Hello, Dolly! Reviews
Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
"...One more thing I love about this show. The book writer Michael Stewart took his cue from Wilder and had his fun with ordinary, self-centered, striving, middle-class Americans - the merchant class, you might say. But as he did so, he also made them all look smart, honest, fun and loving. For decades, this show thus has offered both empowerment and escapism. They've got their Sunday clothes on; you can come as you still are."
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
"...Wednesday night at the Oriental Theatre, there was much to love about the national touring production of "Hello, Dolly!," which arrives hot on the heels of the 2017 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival led by Bette Midler (and later Bernadette Peters) who put their indelible stamps on the title role originated by Carol Channing those five decades ago, followed in 1968 by Pearl Bailey."
Daily Herald- Highly Recommended
"...Ultimately, Buckley's strength rests with her thoughtful, emotional performance as the widowed matchmaker who after 10 years of "just passing by life" decides to rejoin the parade, which in Zaks' gloriously sung, canny incarnation includes suffragettes."
Windy City Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...Make no mistake, this Hello, Dolly! is a testament to what good funding and a ridiculously talented cast can do. But, seeing the safest musical theatre libretto staged with the safest cast only makes you wonder if a more inclusive staging would have made a good production profound. For all this talent and precision, and for the sheer number of costume changes, I wish these artists had something more substantive to say."
Time Out Chicago- Recommended
"...In a revival that’s light on surprises, Hello Dolly!’s greatest strength is also its most obvious: Betty Buckley. At a spry 71 years old, the Broadway legend is easily up to the task of inhabiting one of the greatest, grandest dames in American musical theater: turn-of-the-20th-century matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi. While the part’s vocal demands sometimes get the best of her, Buckley is much too good to let that get in her way. She powers her way through Hello, Dolly! on the strength of her supernova charm."
ShowBizChicago- Highly Recommended
"...What makes this revival so powerful is how Jerry Zaks and new book writer Michael Stewart is able to access the power of womanhood that composer Jerry Herman invests in his creation. Dolly Gallagher Levi is a complex woman far ahead of her time and smarter than any male that comes into her bath. Though she is grieving the loss of her own husband and trying to reinvent herself in an age when women are relegated to certain norms, Dolly still believes in the joy finding a perfect mate can bring a person. Complex, oh yes. But so is Mame Dennis, another character Mr. Herman brings to life with power and abilities far beyond those of mortal women."
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
"...Perkily presented with Wilders' disarming delight in apostrophizing the audience, Mrs. Levi's tart survival knowledge blends beautifully with the unashamed sentiment of "Dancing," "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," and the inexpressibly exuberant title number, a showtopper as much as showstopper. So much that life fails to encourage, theater redeems. Seldom more winningly than in Hello, Dolly!"
Let's Play at ChicagoNow- Highly Recommended
"...Hello, Dolly! to us was one of the best theatrical plays we have seen this year. It’s filled with non-stop excitement, and the singing and dancing are phenomenal. It’s destined to be an extravagance that will thrill audience all the way to Yonkers, or maybe just New York’s Broadway. The one thing I would like to see is more diversity within the casting, but that’s an easy fit."
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...The beauty of Broadway In Chicago is the mix of classic musicals along with the new and pre-Broadway productions. They do it all ! When it was announced that "Hello Dolly" was part of the 2018 season, I think many patrons were hopeful that Bette Middler would bring the Broadway production here. When the announcement came that it would be Betty Buckley taking on the legendary role ( who can forget Carol Channing or even the film version with Barbra Streisand?), I knew that we were in for a treat. The opening last night proved me right, 200%!"
WTTW- Highly Recommended
"...And now, in its lavish national touring incarnation, which opened Wednesday at the Oriental Theatre, it is Betty Buckley who gets to put her stamp on the character. And the veteran, award-winning actress has turned Dolly – who can sometimes seem like a caricature – into a warm, flesh-and-blood woman, singing with a voice just a bit more throaty than usual because of what seemed to be a skillfully camouflaged cold."
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
"...The hard-working ensemble is filled with some of musical theatre's finest triple threats, including Jessica Sheridan as Ernestina Money, Morgan Kirner as weepy Ermengarde, Garrett Hawe as handsome artist Ambrose Kemper and Wally Dunn as a fastidious Rudolph. And a profusion of praise goes to the multi-skilled male dancers who treat the audience to Warren Carlyle's robustly challenging "Waiter's Gallop," a choreographed ballet that effortlessly segues into the musical's show-stopper, "Hello, Dolly.""
The Fourth Walsh- Highly Recommended
"...Full disclosure: I loved HELLO, DOLLY! before I sat down in the theatre. I'm a huge fan of the Barbra Streisand movie and Wilder's play. With Buckley putting her hand in, this HELLO, DOLLY! revival becomes magical. This show is the perfect escape from reality."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre- Highly Recommended
"...Indeed, this touring version of the Broadway production that closed in August is a delight in every way. Visually, Santo Loquasto‘s stunning sets and nostalgic, post card-like visual effects take patrons back to a kinder, simpler time, punctuated by his period-perfect and opulent wardrobing with a few spectacular set-surprises (I won’t be a spoiler here, but do not, under any circumstances, slip out to the washroom and miss “Put On Your Sunday Clothes”)."
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
"...Hello, Dolly!, starring the amazing, Tony-Award-winning Betty Buckley (whom I've also seen in Cats and Sunset Boulevard) was the perfect Dolly Gallagher Levi, every toe-tapping step of the show. She graced the stage with humor, gentle spunk and that fabulous, textured voice. The superb cast members, including Lewis Stadlen as Horace Vandergelder, Nic Roulea as Cornelius Hackl, and Analisa Leaming as a feisty Mrs. Malloy, were also at the top of their singing and dancing games. And I can't fail to mention Jess LeProtto, who whirled his way through the air and under tables, as the delightfully innocent Barnaby Tucker."
Chicago Theater and Arts- Highly Recommended
"...Originally directed by Gower Champion, director Jerry Zaks’s “Hello, Dolly! production which picked up four Tony Awards for Best Musical Revival in 2017, is a feel-good show in the old-fashioned mode of classical musicals. It is only in Chicago for a limited engagement but try to fit in onto the calendar. This touring “Hello, Dolly!” is a first rate production."
Picture This Post- Highly Recommended
"...The musical is sweet and amusing, and director Jerry Zak’s production certainly rises to the occasion if the constant applause and cheering from the Press Opening audience is any indication."