Review: HELLO, DOLLY! At The Royal Theatre

Are you looking for love? Well, forget Match.com. HELLO, DOLLY at the Royal Theatre, 111 S Market St., in Benton, will make you wish you had an actual Dolly of your own to find the person of your dreams. She can arrange a meeting, set the mood, and do it all with a song and dance. With one more weekend left, Thursday, April 27, through Sunday, April 30, get your tickets "before the parade passes by."

Before the internet and even before the datelines where you called up a phone number to listen to random people describe their perfect date, they had to actually talk to people face to face in order to make a match. Yes! It's true. Hiring a matchmaker was a common thing back in the day, and this is the foundation of the musical HELLO, DOLLY. With Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman and Book by Michael Stewart and based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, Dolly Gallagher Levi (Daphne Shoppach) is a matchmaker but is also looking for a match of her own. Enter Horace Vandergelder (Danny Troillett), a wealthy store owner looking for a wife to cook and clean. After all, "It takes a Woman"...to clean out the drain in the sink, or so the song goes. Horace has his eye on Irene Molloy (Grace Curtis), another one of Dolly's clients, but once Dolly meets Cornelius Hackl (Greg Campbell) and Barnaby Tucker (Seth Nuss), she hatches a plan for them to meet Irene and her assistant Minnie Fay (Anna Rose). Meanwhile, Horace's niece Ermengarde (Gracie Diggs) is heartbroken, because Horace won't let her marry Ambrose Kemper (Beau Goldthorpe). Dolly vows to unite all the love birds by the end of the day and does so with the help of her friend Ernestina (Cheryl Troillett) and the staff at the restaurant. But does Dolly get her man? Go see the show to find out.

Directed by Tom Crone, the cast was enjoyable and looked like they were having a good time. In the title role, Shoppach is cunning, calculating, and stylish. She maneuvers all of the pieces and achieves her goals with confidence. As her foil (and target), Horace, Danny Troillett is gruff, antiquated, and staunch in his desires, or so it seems. Campbell's Cornelius and Nuss' Barnaby played well off of each other. They looked hopeful while going on their big adventure to the big city and not coming home until they kissed a girl. Campbell was also charming while chasing Curtis' Irene, and Curtis did a beautiful job with her song "Ribbons Down My Back."

There were a lot of intricate ensemble singing and dancing. Led by fabulous Music Director Matthew Mentgen and Choreographed by Kristin Marts, I am always amazed with how many people they can fit on the Royal stage. The cast sashayed and harmonized throughout the play. The partnering was great, and they musically complimented the story as it progressed. The title song for HELLO, DOLLY was grandiose and executed gracefully to capture the essence of the play. I loved it! I also want to mention the beautiful, colorful costumes. Tom Crone, with assistance by Shelli Goldthorpe and Amy Palmer, had the cast donned in perfect 1890s attire. The women were in beautiful gowns, and the men looked dapper in their suits.

Broadyway World would like to thank Amy Palmer for the use of these fatastic pictures!

For tickets to this wonderful show, visit their website at https://www.theroyaltheatre.org.

CAST: Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi - Daphne Shoppach; Ernestina - Cheryl Troillett; Ambrose Kemper - Beau Goldthorpe; Horace Vandergelder - Danny Troillett; Ermengard Vandergelder - Gracie Diggs; Cornelius Hackl - Greg Campbell; Barnaby Tucker - Seth Nuss; Minnie Fay - Anna Currie; Irene Molloy - Grace Curtis; Mrs. Rose - Elizabeth Holman; Rudolph Reisenweber - Andy Goldthorpe; Stanley - Nate Palmer; ENSEMBLE: Katrina Taylor, Travis Loftis, Summer Rose, Natalie Currie, Luke Currie, Brooklyn Currie, Ashley Diggs, and Jackson Ray (Dance Captain); CREATIVE TEAM: Directed by Tom Crone; Assistant Directed by Susie Goldman; Music Direction by Matthew Mentgen; Choreography by Kristin Marts; Costume Design by Shelli Goldthorpe and Amy Palmer; Scenic Design by Tom Crone; Stage Managed by Kenzie Taylor, Kaylei Taylor, and Frankie Goldman; Lighting Design by Matthew Burns; and Produced by Matthew Burns, Chris Owen, and Susan Dill.