A HELLO, DOLLY! FOR OUR TIMES
If you’d like to know how it’s possible to take a decidedly dated musical written in 1964 (set in 1890) and make it come freshly and fully alive today, go see the Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s vibrant production of Hello, Dolly!, playing until June 22. Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent (a self-described “Black, queer child of an immigrant”) resonates with the joy of this show during dark times and “the power of art – especially musical theatre – to uplift, to restore, and to reconnect us to ourselves and to one another… even when the world feels heavy.” That is exactly what this Dolly does, and we are lucky to have Parent at its helm. He makes several excellent choices, including some diversity in casting (and what a phenomenal cast it is!), so that even the most dated parts will get your toes tapping and, as the title song says, “the room swayin’.”
The plot is flimsy, but with a customarily beautiful, brassy score by Jerry Herman, we don’t much mind. As the titular character Dolly carries the show, Aimee Doherty positively shines in this role. She plays matchmaker and Jill-of-all-trades to earn a living since her beloved husband has passed, but she’s getting tired and ready to settle down again. She has set her sights on the rich but miserly Horace Vandergelder (expertly played by Joshua Wolf Coleman), who has his sights set on someone else. Luckily, he’s hired Dolly to be his masterful matchmaker, so what could go wrong?
In addition to those two shining leads, the entire ensemble really makes this production sing. Award-winning choreographer Ilyse Robbins deserves special mention for her work here, not only in her creations, but in utilizing and showcasing the strengths of each performer, while keeping the show fresh but grounded in the period as well. Kelly Baker’s costume design must be lauded for doing the same. The rest of the creative team – from lighting to sets to wigs and props – works equally well together in building out this colorful world that we can’t help but happily escape into. We are also lucky to have a talented live orchestra (music director Dan Rodriguez) to help bring the score to life.
Other standouts are Kristian Espiritu as Irene Molloy (Vandergelder’s intended), Temma Beaudreau as her friend, and Michael Jennings Mahoney and Max Connor as their suitors/Vandergelder’s overworked and finally rebellious employees.
To anyone who may still hold a notion that Hello, Dolly! is merely fun fluff (this reviewer was guilty as charged until moved to tears this afternoon): it’s a ‘yes, and’ situation. Listen to Dolly’s final monologue at the end of the show and you would think it was written as a call to action for economic justice and community engagement today. If that doesn’t resonate, then perhaps you will be moved by the eternally human themes of love and risking vulnerability to truly live “before the parade passes by.”
photos by Mark S. Howard
Hello, Dolly!
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
140 Clarendon Street in Boston
ends on June 22, 2025
for tickets, call 617.585.5678 or visit Lyric
for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston
