JCCT Presents Exhilerating "Hello, Dolly!"
(A Review by RKB)
The cast was a joy to behold. Diane Whitenack as Dolly Levi,
"The Matchmaker" who meddles in other people's love lives,
led the superb cast. Her foil was Greg Ashley, giving another
of his always terrific performances, this time channeling
Walter Matthau as "Horace Vandergelder" of Yonkers, NY.
Judy Hedges and Jason McGraw were solidly entertaining as
the two not-so-young lovers desperate for something
to happen "before the parade passes them by."
And Jennifer McGraw and Todd McCowan stole nearly every
scene they were in, playing off each other beautifully
in a contest to see who
could be the more innocent and flabbergasted.
Director Bev Wolford did a wonderful job with a show that
needs a firm hand to keep it moving. She managed to
dodge the pits of sentimentality that pop up in
the middle when Diane Whitenack laments
*again* what her life has become since her husband died,
and at the end, when everybody is a mere moment
away from falling in love.
The hightlight of the show for me was the hilarious
"I Stand For Motherhood," when Diane, Judy, and Jennifer
manage to hide Jason and Todd
from a wild Greg Ashley while praising
the virtues of motherhood, America, and a hot lunch for orphans.
in Judy's tiny hat shop.
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