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| Raymond Barcelo and Alaina Beauloye photo by Jessica Ottley |
One of Broadway's most beloved musicals Hello, Dolly! opens tonight at Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert and runs through November 23. This classic story is a winner of 10 Tony Awards and has been adapted from play to musical to film. Hale's production is directed and choreographed by Cambrian James, with lead roles being performed by Alaina Beauloye and Raymond Barcelo.
Hello, Dolly! is a story about Dolly Gallagher Levi, a matchmaker in New York City who is attempting to find a match for the grumpy ‘half-a-millionaire’ Horace Vandergelder. Both widowers, they proceed to get tangled up in hilarious romantic complications as Dolly matches people up in several intertwining story lines. Her goal is to actually end up with Horace herself, she's just waiting for a sign from her dead husband to tell her it's okay for her to move on.
“Dolly is a tough cookie. She’s got a big heart and is always helping people. She has a lot of drive, she has a goal, she wants Horace and she is going to get him!” Alaina Beauloye, who plays Dolly, laughs. Beauloye is a frequent actress at the Hale Theatre; Hello, Dolly! will be her 27th show at Hale.
“I feel really fortunate that the Dietleins opened this theatre. I saw the theatre be built and I was the first actress to step on the stage,” Beauloye smiled.
Actor Raymond Barcelo also has a unique connection to Hale. Originally from California, Barcelo used to act at the Hale Theatre in L.A. About five years ago he moved to Arizona and discovered the Gilbert Hale. Beauloye and Barcelo have acted together in previous productions, this being their third show together.
“Hello Dolly! is probably my favorite show of all time,” Barcelo stated. “I got to do it in college years ago. And so when I found out they (Hale Theatre) were doing it I thought, 'well I have to go! I have try-out and see what happens.' ”
“I wasn’t planning to audition at first!” Beauloye explained. “We, Raymond and I, were in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang together. And he said ‘you are Dolly Levi, you need to go out for this show’. I never really knew the show, so when I went to audition I was nervous but he just said 'be yourself.' ”
This production is being led by Cambrian James, a regular Hale director and choreographer. James has worked with both of the leads before and cast the show with many returning ensemble actors and actresses.
“I have done Hello Dolly! several times as a performer and I just love this show. It is your typical American musical theatre show. Since it was recently revived, people are showing more interest in it so I wanted to put my own little touches to it,” James detailed. “The auditions were amazing we had so much talent, we could have cast this show two or three times. It is great to have all this talent but it is so hard to pick. We had to take into consideration everybody and see what were our best matchups. There is so much talent, the caliber of the show is rising.”
After Beauloye and Barcelo were cast as the leads they immediately jumped into learning the show. They had to memorize lines, and song lyrics quite quickly. Along with settling into their new characters that they would become for the next couple of months.
“Horace is gruff, cantankerous, and grouchy,” Barcelo depicted. “He thinks he is very smart and at the beginning of the show he talks about how 99% of the people in this world are fools. But in reality, Horace is probably the biggest fool in this show! I think the part of Horace that I relate to the most is how in his head he always feels that he is right. In reality, he discovers that he is not but then he is okay with it and learns to accept it, just as I’ve learned. At the end of the show, you discover that he is actually a nice guy. He is a widower and he is looking for a woman to marry. He needs a wife again, he is looking for love. Everyone in this show is looking for love in one way or another. It is like a grinch story, his heart will grow three times.”
“I think there is match-making going on all the time in the world. I have played match-maker with two of my friends before and gotten people together,” Beauloye stated. “I relate to Dolly with that exterior but then underneath there is this desire for love and championship. Just to be accepted, I think we all relate to that. For me, it is hard to fully get into character until I have my costume on. We just had our costume fittings and I don’t feel like it is dress-up. I always just feel like I am now there in that time period and I am that person. Sometimes I don’t want to take them off, I wish we could dress like this all the time, it is so much fun.”
“Yeah we just had our costume fittings and Tia Hawkes our costume designer has gone to the nines with this production. When I had my fitting I was like, 'I look so good in 18th-century garb!",” Barcelo laughed.
