'Dolly' back where she belongs — on a Philly stage

by CLARK GROOME

Well, Hello Dolly, it is nice to have you back where you belong: on the stage, working your magic.

Boy, can that girl work magic. Whether it's arranging marriages or teaching a 33-year-old chief clerk to dance, Dolly Gallagher Levi is one of the most delightful stage characters ever created. She first appeared in Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, which Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman turned into the musical Hello, Dolly! in 1964.

Carol Channing, who played Dolly off and on for more than 30 years, was the star, and what a performance she gave.

Hello, Dolly! is being revived at the Walnut Theatre Company through July 3. The production, which Frank Anzalone has mounted, is by-and-large quite strong. While there are occasions when some of the slapstick is overdone, when some of the shtick is a bit gratuitous, the bottom line is that the Walnut's Dolly is quite good.

Any production of the show requires a strong Dolly. In this case Dolly is Deborah Jean Templin and while she won't make you forget the unique Miss Channing, she certainly more than handles the charismatic character who drives the show.

Supporting her is a first class company that benefits especially from Christopher Sutton's Cornelius Hackl, Lisa Gunn's Irene Molloy, the physically and vocally strong chorus and the physical production, designed by Paul Wonsek (the impressive sets and the warm lighting) and Gail Copper-Hecht (the often witty contrasting pastel and primary colored costumes).

The main disappointment about the Walnut production is Tom Ligon's Horace Vandergelder. Ligon is neither a very good actor nor a particularly good singer. He looks the part, but that's about it. What happens is that rather than becoming the object of Dolly's scheming, as he should, his Horace is little more than a plot device. This is a real weakness, but not enough of a problem to detract for the overall success of the production.

Jerry Herman's wonderful score includes, in addition to the title song, "It Takes a Woman," "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," "Ribbons Down My Back," "Before the Parade Passes By," "Elegance," "It Only Takes a Moment," and "So Long, Dearie."

When Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles won the 1984 best musical Tony over Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, Herman said, rather sourly, that it was good to see that melody still mattered.

Sour or not, he was right. His melodies are clearly apparent and beautifully performed in the handsome — elegant, even — production of Hello, Dolly! that should have you very glad to have Dolly back where she belongs.

For Tickets to the Walnut Street Theatre Company's production of Hello, Dolly!, which runs through July 3, call 215-574-3550 or visit www.wstonline.org.