BWW Previews: PATEL CONSERVATORY'S SUMMER INTENSIVE MUSICAL HELLO DOLLY! DEBUTS at Teco Theatre, Straz Center

On July 12-15, the hard work of 27 participants in Patel's summer intensive program will be revealed on stage in Hello, Dolly!. Talented students in grades eight through college junior rehearse from 9am to 4pm for four weeks and present a musical at the end of the fourth week.

Based on The Matchmaker by Thorton Wilder, featuring lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, the musical features some of the most recognized songs in musical theatre history like "Hello, Dolly" and "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" combined with high-energy dance numbers.

Hello, Dolly! follows Dolly Gallagher Levi, a sought-after strong-willed widow matchmaker tasked with finding a wife for miserly Yonkers unmarried "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder and Ambrose Kemper, a poor artist who has his sights set on Vandergelder's niece Ermengarde and other travelers to New York. Horace wants Dolly to take his niece, Ermengarde, to New York, where she is protected from the attentions of Ambrose. Dolly is secretly pining for Horace whom she is supposed to match to a New York hat maker, Irene Molloy. Dolly is dedicated to her job, so she still looks for an alternate for Irene, so she can keep Horace for herself. In New York, map-cap capers ensue for the group.

A recent nominee for 2018 Broadway Star of the Future, though performing since the age of six, this is seventeen-year-old Logan Franke first performance at Patel. She had enjoyed seeing performances at Patel and the Straz Center and decided this was the year she would be part of the fun she saw on stage.

She discovered she won the coveted lead role, when she checked her email and scrolled to the bottom for a cast list of names in the ensemble cast.

"I immediate went to the bottom. My boyfriend was standing next to me and he just gasped and pointed to my name as Dolly Gallagher Levi. I freaked out and started crying. It was an oh my gosh moment because I wasn't expecting it and it blew my mind that it happened," said Logan.

In order to prepare for the lead role of Dolly, the Plant High School senior, researched the time period.

"Dolly is such spitfire. She defies some of the rules, so I had to learn when and where it was appropriate," said Logan. "Suzanne helped me learn how to embody the character."

Logan explained because the first costume Dolly wears (three skirts, two shirts and a jacket) was large and movement-prohibitive, it helped with making her authentically feel like Dolly, a rebellious woman from 1892.

"The story essentially takes place in one day. You see everyone experience New York for the first time," said Suzanne Livesay, director. "The leads are so good in this show. Each one is perfect for the role. This is one of those escape musicals. There's a lot of enlightening moments and at the same time, I want people to come in and go back to 1892 to with us and go on a little trip. (At the end of the show) I want people to be inspired to go and appreciate what they have. It's a really, really cute show. Go and have an adventure and enjoy life."

Hello Dolly! will be presented in TECO Theater July 12-17. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. The Saturday 2 p.m. performance will be sensory friendly. Regularly priced tickets start at $20 and may be purchased by calling 813.229.STAR (7827), in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office or online at https://www.strazcenter.org/Events/Straz/Shows/Patel-Conservatory/Hello,-Dolly!

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