The Matchmaker 1955 - Articles Page 1.8

Opened: December 5, 1955

The Matchmaker - 1955 - Broadway History , Info & More

Booth Theatre (Broadway)
222 West 45th St. New York, NY

Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy merchant in 19th-century Yonkers, NY, decides to take a wife and employs a matchmaker, Mrs. Dolly Levi. Dolly subsequently becomes involved with two of Vandergelder's clerks, several lovely ladies, and the headwaiter at an expensive restaurant, where this swift farce runs headlong into hilarious complications. After everyone gets straightened out romantically, Vandergelder finds himself affianced to the astute Dolly Levi herself.



The Matchmaker opened on Broadway in 1955 and ran for 486 performances, Wilder's Broadway record, and closed in 1957. It was later adapted into the musical Hello, Dolly!.

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2018/19 Broadway Philadelphia Season Announced - HAMILTON, ANASTASIA, LOVE NEVER DIES, and More
by Julie Musbach - Mar 23, 2018


The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and The Shubert Organization are pleased to announce the 2018/19 Broadway Philadelphia season, featuring an outstanding lineup of highly-anticipated Broadway shows, including the Philadelphia premiere of Hamilton. The monumental upcoming season boasts a prodigious collection of award-winning productions which have garnered a collective 47 Tony® Awards and 25 Drama Desk Awards - the highest number of shows holding awards to ever grace one Broadway Philadelphia season!

BWW Review: Bernadette Peters' Star Quality Shimmers in Jerry Zaks' Wondrous HELLO, DOLLY! Revival
by Michael Dale - Feb 23, 2018


Intended for Ethel Merman, created by Carol Channing, reinvented by Pearl Bailey and based on a character made famous by Ruth Gordon, the title character of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! is perhaps the most flexible starring role to ever grace the Broadway musical stage.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Comes to People's Light
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 1, 2018


Building on the Blaine County School District's mission of inspiring, engaging, educating and empowering every student, Company of Fools announces the 21st year of Stages of Wonder-an in-school dramatic arts program that has served as the theatre curriculum in local elementary schools since 1997.

BWW Review: Bette Midler's The Star Attraction, But HELLO, DOLLY! is The Star
by Michael Dale - Apr 23, 2017


Yes, yes, we all know… Bette Midler is the above the title attraction and her presence is the reason the latest Broadway revival of HELLO, DOLLY! is the season's hottest new ticket. And she delivers. As Dolly Gallagher Levi, one of the most grandly showcased leading characters ever written for the musical stage, Midler glows with the pure joy that comes with the need to entertain as she lands schticky gags, sings with moxie, conveys lovely sincerity and leads the colorful parade proudly strutting across the Shubert stage.

HELLO DOLLY Brings the Energy of New York City to Lakewood
by BWW News Desk - Mar 3, 2017


Lakewood Cultural Center and Performance Now Theatre Company present the hit musical "Hello, Dolly!" March 24 - April 9 at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway. Performances are 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Foothill Theatre Arts Presents OUR TOWN
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 25, 2016


The Pulitzer Prize winning American classic OUR TOWN  by Thornton Wilder comes to life in a vibrant new production directed by Bruce McLeod for Foothill Theatre Arts.  Proclaimed 'One of the finest achievements of the current stage.

Writers Theatre Continues 25th Anniversary Season with EAST TEXAS HOT LINKS
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 3, 2016


Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, continues its 25th Anniversary Season with East Texas Hot Links, written by Eugene Lee and directed by Ron OJ Parson. The show runs October 19, 2016 - January 22, 2017 in The Gillian Theatre: 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

Independent Theatre Presents THE MATCHMAKER
by Rebecca Russo - Jul 25, 2016


Having started the year with a hugely successful production of that most famous of plays - Hamlet, Independent Theatre is now turning its sights on one of the American theatre's best-loved comedies - Thornton Wilder's 1954 Edinburgh Festival hit - the Matchmaker.

