Lee Hooper: Replacement (Original Broadway Company of Hello, Dolly starring Carol Channing)
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| Lee Hooper |
I was in seventh heaven to be in Hello, Dolly and to work
with the people I did!
-Lee Hooper
Lee Hooper came into
the original Broadway run as a replacement ,taking over for Barbara
Sharma. Barbara was considered a triple threat. She was leaving the show and a mutual friend of hers and friend of Lee’s, Lee had worked
with in Paradise Island a few years
prior), called Lee to tell her that there was an immediate replacement. At first, Lee resisted. She said no one would ever hire her. She
was a singer who “thought she could dance”. At her friend’s insistence, she
decided to give it a try.
The original cast was
still in place. Lee does not recall how far into the run this was. Lee stayed
with the show until she was cast in Breakfast
at Tiffany’s which was also a David Merrick show.
This was in 1966 and directed by Joseph Anthony . It never formally opened after four preview shows.
This was in 1966 and directed by Joseph Anthony . It never formally opened after four preview shows.
The musical is
based on the Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name about a free
spirit named Holly Golightly.
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| Mary Tyler Moore and Richard Chamberlain rehearsing Tiffany's during the pre-Broadway run. |
The musical had a book by illustrious
playwright Edward Albee and a score composed by the equally notable Bob
Merrill.
Lee’s FIRST Broadway
show was Kwamina starring Sally Ann
Howes and Terry Carter in 1961. Sally Ann’s husband, Richard Adler, wrote the
music. She would go on to do Paradise
Island at Jones Beach, also in 1961, with Arthur Treacher. Lee was also in Retake the Town among others. Her
favorite show was Bernstein’s Mass.
When Lee auditioned
for Dolly, she auditioned for Lowell Purvis and Lucia Victor. Her audition song
was Till There Was You which she sang
at most of her auditions.
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| Original Company |
In those days,
replacements would go in and watch the show from the audience to see what it
was like and all about. When she started rehearsals, a few ensembles were
brought in to teach her her moves and tracks. The dance captain worked with her
as well.
For Lee, it was a
lovely experience working with Carol Channing.
Everybody adored her. They
didn’t get to see her much except when she was performing. Her life was very
different from the rest of the company’s. Lee also worked with Ginger Rogers
when she came into the show.
Ginger was very good.
Dolly Levi lends herself to any actress who plays her. The show pretty much
plays itself. All of them were very good as far as Lee is concerned. Everybody
knew their part. Ginger just needed to come in and do her part.
Everyone worked
around her doing what they always did. There were minor adjustments in the
Dancing number and Come and Be My
Butterfly was replaced with The Polka
Contest. Other than that, it was “just another person playing Dolly.”
After Breakfast at Tiffany’s closed, Lee
rejoined the Company when Phyllis Diller took over after Pearl Bailey. Lee
would stay with the show until Ethel Merman came in. At that time, Merrick was
trying to keep it running in order to surpass My Fair Lady’s hold as Broadway’s longest running show.
He succeeded.
He succeeded.
Lee loved Phyllis!
“She was a mad woman…That infectious laugh and talking about Fang during the
curtain speech!” Lee feels that those actresses who came out of comedy had the
upper hand in playing Dolly. They
She wore it on a television talk show years later. It was quite
interesting. In Like a Lampshade In a Whorehouse: My Life In Comedy by Phyllis
Diller, she talks about this company.
Everybody had so much
respect for Ethel Merman. She was a goddess; she WAS ETHEL MERMAN! The play,
itself, never changed around a new star coming in with very few exceptions. For
Ethel, the two songs that were originally written for her but cut when Carol
was cast were put back in the show adding an additional ten minutes to the
show. The stars brought themselves to the part and the show. The rest of the
company always did what they did.
Lee doesn’t feel
there should be an age limit for an actress playing Dolly. It goes beyond age.
The first time Lee
saw the show, she recalls how pretty it was and that everyone on stage was
beautiful and the dancing was sparkling. She remembers feeling so pleased and
happy that she would be joining them to be in the cast because they seemed so
special.
