Call on – Dorothy Lamour!

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 9:53am

Well, it's finally done! Here's the new page on "Memories of Melody Top" — 110 photos from a 1971 production of HELLO, DOLLY! that starred Dorothy Lamour and Jack Bailey. Other notables in the cast: Virginia Seidel, who would earn a 1976 Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Mrs. Elsie Darling in VERY GOOD EDDIE; Dennis Grimaldi, who transitioned to a successful producing career with 14 Broadway credits; and Candace Tovar, who will forever be linked to the work of Bob Fosse by her appearance in ALL THAT JAZZ on screen and in the original productions of CHICAGO and BIG DEAL. Enjoy the slideshow of images by clicking the link below...

HELLO, DOLLY! (1971) Starring Dorothy Lamour and Jack Bailey at Melody Top

[markypoo]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 12:52pm

Did they occasionally select lucky female audience members and crown them Queen For A Day?

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 7:26pm

I can't comment on Jack Bailey's performance at Melody Top because the show opened on my first birthday, but an online friend reported this story: He also did it opposite Patrice Munsel at Melodyland in Anaheim, Calfornia. I remember hearing that in that production, he really catered to the older ladies in the audience by saying at one point, "Dolly, you're my Queen for a Day!"

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 8:03pm

Well, this thread certainly brought back a personal memory.  Not of Miss Lamour, but of Jack Bailey.

When I was 15 in 1962, I spent the summer in Los Angeles with one of my older brothers and his family.  My sister-in-law and I attended a taping of "Queen For a Day".  It was in a nightclub called the Moulin Rouge.  We sat in a curved padded booth with a high back.  Visiting from Utah, I thought the room was very glamorous.  Before the show began, ladies in the audience were invited to fill out cards listing why they wanted to be "Queen for a day".  My sister-in-law asked for help in locating a missing relative.  I remember little of the show, but I do remember that Mr. Bailey was very personable and I can well imagine him in "Hello, Dolly".  The lady who was crowned Queen lived on a farm and wanted a pea picker.....a machine to pick peas.  Some years later, my sister-in-law found her missing relative. 

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 9:20am

What a great story! Not many people know this, but Jack Bailey was quite accomplished as a stage actor. He previously appeared at Melody Top in a 1969 production of OF THEE I SING. His credits in both stock plays and musicals are quite extensive.

And according to Dennis Grimaldi, who was in the cast of HELLO, DOLLY! at the Top, "Lamour did her traditional, Hawaiian 'thank you' hand choreography – which she had done on tour – thanking everyone for coming" to see the show.

[markypoo]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 9:20am

There's a really tall guy that looks amazingly like Tommy Tune.

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 11:30am

Tommy Tune wasn't in that production of HELLO, DOLLY! His last appearance at Melody Top was the summer before HELLO, DOLLY! He played the Master of Ceremonies in CABARET opposite Elaine Cancilla (Sally) and Imogene Coca (Fraulein Schneider).

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 5:56pm

broadwaydanwi said: "What a great story! Not many people know this, but Jack Bailey was quite accomplished as a stage actor. He previously appeared at Melody Top in a 1969 production of OF THEE I SING. His credits in both stock plays and musicals are quite extensive.

And according to Dennis Grimaldi, who was in the cast of HELLO, DOLLY! at the Top, "Lamour did her traditional, Hawaiian 'thank you' hand choreography –which she had done on tour – thanking everyone for coming" to see the show."

Bette added some Hawaiian gestures when she got to the bottom of the staircase.

[markypoo]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 7:40pm

Interesting that Dolly - which opened on Broadway when I was in the third grade - didn't play the Melody Top until the summer prior to my junior year of high school.

[markypoo]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 7:41pm

Interesting that Dolly - which opened on Broadway when I was in the third grade - didn't play the Melody Top until the summer prior to my junior year of high school.

[inception]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 11:31pm

Double post

Updated On: 4/25/20 at 11:31 PM

[inception]

Posted: 4/25/20 at 11:37pm

I found some interesting info online in this article about some of Dorothy Lamour's other experiences performing as Dolly, including a run in Las Vegas where she and Ginger Rogers split  14!! shows a week of a 100 minute cut down version.http://www.callondolly.com/dorothy-lamour/