Dolly: A True Original Musical

“Peters makes it clear that Dolly is talking about real hardships...She sings the Jerry Herman songs thrillingly, of course...I don’t mean that she isn’t funny; she is...The other new principals match the bright polish of the original cast, which has grown a bit zany with time...Ms. Peters goes along with all this, to a point. But sometimes I felt she would rather observe the parade than be in it. Personally, I’m a sucker for that: I think it gives this 'Dolly' a fascinating new valence.”

““A bluntly nostalgic and volubly entertaining revival…If Midler once had the voice for the part, seven decades and eight shows a week have worn it into something a lot raspier...But the spirit of the show is so infectious, and Midler such an adored and adorable presence, that the audience applauds her at entrance, exit and several times in between…This relentless energy sometimes feels exhausting…But when it works, especially in the ensemble numbers, the show is a riotous delight.”

“This Dolly’s personal style is to twinkle and charm people into getting her way. She also has the acting chops to moisten eyeballs when she entreats her late husband to bless her renouncement of widowhood...A new addition to the cast, Charlie Stemp, seems a bit too broad in the comic role of Cornelius’s sidekick...As usually happens when a director and a choreographer keep a sharp eye on their baby, the overall production of this classic never looked better.”

“The two-time Tony Award winning performer has brought a poignancy to the production that wasn't quite in evidence with her predecessor...Which is not to say that she falls short of the role's comedic demands. Her performance is less vivacious than Midler's, but no less hilarious...If Garber's more restrained performance is less gut-busting, it's also less of a caricature...Stemp is a revelation...Zaks' perfectly tooled staging hasn't lost a step, dancing or otherwise, since the show opened.”

““A blissful Broadway revival…The part of Dolly is exquisitely suited to Midler’s enormous warmth, savvy and drive. It’s hard to imagine a better match of actor and role: It is, in a word, perfection…‘Hello, Dolly!’ may be a vehicle for its star, but this revival treats it like a vintage Rolls-Royce. From the rousing overture on, everything about the production, directed with joyful aplomb by Jerry Zaks, gleams with old-fashioned charm…Jerry Herman’s exuberant score is a show-tune bonanza.””

““Ms. Midler’s singing voice is in a desperate, sometimes shocking state of disrepair…As for the rest of the performance, Ms. Midler doesn’t even bother to act…She can’t dance and isn’t funny…David Hyde Pierce is all wrong as Horace…What’s more, he and Ms. Midler have no romantic chemistry at all, which makes the show even less dramatically plausible...Every supporting performance is a grotesque caricature…As for the musical numbers, they’re camped up to the hilt.””

“At the top is exactly where Peters belongs. In tandem, too, with the indispensable Victor Garber...With Peters, Dolly’s melodically wistful musings about not wanting the parade to pass her by — did any parade ever dare pass Midler by? — are more heartfelt...The thoroughly winning Garber, who embodies Horace here not so much as the requisite tiresome grouch but as a big, entitled kid, asserts his own comic energy; it’s the loosest I’ve ever seen him on a stage, and the funniest.”

“Murphy is absolutely wonderful as the meddling, multitasking matchmaker...Murphy’s Dolly is gabby, game and gleeful as she dispenses the pleasures of Jerry Herman’s songs and Michael Stewart’s lines...Jerry Zaks’ production is better. The dancing of Warren Carlyle’s choreography is sharper and funnier. The sound is more crisp, the ensemble more assured and the accompanying stars perfectly aligned.”

“So much of the charm of this production is in what hasn’t changed...Where Midler’s personality soared to the back of the balcony, Peters engages with the audience on a more intimate level, at times working the crowd like a comedian singling out a spectator...The marriage of actor and role here is so neat, you’d think Dolly made the match; Garber does stodgy, befuddled warmth better than anyone in the business...The other new cast members are strong across the board.”

““An unstoppable juggernaut of old-fashioned schmaltz and star power. Zaks’s staging sticks resolutely to that familiar formula and eschews any trace of directorial innovation…Midler’s magnetic stage presence duly compensates for a singing voice that displays limited range…It all adds up to a slick yet somewhat hollow package that cries out for a smidgen of pathos amid over two hours of relentless merriment…'Hello, Dolly!' nonetheless delivers a potent dose of high-spirited fun.””

“The two-time Tony winner brings high spirits, warmth and a voice that will make you laugh and cry with joy...Victor Garber is gruff and blustering...Molly Griggs lends humor as straight-laced hat-shop girl Minnie Fae and London star Charlie Stemp lights up the stage with his bright smile and brilliant dancing feet as boyish clerk Barnaby...With the terrific current cast, wall-to-wall musical gems and ace dancing, design and direction, it remains a star vehicle that purrs.”

