Thank you. When people go to see a famous performer who created a role play it again decades later, they generally go with some understanding of what they're going to see. They're going to see a beloved performer in a role for which she is renowned. They may be seeing her again or they may be seeing her for the first time in what may be their last chance to see the performer. It's not about believability. To some degree, it's about celebration.
And, really, is there anything particularly believable about Hello, Dolly! (or The Matchmaker or The Merchant of Yonkers) in the first place? Creating a believable story with realistically portrayed characters was not what Wilder was about here, and it was even less what Herman, Stewart and Champion were about.
I have on many occasions here suggested that certain performers were too old for certain roles, and I've been criticized for it sometimes. But even I would never suggest that a performer being believably the age of the character is always important. And, as noted elsewhere, Wilder states that Dolly is of "uncertain age."
Hey, I'm happy to say that I saw the extraordinary Nakamura Utaemon VI in the title role of Masakado (The Demon Princess) when he was 65, theoretically long past Mr. Nakamura's sell-by date as a princess. :) |
