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Boston Globe
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
You're looking (and sounding) swell, Dolly
Advertisement Though 'Hello, Dolly!' is the warhorse to end all warhorses, it's still got some giddy-up. Modernizing it would not work, and Parent wisely does not try, even though his program note makes clear that today's political climate is much on his mind. His unapologetically old-fashioned production taps into the strength of Jerry Herman's score – which remains hard to resist no matter how many times you've heard it – while showcasing the musical-comedy chops of Aimee Doherty. She plays Dolly Gallagher Levi, a matchmaker and 'marriage broker' in the 1880s who's trying to reel in Horace Vandergelder (an entertainingly stuffy Joshua Wolf Coleman), 'the Yonkers half-a-millionaire' owner of a hay and feed store, for herself. It's a role that has traditionally been played powerhouse personalities whose performances were as extravagant as the oversized hats Dolly favors. Carol Channing originated the role in 1964, and went on to play Dolly twice more on Broadway, in 1978 and 1995. (Channing's return trips to the show inspired a parody in Needham native Advertisement In the 1969 film version, Dolly was played by Barbra Streisand, then only 27, too young for a character who is supposed to be middle-aged. At points along the way, Broadway legends Ethel Merman and Mary Martin also shouldered the role onstage. Doherty's portrayal is more modestly scaled. Rather than seek to overpower the audience at Lyric Stage with sheer bombast, Doherty deploys a winking charm to enlist them as allies, almost co-conspirators, in Dolly's quest to land Vandergelder as a husband. Michael Stewart's book — based on Thornton Wilder's 1954 Broadway play, 'The Matchmaker' — is frequently stilted, so it helps that Doherty has such a deft way with a one-liner. The Lyric Stage space isn't large enough to fully capture the spectacle of two of the show's best songs — the joyous 'Put on Your Sunday Clothes' and the mix of poignancy and determination that is 'Before the Parade Passes By' — but the cast sweeps you up with their sheer energy, creating a kind of controlled pandemonium. Choreographer Ilyse Robbins, as usual, has devised dance moves that simultaneously fit with and elevate the production: a buoyant combination of styles and coquettish poses that leverage the visual possibilities of the women's long skirts. Costume designer Kelly Baker has dressed the cast in period-perfect garb, including, yes, hats the size of flying saucers for Doherty. Advertisement With its curving staircase and signs on either side that read 'Yonkers' and 'Grand Central,' Janie E. Howland's set efficiently communicates a sense of place(s). Music director Dan Rodriguez and his orchestra do stellar work, though they drowned out Coleman at times Sunday afternoon — a perennial problem at Lyric Stage with softer-voiced performers. Beyond the Dolly-Horace drama, the bright lights of New York City are beckoning Vandergelder's chief clerk, Cornelius Hackl (a first-rate Michael Jennings Mahoney), and his innocent assistant, Barnaby Tucker (Max Connor). They soon become entangled with Irene Molloy, a widowed milliner played by the vibrant Kristian Espiritu, and her assistant, Minnie Fay (an amusing Temma Beaudreau), with the women convinced the men are rich and placing meal orders accordingly. Herman, who died in 2019 at the age of 88, was all in on romance, and the actors in his shows need to take an equally unconditional approach. Espiritu beautifully fulfills that requirement in her Act One solo, 'Ribbons Down my Back,' blending delicacy and yearning. Herman is also virtually synonymous with big, brassy anthems (consider his 'I Am What I Am' from 'La Cage aux Folles,' or the title number in 'Mame'). Not for him the ironic distance of his contemporary, Stephen Sondheim. (Who was by far the superior artist.) Brassy though Lyric Stage's 'Hello, Dolly!' is, it's also studded with small, resonant moments. Mark Linehan, who is very funny as Rudolph, the maître 'd at the Harmonia Gardens restaurant, executes a nifty tap break during the title song. Advertisement But the spotlight invariably returns to Doherty, who brings her trademark verve to her performance of the title song, begun as Dolly descends the staircase in Harmonia Gardens. Like Dolly, when Doherty needs to go big, she goes very big. HELLO, DOLLY! Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Book by Michael Stewart. Based on Thornton Wilder's 'The Matchmaker.' Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Music direction, Dan Rodriguez. Choreography, Ilyse Robbins. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston. Through June 22. 617-585-5678, Don Aucoin can be reached at
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
90s rom com star keeps a low profile while bargain hunting in New York City
An actress known for her roles in 1990s romantic comedies kept a low profile as she went shopping in New York City on Thursday. The star, known for her roles in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, and The Matchmaker, this actress has worked in all genres of television and film. The Romy And Michele's High School Reunion actress got her start in stand-up but has proven her ability to make people laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. Janeane Garofalo, 60, adopted a boho look as she wandered the stalls of Soho. The Emmy nominee showcased her toned and tattooed arms wearing a sleeveless gray T-shirt with a pair of mustard colored pants. The Now and Then star wore dark blue Hoka sneakers for her foray into the streets of New York. The Boys Go To Jupiter actress's long, dark hair was styled in natural waves and she appeared to be wearing minimal makeup. The Harley Quin voice actress wore sunglasses with pink lenses as she perused a jewelry stand looking for a small treasure to take home. According to a 2022 article in The New York Times, the funny woman is still performing standup, but as she has not social media, her gigs are sometimes difficult to find. Poking fun at her chosen unruly fashion choices the comic has been known to joke 'I'm not ready for Eileen Fisher,' a clothing brand of loose fitting classic pieces, 'I can't cross that Rubicon.' In an article with Elle magazine in 1996, when an interviewer noted she has lost weight for her role in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Garofalo, admitted she had. 