Review: One splendid 'Hello Dolly!'

It will take about five minutes of Media Theatre's production of Hello, Dolly! to understand why this 10-time Tony Award-winner remains one of the most beloved and most-produced musicals of all time.

That this five minutes appears midway through Act 2 doesn't detract a bit from director Dann Dunn's enchanting production. With Andrea McArdle in the title role, Jerry Herman's songs and lyrics soar in a charismatic performance that's as endearing as it is mischievous and fun.

Michael Stewart based his book on Thorton Wilder's play The Matchmaker, musically retelling the tale of Dolly Levi, a meddlesome socialite with her sights set on marrying Horace Vandergelder (Kelly Briggs), a grumpy millionaire from Yonkers. That he wants to wed Irene Molloy (the always marvelous Elisa Matthews) doesn't disrupt her plans, as Dolly pushes Irene off on Cornelius Hackl (Patrick Ludt, splendid here), Horace's chief clerk and a much more suitable mate.

Dunn's direction keeps the comedy lighthearted, throwing in dashes of madcap hilarity that use the Media's wide stage in the chase scenes and dance numbers. His choreography sparkles, especially in the Act 1 "Dancing" sequence, where the springs and fouetté turns of Cameron Scot Slusser as Barnaby Tucker, the younger clerk, particularly impress. Christopher Ertelt leads a rousing nine-piece orchestra whose enthusiasm never falters through Herman's horn-heavy score.

Katie Yamaguchi's costumes sparkle in a parade of women strolling in pastel blue, yellow, and rose dresses with lace parasols and men kicking up their heels in checked suits and pinstripes.

Under Matthew Miller's scenery - a series of picture-frame proscenium arches - and soft lighting, the overall feel turns the 1890s New York of the setting into a collage of Parisian art posters from the same decade. It's gorgeous and glorious and serves as a simple yet sumptuous backdrop that lets us focus on the music, singing, and dancing.

Especially in that five minutes, during which McArdle dazzles in Dolly's famed title entrance number, her incendiary orange dress capped with an arresting feather, as though Dunn had built the entire play around this showstopper to cap memories of a production the audience won't soon forget.

Hello, Dolly! Through May 24 at the Media Theatre, 104 E. State St. Media.

Tickets: $25-$50. Information: 610-891-0100. or mediatheatre.org.EndText