Sitting in the balcony at the final preview of this 1964 Jerry Herman show, still very much in school and long before my career as a critic began, I knew somehow that I was witnessing theatrical history. Even as that callow youth, I was certain that Carol Channing had been born to play the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, the meddling turn-of-the century New York widow who had been adapted from Thornton Wilder's straight play The Matchmaker. Channing has proved me right by playing the role ever since, of course, miraculously only improving with age. Beyond Dolly herself, however, the musical emitted a synergistic exuberance (at least five years before we used the word "synergy"). The supporting cast, including David Burns, Eileen Brennan, and Charles Nelson Reilly, were terrific. Herman's tunes and lyrics were sublimely crafted both to create their characters and stand alone. (The title song took on a life of its own.) The show's designers, librettist Michael Stewart and director Gower Champion, combined to transport the audience to 60 years earlier in little old New York. This wasn't all just my opinion: Hello, Dolly! won a record 10 Tonys. The original cast recording can still take you to that other time and place, even if you didn't see the original show. But, at the risk of offending my inner adolescent, the 1994 revival, naturally starring Channing, was even better--both on stage and on disc.
1. Prologue
2. I Put My Hand In
3. It Takes A Woman
4. Put On Your Sunday Clothes
5. Ribbons Down My Back
6. Motherhood
7. Dancing
8. Before The Parade Passes By
9. Elegance
10. Hello, Dolly!
11. It Only Takes A Moment
12. So Long Dearie - Carol Channing
13. Finale
14. I Put My Hand In - Mary Martin
15. Before The Parade Passes By - Pearl Bailey
16. Hello, Dolly! - Pearl Bailey
17. So Long Dearie - Mary Martin
18. Love, Look In My Window - Ethel Merman
19. World, Take Me Back - Ethel Merman
20. On Recording Hello, Dolly!
21. When Did You Sense That Hello, Dolly! Would Be A Hit?
22. On The Title Number
23. Dolly Changed Me..."; The Book
24. Plot, The
25. Optimism, And Finding One's Character
26. Prime Of Life, The
Hello, Dolly!
