(Above: The cast and crew of Hello, Dolly! at the Very Little Theatre mugged for a group shot at one of their final rehearsals before the show opens on March 29; director Gerald Walters is in the center of the front row. Photos by Paul Carter)
By Randi Bjornstad
Hello, Dolly! opens at the Very Little Theatre on March 29 for a three-weekend run, and for director Gerald Walters, it’s not only a dream come true but a harking back to his very first experience with community musical theater.
Walters was a 17-year-old high school student when longtime teacher-actor-director Ed Ragozzino, who had founded the Eugene Festival of Musical Theater, posted audition notices for Hello, Dolly!, “and I decided to try out.”
“I didn’t know anything about the protocol of doing an audition, but the notice said to prepare a song, so I picked Harry Nilsson’s Everybody’s Talkin’ from Midnight Cowboy,” he said. “I went in and handed the music to the accompanist, who couldn’t play it, so I had to sing it a cappella. But Ed Ragozzino cast me in the chorus, and it was a great experience.”
Walters, who was born in Prineville but lived in the Eugene-Springfield area since he was a year old and received his education at Springfield High School, Lane Community College, and the University of Oregon, remembers his teenage self as so shy that during rehearsals for Hello, Dolly!, while other cast members chatted and joked, he sat alone.
That, however, turned out to be the key to another way that this Hello, Dolly! production turns out to be a coming full circle of his acting career.
“There were two girls in the Hello, Dolly! cast who saw me staying all by myself, not talking to anyone, and they came over and befriended me and started introducing me to all the others,” he said. “They kind of took me under their wing, like a little brother, and that really helped me. The next year, I got cast in Fiddler on the Roof.
Although he never abandoned his yen for theater, Walters went into education as a career, earning his bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a mater’s degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of Oregon. His teaching career included 24 years at River Road, Santa Clara, and Whiteaker elementary schools and Madison Middle School.
His extracurricular performances took place on a variety of local stages, such as Very Little Theatre and Lord Leebrick Theatre, plus many years of singing with a local gospel choir group, the Inspirational Sounds.
After Walters got the nod to direct this year’s VLT production of Hello, Dolly!, he had to “build his crew” for the show, and longtime Eugene-area theater maven and VLT member Sharon Wetterling “asked if she could be my assistant director,” he said. “I said I would love that, and it was perfect, because it turned out she was in the the same cast that I was in (Ragozzino’s) Hello, Dolly! all those years ago.”
Hello, Dolly!, which first appeared on Broadway in 1964 and won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical — a record that lasted until 2001 when it was eclipsed by Mel Brooks’ The Producers, which raked in 12 awards of its 15 nominations — clearly retains its half-century of cachet in the affection of theatergoers.
Because musicals generally require actors to be triple threats — able to sing, dance, and act — auditions for those productions don’t usually draw as many auditioners as for other types of theater, Walters said.
“But when we held auditions for this show, we had over 60 — we ran out of chairs,” he said with a laugh. “There were some really, really good people there.
As with most musicals, the story line is simple, relying on song, dance, and settings to embellish the plot. In Hello, Dolly!, the title role describes a matchmaker and teacher of social graces who travels to New York City to find a wife for an older, rich but miserly bachelor. However, the plot thickens when Dolly decides she really wants Horace for herself, and it’s further complicated as she begins to meddle in the love lives — or non-love lives — of several of Horace’s employees as well as his niece.
Many famous actresses have played Dolly through the decades, including Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Barbara Streisand, Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler, and Betty Buckley.
The VLT version of the show has a cast of 25. The lead roles of Dolly Gallagher Levi and Horace Vandergelder are portrayed by Sue Schroeder-White and Michael P. Watkins. Other feature roles are played by Cody Mendonca, Sheldon Hall, Josie Thomas, Kenady Conforth, Lily LaChapelle, Chad Lowe, Becky Major Hope, and Michael Walker.
The ensemble includes Rob Roberts, Donovon Seitzinger, Jim Arscott, Joshua Sayre, Matt Arscott, Sasha Berenstein, Timothy Bouwhuis, Darcy Rust, Mandy Conforth, Tessa Donangaphaivong, Amber Hagen, Colleen Gaskill, Hailey Eckhart, Lois Stark, and Laura Gage-Hunt.
In addition to Walters and Wetterling as directors, the production crew includes Chris Holt as music director and Keri Davis as vocal director. Michael Walker designed the sets, with costume design by Nancy Boyett. In addition to playing Horace Vandergelder, Michael P. Watkins also choreographed the show.
Being in charge of Hello, Dolly! was a bit daunting “because it’s such a huge show,” Walters said. “Putting together all the pieces is a challenge — the costumes for a period piece, a set that has to include both the iconic staircase scene and the restaurant scene in a relatively small space, and a live band.”
But it all has come together, and Walters has had a blast doing it.
“This is the first time I have had a chance to take on one of these old shows and bring it to life again, and I am loving it,” he said. “I find myself laughing just watching it, and I want everyone in the show to feel the same way, because they are not getting paid to do this, they’re just doing it for their love of theater and performing.”
Hello, Dolly!
When: 7:30 p.m. on March 29-30 and April 4-6 and 11-13; matinees at 2 p.m. on March 31 and April 7
Where: Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hilyard St., Eugene
Tickets: $25, $21 for senior citizens and students and for all Thursday performances; available at the box office, 541-344-7751, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, or online at TheVLT.com
