| In both The Merchant of Yonkers and The Matchmaker, the first words describing Dolly are "Uncertain age." He wrote the role with Ruth Gordon in mind. It was first played by Jane Cowl when the play was called The Merchant of Yonkers. It's been suggested that Gordon did not create the role because Wilder and Jed Harris were on the outs, and Gordon was still Harris's unmarried partner. By the time Gordon played the role in Edinburgh, she was 57. She was 59 when she got to Broadway in the role. |