3-D Theatricals to Stage HELLO, DOLLY! This Summer
by Tyler Peterson - Jun 21, 2016


3-D Theatricals, Orange County's most distinguished regional musical theatre production company, presents the Tony Award-winning spectacular HELLO, DOLLY! starring Valerie Perri as Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi. Previewing July 15, with its official opening July 16 at Fullerton's historic Plummer Auditorium and continuing there through July 31, the Fullerton run is followed by a second opening at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center where it will preview August 5, and officially open August 6, 2016.

Five Fun Facts About HELLO, DOLLY!
by Michael Dale - Jan 19, 2016


One of Broadway's most beloved musicals looked like a disaster in out-of-town previews.

Wow, Wow, Wow Fellas! Meet the Creative Team of Broadway-Bound HELLO, DOLLY!
by Nicole Rosky - Jan 19, 2016


As BroadwayWorld reported this morning, Bette Midler will indeed return to Broadway in one of the most cherished shows in musical theater history when she takes on the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Michael Stewart's (book) and Jerry Herman's (music and lyrics) masterpiece, Hello, Dolly!. Directed by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly! will begin performances on Broadway on March 13, 2017, with an official opening night of April 20, 2017. Rehearsals begin one year from today. This new production of Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of this classic musical to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, will have at its helm Jerry Zaks as its director, and will feature choreography by Tony Award-winner Warren Carlyle. The new Dolly! will pay tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history. Below, reacquaint yourself with the creative team, old and new!

BWW Review: Effervescent and Upbeat DOLLY! at Welk Resort, Escondido
by Don Grigware - Sep 13, 2015


Some shows I can see again and again, especially those composed by the forever upbeat Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly bowed on Broadway when I was a teenager in the 60s and it had a long run with original star Carol Channing, followed by turns with Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye and Molly Picon, to name a few. Every major star wanted to do it because the role offers a female actress the chance to sing, dance and act the hell out of it. It's a big, splashy gut buster about a woman who has more moxy than the Pied Piper and enough wisdom and panache to win over an army or a whole kingdom, for that matter...and, for the audience, it's one of those extra-special feel-good musicals that just doesn't quit... for a moment. You leave the theatre actually humming the tunes.Welk Resort's current production of Dolly! in Escondido through November 15 is right on target...it's wondrously delectable.

Akhtar's DISGRACED, Rivera's ANOTHER WORD FOR BEAUTY and More Set for Goodman Theatre's 2015-16 Season
by BWW News Desk - Sep 12, 2015


A wide range of stories and voices comprise Goodman Theatre's 2015/2016 Season-a 'Big-Bold-Brilliant' line-up, beginning this month.

THEATRICAL THROWBACK THURSDAY: Robert Morse Turns 84
by Pat Cerasaro - May 21, 2015


Today we are saluting an iconic stage and screen star in honor of his 84th birthday this week, Robert Morse.

BWW Review: Media Theater's HELLO DOLLY!
by Pati Buehler - May 1, 2015


'Put On Your Sunday Clothes' because 'It Only Takes A Moment'- well, maybe about five minuets to fall in love with this one.

Akhtar's DISGRACED, Rivera's ANOTHER WORD FOR BEAUTY and More Set for Goodman Theatre's 2015-16 Season
by BWW News Desk - Mar 11, 2015


Artistic Director Robert Falls announces the wide range of stories and voices that comprise Goodman Theatre's upcoming 2015/2016 Season-a 'Big-Bold-Brilliant' line-up beginning September 2015.

Public Theater to Present THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER as Part of Public Forum, 12/14
by Tyler Peterson - Dec 8, 2014


The Public Theater announced the return of Public Forum's holiday tradition, a one-night-only Drama Club reading and discussion of THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER on Sunday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Joe's Pub at The Public. Just in time for the holidays, this exciting evening will feature a reading of Thornton Wilder's 1931 one-act featuring Tarell Alvin McCraney, Ethan Lipton, Andrew Solomon, and Tappan Wilder. Wilder's ingenious, heartbreaking play traces 90 years in the life of an American family, and will spark a discussion about family and storytelling in a society that's rapidly accelerating.

