| re: 50th anniversary showing of the Hello, Dolly! film | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 05:18 pm EDT 08/16/19 | |
| In reply to: re: 50th anniversary showing of the Hello, Dolly! film - JereNYC 05:17 pm EDT 08/14/19 | |
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| Hey, Jere. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You had written in one of your posts, "The screenplay improves on the stage libretto in many places," which was why I was comparing the two. You didn't mention The Matchmaker, but I can rarely resist bringing it in when discussing the musical and my own reservations on it. In the recent production, this was the sign: EPHRAIM LEVI HABERDASHERY So he was not a milliner in that production. He would have carried various accessories for men, including hats and ties, as well as notions, but nothing for women (except for sewing accessories that could be used by men or women). This was discussed here some months ago. I think it was around seven months ago. I thought you were in that discussion. At the time I asked in a Facebook group if anyone there could remember what the sign for Ephraim’s deserted store said in the original production or any of recreations of the production. I think it said either “Dry Goods” or “Haberdashery” but I can’t find any photos with the Oliver Smith drop of the store. And neither the published script nor the licensed script answers the question. Both mention the “Deserted Store Olio,” but with no details beyond that. But I think this probably goes back to the original production. Anyway, we know there was the “Deserted Store Olio,” and it was Ephraim’s store. Re the farce question: The Wilder play(s) are definitely farces. They were intended as such, and both the original production of The Merchant of Yonkers and the original Broadway production of The Matchmaker (basically an import of the production that had played in the UK) were heavy on the farce. I think if you re-read The Matchmaker, you’ll see all the farce. Some of it was cut down on in Hello, Dolly! but all that hiding in cupboards and banging on tables and sneezing in Mrs. Molloy’s shop is farce. I’d say that the stage musical cuts down on some of the specific farce elements while maintaining the feel of farce. You may have forgotten that in the Wilder play(s) Cornelius and Barnaby disguise themselves as women at the Harmonia Gardens, and Barnaby is still dressed as a girl for most of the last act. Miss Van Huysen thinks that Barnaby is Ermengarde. When Ermengarde shows up, Miss Van Huysen tells her she’s not Ermengarde. It’s farce. The point about Dolly and Ephraim never having gone to such a fancy restaurant is simply what’s in Wilder, where it’s quite clear that she’s never been to the Harmonia Gardens. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie of Hello, Dolly! but my memory is that, as you say, most of Dolly’s costumes do not suggest a woman under financial stress. I’d forgotten there was a line in the movie about her borrowing the Harmonia Gardens dress. In Wilder, it’s not that Dolly and Vandergelder’s wife were old friends. She was Ermengarde’s mother’s “oldest friend.” I take that to mean that she was childhood friends with Ermengarde’s mother. I think it’s not clear whether Ermengarde’s mother was Vandergelder’s sister or Vandergelder’s wife’s sister. Maybe it’s in there somewhere and I just need to look some more. But it does help explain how she and Vandergelder know each other. In Wilder, Cornelius does tell Mrs. Molloy that he’s not rich. In the musical, I think it’s clear that by the time they get to court, she knows the truth. |
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| Previous: | re: 50th anniversary showing of the Hello, Dolly! film - JereNYC 05:17 pm EDT 08/14/19 |
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