Along with settling into character and costumes, the rehearsal process of learning the music and dance numbers comes into effect. However there had been a slight stumbling block with this cast of 20. Eight members of the cast were currently part of another Hale show, Bright Star, whose productions had been coinciding with rehearsals for Hello, Dolly!. This caused a bit of an inconvenience and adjustment.
“The biggest struggle is people being in other shows. I have to do a number or scene with people missing,” James expressed. “We have to do it again and it is fine because we are repeating and reviewing but when you are first learning with partnering, it is difficult to do. However, I am used to doing so I just deal with it. Because of the talent, everyone is so good that I don’t have to worry, I know they will pick it up. It all comes together because it has to.”
Speaking of the choreography, James is both the director and the choreographer for Hello, Dolly!. He has been incorporating many dance styles into this production’s numbers. While ensuring that this time-honored show includes the classic moments, he also wants the showstopping new feats he knows he can accomplish with his talented cast.
“It is that very old school Broadway choreography. There is a lot of polka, waltz, and I have just thrown everything I could think into these numbers,” James explained. “There is a lot of dancing, I don’t think people realize how much dancing this show has. And…”
Suddenly an actor during warm ups before rehearsal as this interview is occurring, does a cartwheel flip with no hands. He landed with a loud thud on his feet and continued stretching.
“...and tumbling!” James bursts out laughing. “The cast, they love it. It is challenging, but they all love being challenged. We have great dancers. What I like to do is take the classic moments that you are used to, such as the penguin walk and we do that because you want to see that. And then I take the talents of the ensemble dancers and I showcase them. I figure out what they do best and that’s what we do. It is a little bit of the classic choreography that you are used to and then my own little touches on that.”
The unique concept of Hale, if you have not attended a show there before, is that it is a theater in the round. This means that the audiences’ seats surround the stage. This makes staging, dancing, and blocking more difficult to accomplish. However theatre in the round works perfectly for Hello, Dolly! due to the fact that Dolly Levi breaks the fourth wall.
“It’s fun because you are so close and Dolly talks to you, the audience. You feel like you are a part of the story, you know all the secrets because she tells you,” James said. “From the very beginning, you are in on it and she takes you on this journey and by the end of it you are waiting to see how she does it.”
With opening night fast approaching, I inquired how the leads were feeling.
“And panic ensues…” Barcelo laughs.
“For me, my challenge is that I am just nervous because it is such a well-known production that I am scared to death,” Beauloye admitted. “I want to be prepared and I am always looking to Raymond because he is such a pro with this show.
“What I love about Alaina’s interpretation is that she came into it knowing nothing about the show,” Barcelo responded. “So honestly it is a fresh take, like a breath of freshness to the role. It is hard to be in scenes with her and not just watch her, then, of course, I remember I am acting in the scene as well.”
Due to spoilers not much of the plot could be revealed. However, this next quote should have audience’s eagerly awaiting for performances to begin.
“There’s a monologue at the end of the show that Dolly does that pretty much sums up everything. I won’t tell you what it is but it's the whole meat and potatoes of the show,” James teased. “The show is fun, romantic, cute, and funny but then you have this nice little moment at the end where she explains everything to you. I really love it.”
With that, audiences will just have to attend the show to discover what Dolly reveals to them. Opening night is tonight, Thursday October 10th, and the leads and director are looking forward to putting on an entertaining performance for all.
“I just hope everybody loves it as much as we do,” Beauloye smiled. “I hope they leave happy, that’s what it is all about. When we perform we want to give people something, hopefully, they take it. Love is out there, it’s never too late.”
“What I love about this show is that these characters are all widowers, you are introduced to this show with all these widows who are just looking for love, for another chance,” Barcelo expresed. “It’s love, and it is what we need. It’s a classic, a little bit of escapism, and I am looking forward to opening.”
“For me these are the types of shows that I love. We aren’t changing the world, we are just entertaining you,” James stated. “Go and forget about the troubles of the world, get away for a couple of hours. I love to lose myself, let everything wash over me and get all that negativity out of my head and enjoy. Some people might think it is corny and old fashioned but I love that nostalgic. I hope audiences will leave humming a tune with a smile on their face. Maybe afterward they are a little more positive and accepting of people. I think a lot of the themes in the show are acceptance and living life to its fullest. Not letting other people dictate your life, and doing what you want to do while you can because we are only here for a short time”
CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through November 23
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