She is lucky that she
survived her first night. In the train station, the scenery changes to reveal
the front of Mrs. Molloy’s hat shop. Above the train station is a sign that
says Yonkers that comes down to reveal the name of the station.
On either side
of the sign were steel rods. Lee was very observant of the other players on
stage and where she fit in. What she didn’t notice was the sign coming in with
the steel rods from either side. That night, she was under the steel rods! As
it was coming down, she was grabbed. She was pinned to the floor. Everyone is
still dancing. No one stopped! Someone eventually got her up and she did her
next moves…getting onto the train upstage. When she got downstairs and they saw
her, there was blood on this beautiful blue gown. One of the rods had gone
through the material and cut her arm. The head of the wardrobe department had
made this gown for Lee. It was exquisite. However, now, it had blood on it. The
head of the wardrobe department said, That’s it! I’m leaving the show!!” Of
course, he was joking. That was the worst moment of all of her time with Dolly. Everything else was wonderful.
The audience saw it; perhaps they thought she was supposed to fall down and be
pinned to the floor. It was all so special and she loved being a part of it.
She felt that she had been given a gift.
In addition to Sunday Clothes, Lee also appeared in Before the Parade Passes By. Not being a
dancer, she did not appear in Dancing.
She also appeared in the courtroom scene.
She took dance
classes and was told she moved well for a singer. In those days, they didn’t
think singers could do anything but stand still to begin with.
Being in a hit
Broadway show did not mean, to Lee, that she could just rest on her laurels. She
was still out there auditioning for commercials during her breaks, radio and
television, whatever would come along. She also had a small child at the time
and sometimes she was in the theater as well. In addition to all of that, she
continued to take dance classes.
The cast became like
a family. They wanted to have a Christmas party at one time. To offset the cost
of the party, someone came up with the idea of taking unwanted items from
everyone’s homes and auction them off. In the basement of the theater, the
items were on display. Everyone brought in items. David Merrick got wind of
this and everyone in the company got scared of what his reaction might be. Perhaps
he would think of people were focused on this, they might not be doing their
job on stage. He came down and was very supportive.
He found how much
merchandise they had and brought outside people down to bid. People donated
additional things. Ginger Rogers donated a gown from one of her films. The
company collectively bought it for the assistant dresser with the company. They
had it altered and fixed for her. They had their party. They did a lot of
things as a company. Everybody was there. It was at Nicole Barth’s house on 73rd
and Riverside in one of those large pre-war apartments. They had enough money
left over that the company “adopted” an Indian child. They
Lee would like to see
Cher play Dolly in a Broadway revival! She thinks it would be a hoot. Lee has
never seen another actress play Dolly beyond the four that she worked with.
She, unfortunately, never saw Pearl Bailey’s production. Lee cannot imagine Hello, Dolly not being on her resume.
When the show closed
on December 27th, 1970, there was great sadness among the Company.
For many, it meant pounding the pavement once again. They all knew, however,
that having Hello, Dolly on their
resume was a plus. She continued to work. She was also in Seesaw and Lost in the Stars
in 1972, among others.
Lee feels that Dolly included some of the greatest
talents that Broadway has ever known. She was lucky enough as a singer…wishing
she was a dancer. It was a sterling cast and that made Lee feel like she
belonged.
Lee is no longer in
the business. She tutors at The New York Law School. She is a staff member for
Conventions in New York City at the Javits Center and major hotels. The day
came in which she knew she had to do something else. She was a single parent.
It reached a point where ALL she cared about was the calls from her agent. Getting
the next job was her life. She felt she needed to do something that was as
interesting to her as her theater experiences. She went into travel which is
another form of theater.
An actor gets to do a
lot of shows if they are lucky. Out of those shows, there are some that will
always stand out. Hello, Dolly is one of them.
Thank you, Nicole Barth, for arranging this interview!
With grateful XOXOXs ,
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!
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 Bob Lydiard: 8 companies of "Hello, Dolly!"
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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Very nice, Richard! I especially like the posed Tiffany's photo with Bob Merrill "playing" the piano. As you probably know, Merrill didn't play the piano at all - he composed all his songs on a toy xylophone.
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