Director keeps songs and dances moving with heartfelt ‘Hello Dolly’

ALBANY — Taking on a musical that’s appeared in several iconic incarnations on both the stage and the silver screen might seem like a daunting task. But not for director Christi Sears, who’s previously transitioned everything from “Rocky Horror Show” to “Into the Woods” to Albany Civic Theater’s modest stage.

This time around, she’s covering the ground of “Hello, Dolly!,” previously danced across by Walter Matthau and Barbara Streisand, Carol Channing and Mary Mathis. Yet she still manages to find ways to improve upon such beloved source material.

Horace Vandergelder, for instance, who was played by Matthau in the film version, has always seemed just downright unlikeable. Why on Earth would a woman as lovely and charming as Dolly Levi want to marry a greedy, grumpy, sexist bastard such as him? It remains one of the great mysteries of musical theater.

In Sears’ take on “Hello, Dolly!” that question is answered both by the director’s choices to soften Vandergelder, including making him the leader of a children’s band, and the acting of Ed Beaudry, who slips a few more smiles and a touch more warmth into his performance. Nothing that makes Vandergelder any less of a project for Dolly, but enough to help the audience understand why she’d go to the trouble in the first place.

For those who’ve never experienced either version of this classic bit of song and dance, it follows Dolly (Harriet Nixon) as she prances through the lives of several high-society types, playing fast and loose with their romantic futures. In almost every instance, the person she claims to be setting her clients up with is a front to facilitate a more perfect match.

First and foremost, her work revolves around Vandergelder, whom she’s promised not only lovely haberdashery owner Irene Malloy (Erin Creager), but also wealthy heiress Ernestina Money (Rebecca Douglas). In truth, however, it is Dolly’s intention to finally rejoin the world of the loving by grabbing the miserly Yonkers shop owner for herself.

In order to accomplish this, Dolly must first reach a sense of goodbye with her late husband, Ephraim, whom she addresses in a series of monologues that Nixon manages to make far more poignant than they were in the film version. Possessing a different vocal style than the inimitable Streisand, she also uses her bluesier delivery to give Dolly a soulful quality that doesn’t detract from her overall elegance one bit.

Dolly’s other projects include Vandergelder’s employees Cornelius Hackle (Mat Genuser) and Barnaby Tucker (Lance Duddleston), whom she’s actually looking to set up with Malloy and her assistant Minnie Fay, played with manic gusto by the always charming Meghan Duddleston.

Vandergelder’s niece Emengarde (Tiffany Welch) and her would-be fiancee Ambrose (Jared Hernandez) also manage to fall into Dolly’s orbit, ultimately setting up a dance competition at the decadent Harmonia Gardens in New York which has been taken to just plain silly proportions in nearly every version performed.

In this production of “Hello, Dolly!” the front of the stage has been all but emptied out, and the sets extend to the back of the theater, creating the kind of space in which a cast of more than 30 can really recreate such a spectacle. In addition, Sears has stripped away much of the clunky, herky-jerky pacing of the stage version.

Instead, she uses the curtain like the shutter of a movie a camera to trick the viewer into seeing one continuous take. Segues between scenes and set changes all take place as characters stroll to the front of the stage for more intimate performances. Then, the curtains open again to reveal spacious sets bustling with life and performers waiting to wow the audience with large ensemble numbers.

Sears has also once again lured Oregon State University athletic bands director Brad Townsend and conductor Dow Yeh across the river to help bring the infectious songs of “Hello, Dolly!” to life with the help of a live orchestra. From “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” to “Before the Parade Passes By,” from “Elegance” to the rousing title number, the music matches the acting, directing and movement every step of the way, ensuring the audience will be humming all the way home.

Check it Out

What: Albany Civic Theater’s production of “Hello, Dolly!”

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 15, 16, 22, 23, 24 and March 1, 6, 7 and 8; and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 2

Where: Albany Civic Theater, 111 First Ave. N.W.

Tickets: $12, or $9 for those over age 60 or under age 18

Information: http://albanycivic.org