If you hadn’t noticed, the 1964 madcap musical Hello, Dolly! returned to the stage in grand fashion last year thanks to a multi-Tony-winning Broadway revival starring Bette Midler (and later Bernadette Peters) as vivacious matchmaker and “professional meddler” Dolly Gallagher Levi.
Penned by 87-year-old Broadway legend Jerry Herman (Mame, La Cage aux Folles) and late playwright Michael Stewart (Bye Bye Birdie, 42nd Street), the musical plays out in turn-of-the-century New York, where its widowed protagonist is plotting to mix a little business with pleasure.
Tasked with finding a new wife for “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder, Dolly instead sings, dances and schemes her way into the marriage equation — essentially saving her client for herself.
Stepping into a high pair of heels inaugurated by the late great Carol Channing, beloved San Antonio actress Anna Gangai takes the lead opposite Tim Hedgepeth (as Horace) in the Woodlawn Theatre production directed by Christopher Rodriguez.
“Hello, Dolly!” August 24 to September 16 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.) at the Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road. Tickets $18 – $30 at woodlawntheatre.org.
