The set is being made, the costumes sewed, and the dances learned as over 100 students from Crofton Middle School prepare to present Hello, Dolly! for the community next month.

Based on The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, Hello Dolly tells the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a matchmaker who has been hired to arrange a marriage for the widowed half-millionaire Horace Vandergelder. Dolly, however, has other plans. She has herself been recently widowed and come to the conclusion that Horace and his fortune will make her the perfect mate. So when she arrives in Yonkers, she immediately begins to plant seeds of doubt in Vandergelder's mind about Irene Molloy, the pretty young widow she has selected for him. The show was a Broadway smash in the 1960’s with the leading lady Carol Channing.

Shows will be performed at the school March 12-14 and 19-21. Most are sold completely out.

This year’s show is being directed once again by the amazing team of Lea Capps, director; Vicki Smith, choreographer; and Sean Lane, musical director. Though the musical has been performed at Crofton Middle before, the directors decided to pick one of the earlier shows to mark an anniversary of sorts and to accommodate a record number of student participants.
 
Though Mother Nature has really put a damper on the rehearsal time, the students and parents have been phenomenal about the extra rehearsals and getting the cast to alternative locations.

Lead Producer Sue Hait said that it would not have happened without the show’s leadership. “I have to thank Vicki Smith for our being able to use Stageworkz for rehearsals. The student leads have been great, also. They have gathered together on their own to rehearse. The ensemble has worked hard with the little time that they have had due to the snow days.”
 
Leads in the cast include:
Dolly Levy - Sarah Sinnott
Horace Vandergelder - Andrew Galvin-Manico
Irene Molloy - Lydia Holly
Cornelius Hackl - Graham Buck
Minnie Fay - Sarah Sykora
Barnaby Tucker - David Ossman
Ermengarde - Brooke Malamphy
Ambrose Kemper - Jay Lee

Additional parent producers include Laura Bobbin, Lisa Ossman, Pam MacLeod, Sheryl Hirsch, and Nancy Greco is serving as the Costume Chair. Other helpers include the “ticket chair and anything else we need her for” Tracy Menendez; set construction chairs Andy Hait and Jonathan Hirsch; and technical chair Jim McConnell, who is a parent alum.
 
“Having the show early this year was going to be a challenge, but the snowstorm put another wrinkle in our plans,” said Mrs. Hait. “However, with such wonderful parents, cast, and directors, the show WILL go on!”

To view a photo, click on the thumbnail. All photos by Allison O'Brien for Suburban Scene.