Simonian

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:22:19 -0800

There were aspects of the show I liked, and I will cut them some slack as I was at what was still officially a preview, but in general I was disappointed with the show. The specific moment you refer to at the end of Hello Dolly was pretty bad in my mind. And it was made all the more ridiculous by the audience clapping and cheering because they just did a little parade around the front of the stage waving their arms. Whoo hoo! I suppose it would have made more sense if the whole song had worked for me, but I didn't feel the connection between Dolly and the waiters so it all fell flat. Dolly's last solo number failed for me since she sang it to the audience and not to Horace. Why else would Horace realize he loves her? Pat Cashman isn't a great actor, but taking him away from that number doesn't let him have a chance to even try to sell that transition. And then there was Cornelius singing his big love song in the witness box to the judge and rarely even looking at the object of his love. I did like Cornelius' performance a lot, except for that moment. I did not like the wailing engenue at all, and finally, Mrs. Molloy's hat was not even a little bit provocative.

Seattlest: Hello Dolly Proves Timely Still

Simonian