Two Principal Actors Share What They Love About the Musical
“Hello, Dolly!” is not a new play, but the young actors bringing the play to life at Newberg High School make this classic fresh again.
The musical will run from Oct. 26 to 28 and Nov. 2 to 4. The curtain rises at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Building at NHS, 2400 Douglas Ave. If you don’t remember what the play is about, the short version is that it’s a comedy about a determined and powerful young woman named Dolly Levi. She’s a matchmaker visiting New York in the 1890s, but she loses her own heart to the wealthy Horace Vandergelder. Barbra Streisand starred in the 1968 film after Carol Channing had made the show a legend on Broadway. That’s the short version.
However, why people should attend and what makes the show good is a task best left to the show’s two stars. Senior Imogen Long and junior Camille Hildebrant both play Dolly, as all principal actors perform every other night. The ensemble performs nightly, with the leads absorbing into the chorus on their non-starring nights. In the words of Long and Hildebrant, here’s what they love about “Hello, Dolly!” and why you should see the show.
Question: What type of musical is “Hello, Dolly!”
Hildebrant: “It’s a Golden Age musical. It was a time when they did musicals when women had all the power. The Golden Age was from the 1930s to the 1970s. There were a lot of happy musicals; people wanted to come and lose themselves.”
Question: What’s your favorite scene?
Long: “The dinner scene with Dolly and Horace. It’s so varied. He’s trying to get a word in, but she won’t let him get a word in. She’s just really being Dolly. She’s her own entity in that moment.”
Question: What’s your favorite song?
Hildebrant: “‘Hello, Dolly!’” (the title song). She comes to Harmonia Gardens. She shows up in a fabulous gown and her hair done, and she’s just her own. … That song is so fun. It’s so clever. The writing of the song is really good. It’s so much fun to perform.”
Question: Why should the community come out to see this show?
Hildebrant: “It’s really good for people to come see a show set in this old time where women didn’t have a lot of power, and it’s cool to see Dolly is like the puppetmaster and gets everyone to go where they need to go.
“It’s a fun show to see the cast, choreography, sets, costumes. It’s fun for people to come and watch a good show.”
Question: Same thing: Why should the community come out to see this show?
Long: “It will appeal to a lot of different audiences. There’s love, comedy. It’s a joy to watch. It’s amazing to be a part of, and you’ll really feel that when you’re in the audience.”
Question: Anything else to add?
Hildebrant: “Being in this role, it's been a big step up for me as a singer. Dolly has been such an experience. It’s helping me develop such a strong confidence. I know that I am Dolly. feeling I can take on this classic and play it to my very best is something I can be so proud of. My family has been so supportive.”
Long interjected that her family has also been supportive, and both of them took a moment to appreciate the support of their family and friends. Then they considered the character and then burst into a wave of appreciation for the community.
Long: “I’ve never played a character like her. I love she’s like a boss. She’s on top of the world. She has nobody to bow down to. Just playing her brings confidence.”
Hildebrant: “Everyone on the stage, offstage, in the pit has been working really hard on this show. … It’s been wonderful to have such a supportive community.”
Long: “It’s never about the leads. It’s about the community.”
Hildebrant: “It’s a good supportive place, and we have an incredible director who is one of my favorite people ever. He does such an amazing job with the set and the directing.”
Long nods several times in quick succession, and gives her full agreement about the director, Teacher Michael McConaughey, about the whole community, about everything and everyone that has made this recreation of a classic fresh and new. It’s entirely Dolly. It’s perfectly NHS.