Review Theatre: Holly Dolly | Regent's Park | turn-of-the century New York | Samantha Spiro | Daniel Crossley

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The Review - THEATRE by PAUL TEASDALE
Published: 13 August 2009

Hello Dolly - Picture courtesy of
Catherine Ashmore

Looking swell, Dolly!

HELLO DOLLY!
Regent's Park

I ASSUMED it would take a pretty taut suspension of belief to imagine the metropolitan bustle of turn-of-the-century New York in the leafy surrounds of Regent’s Park open-air theatre, yet this production by Timothy Sheader of the stompingly American Hello, Dolly! manages to make a fair fist of bringing some of the lights, glitz and glamour of midtown Manhattan to the rather more austere surroundings of NW1.
Looming over this wholly predictable yet endearing romp is Dolly Levi (a standout performance from Samantha Spiro), an enterprising, meddlesome matchmaker who takes it upon herself to find love for all around her and not least herself. Dolly’s target, the grouchy Horace Vandergelder, provides the perfect harrumphing foil to her sassy charisma and charm as she puts her complicated plan of ensnarement into action. The crotchety “half-millionaire” seems an unlikely choice given Dolly’s showtime sparkle but as always with unlikely pairings, their very obvious differences generate the comic banter that a charmingly feisty Spiro excels at. Almost stealing Spiro’s limelight is the beguiling Josefina Gabrielle as Irene Molloy, who brings some much needed grace to the farcical harum-scarum of her unwitting suitor Cornelius Hackl, played by an irrepressibly wide-eyed Daniel Crossley.
While some of the minor characters fall into the almost inevitable trap of over-egging their characters to the point of caricature – with perhaps the widest range of cod American accents to have ever been assembled upon one stage – the pace is kept reassuringly fast and the gags, dancing and songs keep on rolling to the blockbuster title song.
Even by musical standards, this isn’t a show that is particularly taxing. If you’re expecting carefully embedded social commentary or tortured soul-searching by anguished lovers then I’m afraid you will be disappointed. If, however, you favour lavish costumes, tap-dancing waiters and slick set-piece routines (including a stroke of genius involving a smoking top hat) then you’ll get it in spades here in this homage to a golden age of Broadway.
Until September 12
0844 826 4242

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