Hello Dolly Crewe Lyceum

HELLO Dolly, a multi-award winning Broadway smash about a self-confessed matchmaker who likes to meddle in matters of the heart, is the latest production to be tackled by Crewe Amateur Musical Society.

The title role made famous by Barbra Streisand in the 1980s film, tells the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi and her own romantic desires to marry Horace Vandergelder.

The two leads who commanded the stage, played by Jane Johnson, a very talented performer, and Rob Aucott, certainly had the right chemistry.

Praise is particularly due to Lee Edwards and Rob West who played Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker respectively, who were a truly winning pair.

The most successful part and a definite highlight was The Harmonia Gardens restaurant scene for the title song, Hello, Dolly. It was thoroughly amusing due to the juggling waiters, it wasn't overcooked like other scenes and the men definitely outshone the competition here.

The set was a massive plus point, the costumes were spot on and the cast appearing within the audience was a clever ploy, although be wary of the seats you choose in the upper circle or you might miss the action.

And yet it was let down by the length of the production. At just under three hours it seemed a little excessive, and I felt it didn't need to be that long. Act one in particular could have been more succinct without spoiling the charisma.

At times the stage was cluttered with extras, as in one scene where more than 12 actors appeared from Horace Vandergelder's shop door to the opening notes of It Takes A Woman.

Hello Dolly is promising in parts, but take the production as it was intended, a jolly good musical with some great performances. Just don't expect the glitz and glamour of a big scale budget.

Hello Dolly runs until Saturday, March 20. For tickets, call 01270 537333.

Kelly Edgington