““All the visual and audible cues suggested that no one in the building that night had the slightest interest in being anywhere else but in that room. With this adored star. In this beloved show…David Hyde Pierce squeezes some laughs out of what can often seem like a thankless part…I don't want to imply there is some revisionist revelation at work here, for there is not, nor any deep emotional probation. But you can easily intuit the really, really good time everyone seems to be having.”

“A superbly written work of bubbly fun and warm sentiment...full of memorable melodies and smart lyrics...Peters expertly delivers the exact kind of Dolly a seasoned theatregoer would expect from her...Her knack for high comedy is spot on and her quiet moments alone...are tender and heartwarming. Her vocals are pure and masterful...The production hasn't lost a step...Peters shimmering performance makes this wondrous production glitter even more brightly.”

“That immaculate number is bookended by a delightful show choc-a-bloc with top-notch performances...With a light and sweet storyline, as well as a terrifically talented ensemble of singers and dancers, the production is made magical by Santo Loquasto’s evocative period backdrops and absolutely stunning vivid and detailed costumes...Peters has taken this already wildly successful production and made Dolly her own; and in her hands it looks effortless.”

“This is a by-golly-and-thank-you-Jesus 'Hello, Dolly!' show...In Peters we have an actor who connects with her character. Peters conveys the circumstances as well as the determination needed to navigate the world as a single woman relying on her own wits...The entire production is a creamsicle designed to make you feel good. Period. The music is mostly jolly and occasionally poignant...A visual feast...Dolly is finally home, where she belongs.”

“The production has made its own happy match with the show and its new lead — the vivacious, ethereal Peters, who has us in her palm the instant she lowers her newspaper in the opening scene...This is the theater magic we come to Broadway for, and it delivers right from the get-go...In an otherwise rollicking musical, Peters gives us a new, beautifully moving portrait of a well-known character, and it only takes a moment for us to fall in love with her and 'Dolly!' all over again.”

“Here, in extraordinary circumstances – following the most celebrated star turn on Broadway in memory – Peters is utterly flawless...Under the expert comic direction of Jerry Zaks, she finds something to delight us in virtually every aspect of the role. She delights us, but moves us too...The silliest jokes seem to have blossomed into true wit; the musical numbers — from what is Jerry Herman’s finest score — have just as much, if not more, buoyant zest than they did when the show opened.”

“She brings a refreshing vulnerability to Dolly Levi — a word that you could never put in the same sentence with Bette Midler. In Peters’ hands, the Act 1 show-stopper 'Before the Parade Passes By' begins as a heart-tugging almost introspective cri de coeur until she builds up the courage to take on the world...Peters is well-matched with Victor Garber...But the real standout in this production is Charlie Stemp...Stemp virtually steals the show.”

“Peters electrifies the Shubert Theatre stage with her warm, finely nuanced take on matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi...True, her voice is on the raspy side, but it takes nothing away from the many magical moments...This production has good bones — Santo Loquasto’s gorgeous costumes and artistic scenery and Jerry Herman’s well-loved score.”

“Peters, the night this reviewer attended at least, seemed more distant and more nervous and tentative in the role...Peters’ Dolly feels more skittish and scattered, and less focused...There is no sense why Peters' Dolly and Garber’s Horace would get together, and no sense of them operating together when sharing a stage...Suddenly, 'Hello, Dolly!' feels like a company of individual performers working hard, rather than a company of performers in smooth, collective command of the material.”

“I’ll just come right out and say it: I prefer Donna Murphy over Bette Midler in 'Hello, Dolly!'...Murphy fires from all cylinders and never lets up, bursting with vitality and comic ingenuity...Murphy is also in full voice. Her powerhouse singing takes the production numbers up by more than just a notch...People should not shy away from this lavish, lovingly old-fashioned, euphoric revival simply because they cannot score tickets to see it with Midler.”

“A cheery production that brings back nostalgia for classic musical comedy...It’s hard to do this show wrong. The story is silly, but we forgive it simply because of the nostalgia attached to it...Midler knows how to hit the comedic beats without batting an eye...This ensemble of supporting players was more than capable to help carry the show...'Hello, Dolly!' is a sweet production that stays in bounds. If anything it brought Midler back to musical theater. And that’s a triumph right there.”

“A star vehicle with more than its share of glitz and glamour masking an old-fashioned story that is mediocre at best and downright embarrassing at worst...Midler has charm and energy to spare, if not quite the pipes and the moves...This version is really more of a cabaret-circus variety show than a full-fledged Broadway musical...Through it all, though, there’s Bette, who never really inhabits the role but plays herself playing the character while basking in the unending attention.”

““It is simply showcase for the beloved performer to strut, parade and pander…Somehow in the back of my mind, I firmly believe that Midler could have come through with a real and unforgettable character had she had the right director. Zaks wasn’t and she didn’t. The supporting cast generally keeps the faith with the melodic Herman score…Choreographer Carlyle has effectively filled many of the most cringe-worthy gaps with obligatory bursts of robust dancing.””