cast as a bawdy Ernestina, and Albert Altovilla is a caricature of a head waiter.
As could be expected, regulars from Gargaro Productions (soon to be recast as Pittsburgh Musical Theater) abound. Justin Brill is fun to watch as Campbell's pert sidekick, and Angela Bloomquist squeaks, screams and cuts a serious rug as the blushing hat shop clerk. Scott P. Sambuco, who is cast in every WVPT show this year, shows off his typically fluid and precise dancing in several impressive scenes.
Christina Sivrich doesn't give Sambuco much to work against in a limited role as Vandergelder's bawling niece, and Ralph Brem falters in a brief scene as a malleable judge. Slow opening night lighting cues nearly spoiled a few important heart to heart moments between Dolly and her dead husband.
But the beauty of "Hello, Dolly!" is that minor acting and technical faux pas and the script's inherent weaknesses are completely overwhelmed by that radiant staircase scene, made all the more memorable by the spectacle of Durkin and Pamer's choreography.
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