Hello, Randy! Randy Graff's Memories of Hello, Dolly! (St. Louis MUNY 2007)
Prior to doing Hello, Dolly, Randy Graff loved the musical
and also had the privilege of working with Jerry Herman several years prior to
Dolly. Randy was a replacement in the off-Broadway production of Jerry’s Girls. She replaced another
Dolly alumni, Alix Korey. Alix was also Minnie Fay in the 1978 Broadway revival
of Hello, Dolly! Created by Herman and Larry Alford in 1981, Jerry’s Girls originated as a modest
presentation at Onstage, a nightclub located in the theatre district in
midtown-Manhattan (New York City). Writing in The New York Times, John S.
Wilson called it "a brilliantly lively and scintillating evening of
cabaret."
Randy would meet Jerry at the Warrick Hotel in New York, and
he taught her all the songs. She put them all on a tape recorder and still has
him singing Time Heals Everything,
Wherever He Ain’t, and songs from Dolly. Randy remembers loving the score
of Dolly. She was familiar with Before the
Parade Passes By and obviously Hello,
Dolly!
To Randy, It Only Takes a Moment is probably one of the most beautiful
ballads ever written. Getting to know Jerry personally, Randy fell in love with
him. When Randy read The Matchmaker,
she really fell in love with the character of Dolly.
When Randy was given the script for Hello, Dolly!, she saw there were direct passages from The Matchmaker, especially Dolly’s
speeches to Ephraim are lifted directly from the play. It is a wonderful
play/musical for an actor. It really gives you something to bite into. Other than this
great score, you are saying these great words. She wishes that she had had more
time with Dolly. She did it in 2007. With 11350 seats, the Muny is America's
largest theatre. (See my chapter on Lee
Roy Reams.) It is a very different experience when you are doing it on a stage
of that magnitude and audience size. There were nights when it rained. Randy
would also love to do the play.
Randy said they were lucky to have Lee Roy.
Doing Summer stock, you have ten days to get it together. It helps to have
someone at the helm who knows what they are doing. He knows the show like the
back of his hand, and not only was he great at staging it, but he was also able
to offer great insight into the character and the scene work. He was extremely
helpful to Randy in the eating scene leading into the courtroom scene. Randy
admits that they type of “vaudevillian shtick” is not her forte. It was
specifically and particularly designed for Carol Channing’s talents. Carol
Channing is a clown. She told Lee
Roy she wanted to get through this as quickly as possible. She asked for the
bits that work and are guaranteed to get laughs and she would do them and that’s
what he did.
Shirley Booth as Dolly in The Matchmaker (film) |
It ended up being a delightful experience because of the
people involved. Lee Roy Reams had a lot to do with that. It was a challenge
getting a show of this magnitude up in ten days. There was no question that she
was in complete control as Dolly Levi.
Originally, it was supposed to be Faith Prince as Dolly. The
MUNY lost Faith but their faith was restored when they called Randy and she
said yes. Paul Blake had been wanting to work with Randy. Paul Blake has served
as Executive Producer of the St. Louis Muny since 1990.
James Clow, Kate Baldwin, Telly Leung and Jen Cody in Hello, Dolly! at the Muny. photo by Larry Pry/The Muny |
James Clow, a dear
friend of Randy's,was playing Cornelius Hackl. This was less than a month after
his turn on the Muny stage in Oklahoma!
One review said he was ten times
better. "For as good as he was as Curly, the part of Cornelius Hackl
flatters his comic abilities far more, revealing an intricate comic ingenuity.
His partner in crime is Telly Leung as Barnaby, a puppy-dog of an actor who apparently
swallowed a lightening bolt during one of the afternoon storms before opening
night." (source: Talkin' Broadway: St. Louis by Richard Green). Randy was
matched against Lewis J. Stadlen, another dear friend of hers), the growling,
gargling, grandiloquent comic who had also appeared in St. Louis as Max
Bialystock at the Fox Theater. Randy and
Lewis have a history together having done several shows previously.
They have a
great chemistry. His Horace Vandergelder withstands each one of Dolly's
assaults upon his reason with equally powerful counter attacks, right up until
the final moment. Kate Baldwin, who I also saw in Tovah’s production of Dolly,
played Irene Molloy. Add to all of that, the tremendous Lee Roy as director.
Randy would love to revisit Dolly, but in a theater, please, rather than a
football stadium, which is what it feels like at the Muny. She tried to make
those speeches to Ephraim as intimate as she could.
St. Louis MUNY stage |
It is difficult for Randy to discuss Dolly separate from the conditions she was under. She will say
this: It is the first BIG, juicy Lead she has done in a musical, where you get
number after number, and the big curtain call moment. Jerry Herman has written
so many wonderful roles for women in the theatre, thankfully, this is one of
them. Randy has played some wonderful roles in her career, but nothing like
this. There is also mounds of responsibility that goes with this undertaking.
