Search - Jerry Herman, Carol Channing, Michael DeVries :: Hello, Dolly! (1994 Broadway Revival Cast)

Dolly (and Carol) are back where they belong!

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 10/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"HELLO DOLLY! is still one of musical theatre's crowning-glories. The original 1964 production catapulted Carol Channing into the annals of Broadway folklore and the role became her signature performance.In 1994, Carol Channing and DOLLY! came back to Broadway for a limited-run revival. Channing has lost few steps since originating the role and turns in a fabulous performance. Like a fine wine, her performance and portrayal of Dolly grew richer and more honed.Channing was surrounded by a strong cast including Florence Lacey as Irene Molloy, Jay Garner as Horace Vandergelder, Michael DeVries as Cornelius Hackl, Cory English as Barnaby Tucker and Lori Ann Mahl as Minnie Fay.Florence Lacey sings a deeply-affecting "Ribbons Down My Back", DeVries and English are wonderful with "Dancing" and Jay Garner is the perfect stuffy foil to Channing's manic and free-wheeling matchmaker.There are many differences to the original 1964 cast album, including the addition of a new, longer Overture, and the extended sequence to "Dancing". Sound quality is also very impressive, though the original cast album's sound quality is still as fresh as paint.Get this superb CD today (or buy both albums if you have yet to discover the joys of this landmark Broadway show)."

Wonderful recording of the beloved score

Tommy Peter | Baltimore, MD United States | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jerry Herman's score for "Hello, Dolly!" has its lesser points: a few underwhelming songs like "It Takes a Woman," "It Only Takes a Moment" and "Motherhood" and an undeniably hokey title song. However, it also has several genuine showstoppers, including "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By," the beautiful "Ribbons Down My Back" and a couple of irresistable charm songs, "Elegance" and "So Long Dearie." And even that title song, hokey as it is, is also undeniably one of the greatest numbers Broadway has ever produced in terms of sheer galvanizing energy - audiences have been giving it standing ovations for just about 40 years.This recording must surely be one of the best, if not possibly *the* best, recording of the score out there, because the entire cast gives such a spirited (and, in my opinion, thoroughly professional) performance that the weak songs sound great and the great ones sound greater still. Carol Channing's voice takes an awful lot of getting used to, but her take on Dolly is so undeniably original and, after a while, so thoroughly enjoyable that you wonder how anyone can *not* say she *is* Dolly Levi. And having seen her in the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie," I know in person she has great capacity to entertain an audience, which must be made even greater in a live theatre. Although, as I said, the entire cast is professional and spirited, the only other standout is Florence Lacey, who may be out of the traditional age range for ingenue Irene Molloy, but has such a lovely voice, used to particularly wonderful effect in "Ribbons Down My Back," that it hardly matters.Though I have yet to hear the original Broadway cast recording, or others featuring Pearl Bailey and Mary Martin, I have heard the film soundtrack and seen the film it came from, and despite Barbra Streisand's incredible singing, that recording just doesn't make you revel in the wonders of this score from the first listen like this one does."