PHS says ‘Hello’ to Dolly

PALMER — When the curtain lifted on Palmer High School’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” Thursday night, every piece of planning and preparation was depending on a group of teenagers.

The story is a patchwork of the lives of eight main characters sewn together by matchmaker and general meddler Dolly Gallagher Levi. Dolly, who normally focuses on bringing other couples together, has her own eye on the famous half-millionaire from Yonkers, Horace Vandergelder. Vandergelder has his own intentions to marry New York City hat store owner Irene Molloy. Meanwhile, young artist Ambrose Kempler is madly in love with Vandergelder’s niece, Ermengarde, who is forbidden by her uncle to marry Kempler. Both men employ the help of Dolly and head to the city.

Wanting an adventure of their own, the two clerks in Vandergelder’s feed shop, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, fake a tomato can explosion to close the store and go to the city as well. Once in New York, Hackl and Kemper unwittingly walk into a hat shop and meet Molloy and her assistant, Minnie Fay.

From this point, it is apparent how the couples s hould pair off, but getting there is going to require a lot of meddling by Dolly. It takes hiding in closets and under tables, close misses and wallet switches, true love and a judge’s decision, but the curtain finally closes on Dolly’s matchmaking masterpiece, and the Palmer students’ success.

But before the curtain could fall, even before it could open for the first time, director Grant Olson and producer Stan Harris had to piece together this farcical musical with its comedy relying on the on-stage chemistry of its characters.

Fortunately, chemistry was never a concern for Harris and Olson. They knew their actors’ offstage presence would carry them through rehearsals.

“The whole group of students is like a family,” said Harris, a music teacher at Palmer High. “They basically live in my office when they’re not in class.”

“The principle actors were extremely dedicated,” said Olson, who teaches at Palmer Junior Middle School and directs for the Valley Community Theater.

Talking with five of the main characters before their second-to-last dress rehearsal, it was immediately apparent what Harris and Olson meant. The excitement of opening night had each wearing a grin from ear to ear.

To prepare for their parts, the actors did what any high-schooler would: watch the movie and check Wikipedia.

Palmer senior Madison Moss was a astute study of Barbra Streisand’s Dolly for the title role. Rachel Kenley studied the Wikipedia page on how to speak in a New York accent to peg shopkeeper Minnie Fay.

“She has the best accent,” affirmed Josh Anderson who plays artist Ambrose Kemper.

“I’m prepared to play a 17-year-old girl because I’ve played one three times before. And I’m 18 myself, so I guess I know how it feels,” said Kenley.

“Yeah,” responds Moss jokingly, “It’s just like real life. I spend all my time manipulating lives.”

All joking aside, rehearsals were a serious matter. The students only had seven weeks to prepare because of winter break, according to Harris. Olson says it usually takes him that long to prepare for a play without including the added song and dance of a musical. The first two weeks were spent learning the music, then five weeks of acting and dancing. The compressed time frame meant rehearsals six days a week.

Impossible to break the actors’ sprits, the hardest part was not the long hours or short weekends, they said, but not laughing on stage.

“There are some pretty funny parts, and the kissing is always hilarious,” said Isaac Courson, whose Barnaby Tucker is a main comedic element repeating the catch phrase “Holy Cabooses!” ad nauseam.

With all the preparation, there’s not an inch of nervousness among the actors, who are excited for the pay-off of opening night.

“Performances are the funnest part,” said Anderson, “because we get to ad lib a lot of the parts.”

“I actually think ad libbing works the best,” according to Moss. “When I think too hard about what I am supposed to do, I always blow the lines.”

It is this lightheartedness that drives the on-stage chemistry, and it is this the actors will take away from the production. When the seniors are asked if they have plans of pursuing acting after graduation, Moss said maybe in a community theater.

“But not as a major, or anything like that,” agreed Madelyn Peterson who is playing Irene Molloy. “I want to be able to feed myself after college.”

But to not get ahead of themselves, and as if on a cue from director Olson, Ermengarde Vandergelder runs up and asks if anyone has done the physics homework yet.

“Hello, Dolly!” is playing tonight and tomorrow and Feb. 26, 27 and 28 at the Palmer High Theater. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. Call 746-8403 for reservations.