Wagner College Theatre's HELLO, DOLLY! Begins Today
by Tyler Peterson - Oct 1, 2014


Wagner College Theatre opens their 2014-15 Season with one of America's great musicals, Hello, Dolly! from October 1-12. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the musical's Broadway premiere, the Wagner production is directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Norb Joerder (WCT's Little Women) with musical direction by James Higgins (WCT's The Drowsy Chaperone).

Children's Playhouse of Maryland Previews HELLO, DOLLY! at Annual Gala Tonight
by BWW News Desk - Sep 6, 2014


Children's Playhouse of Maryland, in residence at CCBC Essex, hosts its 8TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m., today, Sept. 6 in the College Community Center Theatre at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. a silent auction and raffles. At 7:30 p.m., the CPM cast presents a special preview performance of HELLO, DOLLY! - CPM's first musical production for its fall 2014 season. A buffet reception will follow the performance. Tickets are $25 and available through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

Children's Playhouse of Maryland to Preview HELLO, DOLLY! at Annual Gala, 9/6
by Tyler Peterson - Aug 21, 2014


Children's Playhouse of Maryland, in residence at CCBC Essex, hosts its 8TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 6 in the College Community Center Theatre at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. a silent auction and raffles. At 7:30 p.m., the CPM cast presents a special preview performance of HELLO, DOLLY! - CPM's first musical production for its fall 2014 season. A buffet reception will follow the performance. Tickets are $25 and available through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

Michael Ajao, Paul Bigley, Arthur Byrne and More Set for OUR TOWN at the Almeida Theatre - Full Cast Announced!
by Christina Mancuso - Aug 21, 2014


Casting is announced for Our Town at the Almeida Theatre. Award-winning US actor-director David Cromer will direct and perform in this intimate version of Thornton Wilder's iconic American play. The cast will also include Michael Ajao, Paul Bigley, Arthur Byrne, Sidney Cole, Kate Dickie, Laura Elsworthy, Anna Francolini, Matthew Jacobs-Morgan, Daniel Kendrick, Simon Lennon, Jessica Lester, Richard Lumsden, Annette McLaughlin, Christopher Staines, Rhashan Stoneand David Walmsley.

Kim Zimmer Stars in HELLO, DOLLY! at The Barn Theatre School, Now thru 8/31
by BWW News Desk - Aug 19, 2014


For the first time in 25 years, The Barn Theatre presents the Tony Award winning musical, HELLO, DOLLY! Kim Zimmer stars as the beloved matchmaker Dolly Levi in this classic Broadway hit!

Kim Zimmer to Star in HELLO, DOLLY! at The Barn Theatre School, 8/19-31
by BWW News Desk - Aug 8, 2014


For the first time in 25 years, The Barn Theatre proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical, HELLO, DOLLY! Kim Zimmer stars as the beloved matchmaker Dolly Levi in this classic Broadway hit!

Almeida Announces New Season, Including OUR TOWN
by Carrie Dunn - May 22, 2014


The Almeida Theatre today announces its body of work for the autumn: a World Premiere of a new work by Alecky Blythe will be directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins and the London Premiere of David Cromer's acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

Robert Morse & Rick McKay to Be Honored at Special Preview of BROADWAY: BEYOND THE GOLDEN AGE
by Nicole Rosky - Mar 13, 2014


The Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF) announced its highly anticipated film line-up for the 19th edition, April 3 - 10, 2014, featuring 14 World Premieres, 8 North American and 8 U.S. Premieres. PBIFF (www.pbifilmfest.org) will present features, documentaries and short films from the U.S. and around the world, including Brazil, Venezuela, France, England, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, India, New Zealand, Austria, the Philippines, Croatia, Australia, Canada, Germany and South Korea, to name just a few, and will play host to filmmakers, producers and actors to represent and discuss their films.

Other Productions of The Matchmaker

1955   Broadway
Broadway

The Matchmaker - 1955 Broadway Awards and Nominations

Note: Award winners will appear on a background
Year Ceremony Category Nominee
1956 Tony Awards Best Direction Tyrone Guthrie
1956 Tony Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play Ruth Gordon

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