Lee Roy has been at this a long time and had wonderful
stories of past experiences and productions. Lee Roy is one of the best
storytellers around. She remembers Jerry as a wonderful spirit and incredibly
kind. His love of the show is contagious.
Neither the name Gallagher or Levi had any bearing on how
Randy played the role. She decided to give her a special dialect. A friend of
hers compared it to Ruth Gordon. Her sound made it seem as if she were a woman
of the streets instead of highly educated. She did not approach her as an Irish
immigrant. It was more of a lower East side New Yorker.
In the theater, it is traditionally considered good luck if
it is raining on your opening night…UNLESS you are doing outdoor theater. It
did rain on Randy’s opening night! She was waiting in the wings to go on for
her opening number and the bottom of her skirt was all wet.
She did not try and make her as a “star” character or
personality, but rather, more three dimensional. She approached it as she would
approach any part as an actress.
Randy
tried to make her a regular gal.
Randy is always in process and continued to tweak Dolly
after opening. Things are always changing. She felt that after they opened that
she was still in rehearsal because they had such a short rehearsal period.
Randy just finished playing the lead in As
Bees in Honey Drown at the Cape May Playhouse. It is another huge role and,
again ten days, to prepare.
Randy’s favorite memory of the show is Dolly’s speech to
Ephraim (“Epraim, Let me go”). Randy remembers standing on that stage under a
million stars and the audience being ever so quiet, even in that arena. It was
quite beautiful doing it under the stars. It is such a romantic speech and
Dolly is such a romantic.
She was pretty terrified of that staircase. Lee Roy says it
was ten times bigger than the Gone With
The Wind staircase. Her “boys” took such good care of herIt was “Dolly’s”
first time back to the MUNY since 1983 and, like Dolly Levi's trip down the
staircase of the Harmonia Gardens herself, it was a triumphal return. Randy
remembered looking into their faces individually as she made her descent down
the stairs and having a special moment with each of them. She tried to personalize that for her. Dolly/Randy
had a specific relationship with each guy. That was very important to her.
Randy has never seen any other actress play Dolly beyond
excerpts on television..and the movie. She has never
seen a full production. Those excerpts are of Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey,
both of which she loved. Randy is a huge fan of Marilyn Maye and wishes she had
seen her.
Lee Roy Reams |
Thanks to Randy Slovacek, who has appeared in various productions
including the 1995 Broadway revival under Lee Roy’s direction, the original
Champion choreography was used. Lee Roy also works with what your strengths
are. Because of the short rehearsal period, Lee Roy gave Randy a lot of freedom
in the Dolly number.
The Dolly number is virtually foolproof. It is the one
number that everyone knows. The Waiter’s Gallop builds and increases the long
anticipated entrance of Dolly Levi down those famed stairs. It is brilliantly
staged. It is Gower’s genius at work. It is also the song that everyone is
waiting for.
The biggest change that Randy has seen in this business
since starting is that now producers are afraid to use strong actors who are not names or stars They
prefer, because it’s all about economics now, to bring “stars” in.
That’s the
biggest change but it has been heading in this direction for a very very long
time. Producers
will do what they need to do to fill those seats. Randy has found that as far
as casting is concerned, it has changed a lot as far as that is concerned.
Sometimes a role doesn’t fit the celebrity being cast. Look at what is now on
Broadway. It is all celebrity driven. Once in a while, a musical like Next to
Normal, Once or Wicked comes along that uses strong New York talent. Randy feel
that it has changed a lot with respect to casting. Randy calls this the
celebrity virus. Randy was involved with the recent Funny Girl production that was cancelled. Randy was going to play
Fanny Brice’s mother. The producers were afraid to take a chance on Lauren
Ambrose. They didn’t feel that she was enough of a name to carry the lead in a
musical. There is a lot of fear now on behalf of the producers.Randy thinks Lauren Ambrose would have been great as Fanny.
Jennifer Cody is
worth mentioning as Minnie Fay. Randy became close as she did with everybody in
the cast and it was hard to say goodbye with the final bows of this production
were taken. It is bittersweet when it is time to say goodbye.
Randy would like to say Hello to Dolly again! Here’s hoping
it happens and I will be there to welcome her home!
Read more HERE!
Thank you Randy Graff for the gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give!
Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly! If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!
Do you have any pics?
If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!
TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!
Read more HERE!
Thank you Randy Graff for the gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give!
Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly! If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!
Do you have any pics?
If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!
My next blog will be... My Exclusive Interview with Bobbie Freeman with her memories of her productions of Hello, Dolly (Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers, Dorothy Lamour, Ethel Merman)
Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!
Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!
Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!
TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!
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