The long-awaited musical production Hello! Dolly first made its appearance on stage in the beginning of February first, with its beautifully crafted canvas backdrop, hand painted by members of the art and theater departments, and then later with the rest of the set and props. The cast was jam-packed with amazing talent from across the departments, including many alumni who came back for the opportunity to star in this show. Hello! Dolly was directed by Professor Claire Slavovsky in the theater department, with music direction by Professor David Tahere in the music department, and costumes designed by Courtney McKenzie.
The performances for the show took place over February 23-25, with four different performances happening over the three days, and for those who did not get the chance to see the show, they missed an amazing opportunity. The main cast featured Isabelle Torokwa as the titular character Dolly Levi, Sam Powell played opposite her as the wealthy Horace Vandegelder, with Ray Lantrip as Cornelius Hackl, Jackson Murray as Barnaby Tucker, Christley Vaughn as Irene Malloy and Jean Louise Barnes as Minnie Fay. The understudy cast featured Kara Start as Dolly Levi, John Sunder as Horace Vandergelder, Chris Bagby as Cornelius Hackl, Tallis Finch as Barnaby Tucker, Emmaline Mountan as Irene Malloy and Sarah Newell as Minnie Fay.
Hello! Dolly was first performed in 1964, with music and lyrics done by Jerry Herman, and based off of the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder. The musical tells the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi––a strong-willed matchmaker with a skill for solving problems––as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder. Along the way, she meets Horace Vandergelder’s niece, Ermengarde, and the man she wants to marry, Ambrose, an artist. Due to Dolly’s meddling, the original woman that Horace Vandergelder wanted to marry, Irene Malloy, ends up going on a date with Cornelius Hackl, Vandergelder’s worker, while her assistant Minnie Fay goes on a date with Barnaby Tucker. The three couples all have reservations at the esteemed Harmonia Gardens on the same night that a polka contest is happening. Through a series of confusing events, Vandergelder loses his wallet; announces he doesn’t dance because he is Presbyterian; Cornelius, Barnaby, Irene and Minnie all enter the polka contest as a chance to avoid Vandergelder; Dolly Levi enjoys some nice turkey; and Ermengarde and Ambrose make an appearance to win the polka contest. Due to Vandergelder losing his wallet, he and all of those at the Harmonia Gardens are arrested and sent to court, where Cornelius shares about how “it only takes a moment to be loved a whole lifelong.” The show ends happily, with each of the couples either engaged or about to be married.
The costume design was done by Courtney McKenzie, a graduate of Covenant College who has worked for the theater department since 2018. McKenzie said that a big inspiration for her designs was the era itself: “I love working from a specific time period and going from there. We wanted some things to reflect the Broadway version, but we also wanted our own twist on it.” The fifteen different costumes for the leads were all made by MacKenzie and her staff, and the rest of the costumes were rented from six different places. When asked, McKenzie shared that “for Dolly specifically, we wanted her costumes to show her grieving process as she walked through life after her husband died. The beginning outfit was gray and black, but still with that Dolly flare of fun lace and a frilly addition to the hat.” The iconic red dress that Dolly wore at Harmonia Gardens reflected her big entrance back into society and her final look, a lavender ensemble “not only brought color and hope back into her everyday life, but it was also a nod to the era where women coming out of the grieving period wore lavender.” In total, there were 140 costumes worn and 88 hats and hair accessories; most of the cast wore an average of three costumes. However, Kara Start ‘23 had the most costume changes. As Dolly’s understudy and a member of the ensemble, Start had a total of eight costumes!
The show opened on February 23 in the chapel and had a total of four performances, three evening shows featuring the main cast, and a Saturday matinee show for the understudies to get their moment to shine. Emily Cothran, a theatre graduate, who traveled a few hours to come see the show said, “[A] good show starts with a good director, and Professor Slavovsky led this cast through an intense rehearsal period and was able to put forth a truly wonderful show. I saw the show on Saturday night, where Isabelle Torokwa was a spectacular Dolly; she was witty, controlled and motivated in every action. This cast really put their best foot forward for Hello! Dolly and I'm excited to see what the Covenant theatre department delivers in the future.” All those that had the opportunity to attend praised the cast, crew and all those involved for the amazing amount of work that they put into it to create a truly wonderful show.