Lyric’s ‘Hello, Dolly!’ is a gift to theater-goers

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – Well, hello Dolly. It is great to see you back where you belong.

The Lyric Stage Company’s “Hello, Dolly!”  is a brilliant blend of song and dance, expertly acted and presented, simply a joyous 21/2 hours of theater.

Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent and choreographer Ilyse Robbins have teamed up to deliver a theatrical gift to greater Boston audiences, a gift that will have you smiling and humming iconic tunes as you leave the theater.

The late Jerry Herman (“Mame,” “La Cage Aux Folles”) was all in on romance and striking up the kind of big brass band production numbers that can lift theater-goers lout of their seats. OK, Michael Stewart’s book based on Thornton Wilder’s 1955 play “The Matchmaker” is a bit flimsy and dated, but it serves as kind of a Christmas tree on which to hang the dazzling production numbers.

Under the guidance of Parent and Robbins, the joyous numbers rolled onto the stage like a greatest hits album: “It takes a Woman,” followed by a preening “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” and Dolly’s stirring anthem “Before the Parade Passes By.”

Aimee Doherty is Dolly Gallagher Levi, the widow still mourning the death of her beloved husband Ephraim but realizing she has to move forward if she is to survive. Dolly – who specializes in “meddling” — has been engaged by Yonkers (“half-a-millionaire) Horace Vandergelder (a very good Joshua Wolf Coleman) to help him find a wife, all the while angling to find him the perfect mate: herself.

There’s just one problem. Vandergelder is off to propose to Irene Molloy (Kristian Espiritu) at her hat shop in New York City. There are other complications: artist Ambrose Kemper (Stephen Caliskan) would like to marry Vandergelder’s whiny niece Ermengarde (Sophie Shaw) but Horace will not have it.

Doherty is a force of nature, checking off yet another plum female role in the musical theater canon; she really seizes the day with “Before the Parade Passes By” to climax Act I.

Michael Jennings Mahoney takes full possession of what is in his hands the second -showiest role in the show, that of Cornelius Hackl, Vandergelder’s much put-upon head clerk, who after many years is still looking for one evening off a week. He revolts, dragging colleague Barnaby Tucker (Max Connor) with him on the train to New York, where adventure – and hopefully a kiss from a woman – await.

Dolly’s “meddling” sees Cornelius and Barnaby ending up at the shop of Irene and her assistant Minnie Fay (Temma Beaudreau) before Horace, and the women mistake the two for high rollers out to show them a good time. Espiritu also has a vocal highlight with one of Herman’s gentler numbers, “Ribbons Down My Back,” and Mahoney as Cornelius aces one of Herman’s signature tunes  – “It Only Takes a Moment” – in Act II.

The uber-talented ensemble led by Dance Captain Joy Clark excels throughout, but especially so in the iconic “Hello, Dolly!” number at Harmonia Gardens with its leaping waiters (shout out to Jackson Girard) and a great comic turn by Mark Linehan as Rudolph, the imperious maître ‘d at the restaurant who can also tap dance.

It has been many years since I doubted whether Lyric Stage could pull off a major musical in the intimate confines of its Clarendon Street home. After watching – to name just a few — “1776,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” Sweeney Todd,” “Camelot,” and My Fair Lady” there was no doubt it could be pulled off … brilliantly.

Award-winning scenic designer Janie E. Howland has designed 60 shows at Lyric and her set – whether it be train stations or Harmonia Gardens — is lovely while being both functional and efficient. Karen Perlow (lights) and Alex Berg (sound) are also very familiar with the theater, and nonpareil choreographer Robbins has long since mastered the art of using every square inch of the theater – wings, entrances, aisles —  in staging the production numbers.

Music director Dan Rodriguez, another Lyric Stage veteran, balances voice and music expertly, no easy feat in the intimate confines of the theater.

Costume designer Kelly Baker outfits the cast in colorful period garb and the hats – no, she hasn’t forgotten the hats.

The talented Parent seems to have become just as comfortable directing as he has been performing these past two decades. The co-founder of the Black theater group Front Porch Arts Collective has decided to let the work speak for itself as a period piece, emphasizing what he sees as its positive themes.

He said in program notes that as “a Black, queer child of an immigrant” and in a time marked by political upheaval and cultural unrest, the story still has something to offer, celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.

“Hello, Dolly!” is a triumph from top to bottom, featuring artists and designers at the top of their games.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston production of “Hello, Dolly!” Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Choreography by Ilyse Robbins. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Book by Michael Stewart. At the Lyric Stage Company through June 22. LyricStage.com.