Germany Jerry Herman, Hello Dolly: Soloists, Chorus and Extras of Bremen Theatre, Bremen Philharmonic / Lukas Ziesché (conductor). Bremen Theatre, 26.12.2025. (DM-D)
In 1835, prolific (now largely forgotten) English playwright John Oxenford wrote a one-act play, A Day Well Spent. Austrian dramatist Johan Nestroy adapted it into a play in 1842, which he called Einen Jux will er sich machen (known under the English title of He will go on a spree, although that is not a literal translation). American novelist and dramatist Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) adapted it in 1938, and the piece was entitled The Merchant of Yonkers. He revised it to The Matchmaker in 1954. This play served as the basis for Hello Dolly, the musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Hermann and lines by Michael Stewart. The musical opened in Detroit in 1963 but was subjected to major changes before it hit Broadway in 1964, where it won ten Tony Awards and ran for a record 2844 performances. The main character Dolly Levi, the matchmaker of the title, was performed by Carol Channing, who reprised her role in the 1978 Broadway revival which transferred to London’s West End in 1979. The 1969 film starred Barbra Streisand as Dolly and Walter Matthau as Horace Vandergelder.
Several critics considered Streisand, then aged 25, too young to play Dolly – Carol Channing was 43 when she created the role, and 57 and 58, respectively, for the 1978/79 Broadway and London revivals. When Gayle Tufts played Dolly in the Bremen production, which premiered in 2023, she was 62. Dolly is a larger-than-life character, Channing was a larger-than-life performer, and so is Tufts. She commands the stage completely whenever she is on it, drawing attention like a magnet and playing freely with the result. As with every great entertainer, she has created a stage persona for herself, meticulously developed its multiple facets and nuances over the years, and it is (in) that persona that she performs Dolly. The private person playing the entertainer playing Dolly – in this constellation, the private person is well disguised and hidden: the highly artistic amalgam of the semi-fictional entertainer-persona and the fictional character takes centre stage. YouTube offers many clips of her appearances on German TV.
Volker Thiele had created a predominantly vast, empty stage for her, with impressively large brass-coloured frames. Additional set elements were added or removed elegantly. The orchestra was placed at the back of the stage; its level could be lowered and raised as needed. With Tufts as pivotal inexhaustible fountain of energy, director Frank Hilbrich created a fast-moving evening that was rich in nuances. Repeatedly, characters were shown to be obviously aware of the ways Dolly worked in manipulating anyone coming near her, and they hope to be able to avoid being manipulated by her as a result of that awareness. Of course, Dolly manipulated them with customary ease, but it was never merely selfishness and always in their interest, and thus overall, very benevolent. When the others realised they had been manipulated yet again, despite all their efforts, they were able to relish Dolly’s skills with a smile of surprise and acknowledgement.
Choreographer Dominik Büttner made good use of the cast’s dancing skills. Members of the resident opera company were joined by guest artists trained specifically in musical theatre (and thus with more comprehensive dance training and experience). Christoph Heinrich was funny as the wealthy but stingy Horace Vandergelder. Notably, he developed his own approach to the character’s grumpiness, successfully avoiding a Walter Matthau impersonation. Most important: the chemistry between Tufts and Heinrich worked: it was believable that the one was attracted to the other, and why. Mezzo-soprano Ulrike Mayer and tenor Ian Spinetti were just right for their roles of Irene and Cornelius, still young but already beginning to think about tomorrow. Elisa Birkenheier and Timo Stacey provided excellent contrast as the younger, innocent and naïve couple just out to have some fun. Clara Maria Determann as Ermengarde, and Aniel Agramonte Rivero as her boyfriend Ambrose Kemper were particularly impressive with their dance skills. Elias Gyungseok Han added weight to the small role of the head waiter with his richly sonorous baritone voice. Lukas Ziesché guided the orchestra through the numbers with appropriate aplomb.
The sold-out performance amply demonstrated why this production enjoyed a total of 46 performances across three seasons!
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Image: Gayle Tufts (Dolly Levi) with company © Jörg Landsberg
Production:
Director – Frank Hilbrich
Choreography – Dominik Büttner
Stage design – Volker Thiele
Costume design – Gabriele Rupprecht
Lighting design – Christian Kemmetmüller
Chorus director – Karl Bernewitz
Dramaturgy – Brigitte Heusinger
Cast:
Dolly Levi – Gayle Tufts
Horace Vandergelder – Christoph Heinrich
– Ian Spinetti
Barnaby Tucker – Timo Stacey
Irene Molloy – Ulrike Mayer
Minnie Fay – Elisa Birkenheier
Ernestina Money – Joël Detiège
Rudolph – Elias Gyungseok Han
A waitress – Anne-Kathrin Auch
Ermengarde – Clara Maria Determann
Ambrose Kemper – Aniel Agramonte Rivero