'Over 25 pounds, and I'm highly ashamed,' she said. 'I want to go on record: I've crossed over to the side of the sellouts.' When answer why, she said, 'I was unhappy with the lack of employment, and I realized that as a woman in this business, there is one way to increase my chances of getting hired.' Continuing, she explained, 'Because, miraculously, you become more talented as you become thinner. It's like this magical thing where the skinnier you get, the more casting directors seem to respond to your talent.' Revisiting the film with the outlet in 2016, the versatile star admitted she wasn't happy about the role as a veterinarian who lies about her appearance. 'For me, personally, being cast as the Cyrano de Bergerac type, who is so unappealing to the eye that one must hide their identity, fed into all my worst fears about myself,' she explained. 'It didn't feel great to be that person. But it is what it is, and it was a huge opportunity for someone like me, who had previously been, for the most part, unknown to a great many people. So in that sense I was grateful; in the other sense, I was embarrassed.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michael Brindisi, longtime Chanhassen Dinner Theatres artistic director, dies at 76
Michael Brindisi, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' president and artistic director, died unexpectedly Wednesday following a very brief illness. He was 76. 'Michael belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Twin Cities theater presenters,' said former Pioneer Press theater critic Dominic Papatola, who called Brindisi one of the kindest and most genuine in the business. He's also one of the most versatile, having spent decades directing and acting at CDT as well as scores of other theaters in the region. 'I can't think of a better situation,' Brindisi told Papatola in a 2002 interview when asked why he stuck with CDT. 'I have four or five months to prepare for a show. My wife and daughter work here. We have an acting company. And we're doing good work. Where else would I go?' Brindisi grew up in a working-class Italian neighborhood of Philadelphia and fell in love with theater after seeing a production of 'Golden Boy' with Sammy Davis Jr. while in high school. Brindisi went on to study theater at Temple University, but flunked out because he skipped classes in favor of acting in plays. A recruiter from the now-defunct Lea College in Albert Lea convinced Brindisi to move to Minnesota. It turned out to be a much better fit, as Brindisi directed his first show at Lea College and he went on to serve as artistic director for Albert Lea Community Theatre. In the early '70s, he began bouncing between Minnesota and New York, where he landed work in the Broadway production of 'Once in a Lifetime' and in the first national tour of 'Grease.' In Minnesota, CDT's then-artistic director Gary Gisselman saw Brindisi in a comedy revue at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop and hired him for his first professional acting job at Chanhassen, a $90-a-week gig as an accordion player in Thornton Wilder's 'The Matchmaker.' In 1981, Brindisi met Michelle Barber when they were both in different plays. They later married and spent three summers in Bemidji running the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, where Brindisi directed close to 30 shows. They also founded the Minnesota Festival Theatre in Albert Lea, which ran for more than 20 years. Gisselman cast Brindisi once again in 1987 as Motel in 'Fiddler on the Roof.' After it wrapped, Britta Bloomberg, the daughter of CDT's founder, Herb Bloomberg, asked if he'd like to take over as artistic director. As Brindisi remembered in 2002: 'I said, 'You bet your ass I would.' ' Veteran actor Tony Vierling first met Brindisi in 1982 when he spoke at Vierling's acting class at Iowa State University. Five years later, Vierling acted in 'Fiddler' alongside Brindisi. The pair hit it off and Brindisi cast Vierling in his first show as artistic director, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood.' Vierling has since appeared in 51 CDT productions. 'One of the things that has made working at Chanhassen such a unique thing is that you instantly feel like you're in a family,' Vierling said. 'There's a very specific familial feeling he nurtures out there. He genuinely likes people and loves doing the work with the actors.' Brindisi was also an inadvertent matchmaker. In 2007, he traveled to New York to audition actors. He hired Michael Gruber to perform in CDT's 'Easter Parade,' which featured Vierling in the ensemble. The two fell for each other and later married. 'We would have never met without Michael,' Vierling said. 'He changed the direction of both our lives.' Brindisi was a family man both at home and at CDT. Brindisi and Barber's daughter, Cat Brindisi-Darrow, grew up in the theater and made it her profession. Her extensive resume includes work as an actor, director, producer, writer and choreographer. Last year, she returned to Chanhassen to co-direct 'Beautiful: the Carole King Musical' with her father. Theater | Friends say man found dead in Hastings was a 'bright light' Theater | Obituary: Longtime Pioneer Press reporter George Beran 'knew St. Paul inside and out' Theater | Legendary Edina high school hockey coach Willard Ikola dies at 92 Theater | Obituary: 'Mr. Positive' was West End neighborhood's guardian angel Theater | 'Mr. Baseball' Bob Uecker, Brewers announcer, dies at 90 In 2010, Brindisi took on a new challenge when he purchased Chanhassen Dinner Theatres as part of group of employees and regional investors. He was one of three managing partners alongside Tamara Kangas Erickson and Steven L. Peters. Friday night, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opens a new production of 'Grease,' which broke an attendance record when the company first staged it in 2006 and nearly matched those numbers on the second go-round in 2017. Years ago, as a gag, Brindisi framed a photo of himself back when he was in the national tour of 'Grease' and hung it backstage. He told the cast that way he'll always be keeping an eye on them. 'Little did he know that was going to be the way he watches us now,' Vierling said. 'His presence will still be there, we just won't see him. That's the hard part.'
