UK Theatre Network

The History of Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly! is, undoubtedly, one of the biggest hits in the history of musical theatre. It played for 2,844 performances on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, winning ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, New York Drama Critics Circle Award for a Musical, 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama Desk Award. The London production played for 794 performances, over nearly three years, at the Drury Lane Theatre in the West End. A Hollywood film version, starring Barbra Streisand, was made in 1969 and won 3 Academy Awards.

 However, the road to success for Hello, Dolly! was a long and arduous one. The origins of the show can be traced back as far as 1835, when John Oxenford penned a short comedy play entitled A Day Well Spent. In 1842, an Austrian playwright, Johann Nestroy , ‘borrowed’ the plot and changed the title to Einen Jux will er sich machen (translation:  He Intends To Have A Fling). Nearly a century later, Thornton Wilder, an American novelist, further revised the piece and altered the title to The Merchant Of Yonkers.  In December 1938, it was staged at the Guild Theatre, New York, but failed commercially and only ran for 38 performances.

By the 1950s, Wilder had again reworked The Merchant Of Yonkers and changed the title to The Matchmaker. He added a major new character, Dolly Gallagher Levi, to the story – a decision that would prove monumental. The play was performed at the Royal Lyceum Theatre as part of the 1954 Edinburgh Festival, starring Ruth Gordon as Dolly. It transferred to London soon afterwards and received its American premiere just over a year later in December 1955.

In 1958, The Matchmaker was made into a movie. It starred Academy Award-winner Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins and Shirley MacLaine and was directed by Joseph Anthony. The decision to turn The Matchmaker into a musical led to yet another change of title. Initially, it was Dolly: A Damned Exasperating Woman, then Call On Dolly until, finally Hello, Dolly!  was selected.  

The result of the collaboration between Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman received a rather underwhelming pre-Broadway try-out. However, some modifications to the first act finale and an additional four musical numbers ensured that the show’s impact on Broadway, in 1964, was nothing short of sensational.

The title song has been recorded by many different artists including a French version by Petula Clark which charted in the Top Ten in both Canada and France. However, it is surely Louis Armstrong’s version that is the most famous, having reached the number one position in the American pop charts. The song garnered Jerry Herman several awards, including Variety’s Best Composer and Best Lyricist Award and a Tony Award.

Many accomplished actresses have played Dolly Levi on stage, including Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, Dorothy Lamour and Dora Bryan.

The popularity of Hello, Dolly! shows no signs of waning – a major UK tour starring Anita Dobson iscurrently underway and the show continues to be a firm favourite within the amateur circuit, too.

Steve Burbridge.