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Described by Eileen Barrett
Written by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Ashlie Corcoran
Experience the inspiration for Hello, Dolly! and the pandemonium of this classic farce that embraces the unexpected in a truly modern way. Horace Vandergelder seeks a wife and matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi doesn’t need to look very far to find her! With forbidden young love and mistaken identities afoot, more than one match is sure to be made.
The play is set in the early 1880s. Locations include Vandergelder’s House in Yonkers and Mrs. Molloy’s Hat Shop, Harmonia Garden Restaurant and Miss Van Huysen’s House in New York City.
CHARACTERS
Gentlemen
Horace Vandergelder is a widower of advanced age and a wealthy merchant residing in Yonkers,
New York.
Cornelius Hackl is the chief clerk at Vandergelder’s store.
Barnaby Tucker is the assistant clerk at Vandergelder’s store.
Malachi Stack is a middle-aged man, recently hired as an “apprentice” by Vandergelder.
Ambrose Kemper is an artist, hoping to marry Vandergelder’s niece, Ermengarde.
Joe Scanlon is the local barber in Yonkers.
Rudolph and August are waiters at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in New York City.
Cabman is a carriage driver in New York City.
Ladies
Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi is a widow who dabbles in many trades, including matchmaking; a longtime friend of Vandergelder’s late wife.
Miss Flora Van Huysen is a wealthy spinster and a longtime friend of Vandergelder’s late wife.
Mrs. Irene Molloy is a widow who runs a women’s hat shop in New York City.
Minnie Fay is Mrs. Molloy’s assistant at the hat shop.
Ermengarde is Vandergelder’s niece; in love with Ambrose Kemper.
Gertrude is Vandergelder’s elderly housekeeper.
Cook is the cook employed at Miss Van Huysen’s residence.
SUPPORT MATERIALS
Following a string of theatrical successes, The Matchmaker was adapted into a musical—a show that would, in turn, become one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time. Hello, Dolly!, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herrman and book by Michael Stewart, opened at New York’s St. James Theatre in 1964, where it ran for 2,844 performances, closing in 1970. This Tony Awards–sweeping production initially starred Carol Channing in the title role; after she left, major stars such as Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, and Ethel Merman each took turns as Dolly. In the decades since, there have been countless productions of Hello, Dolly!, including most recently a 2017 Broadway revival, featuring Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce. Herman’s hit musical also spawned a lavish 1969 film adaptation, starring Barbara Streisand and Walter Matthau.
THE MATCHMAKER-Plot Synopsis (Word doc)
