About the work
Hello, Dolly! is a musical by Jerry Herman (music and lyrics) with a book by Michael Stewart, premiered on Broadway in 1964. Based on Thornton Wilder's comedy The Matchmaker, it won ten Tony Awards—a record that stood for decades and made it one of the defining hits of the 1960s Broadway.
Plot
The resolute widow and matchmaker Dolly Levi travels to late-nineteenth-century Yonkers and New York, ostensibly to find a wife for the wealthy, miserly merchant Horace Vandergelder—but in fact intending to marry him herself. With wit and intrigue she pairs off several young couples along the way, including Vandergelder's clerks Cornelius and Barnaby on a runaway adventure to the city. After turbulent complications at the elegant Harmonia Gardens restaurant, where the staff greet Dolly's grand return, Vandergelder realises he cannot live without her.
Cultural significance
The title song Hello, Dolly!, in Louis Armstrong's recording, knocked the Beatles off the top of the US charts and became a worldwide hit. The role of Dolly Levi was a showcase for Carol Channing, who created it, as well as Pearl Bailey, Barbra Streisand (in the 1969 film), and Bette Midler in a celebrated 2017 revival. The work embodies the exuberant optimism of the classic Broadway musical and remains among the most frequently performed stage works of its era.