Hello, Dolly!
Did You Know?
- Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955.
- Hello, Dolly! was first produced on Broadway by David Merrick in 1964, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and nine other Tonys.
- The show album Hello, Dolly! An Original Cast Recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.
- Hello, Dolly! has become one of the most enduring musical theatre hits, enjoying three Broadway revivals and international success.
- Hello, Dolly! was also made into a 1969 film that was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
- Although the part of Dolly Levi in the musical was originally written for Ethel Merman, she turned it down, as did Mary Martin (although each later played it). Eventually Carol Channing was hired, giving her the opportunity to create her most memorable role.
- The show was originally entitled Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman, until Merrick heard Louis Armstrong's recording of the song and changed the name of the show.
- The show became one of the notable hits of the 1960s, running for 2,844 performances, and was briefly the longest-running musical in Broadway history.
- A cast recording of the original Broadway production was released in 1964. It was the number-one album on the Billboard pop albums chart for seven weeks and the top album of the year on the Year-End chart.
- A French recording of the title song by Petula Clark charted in the top ten in both Canada and France, and her Spanish version, "Que tal Dolly?" was a hit as well.
- Wilder's The Matchmaker became a hit and was made into a 1958 film of the same name, starring Shirley Booth.
- The story of a meddlesome widow who strives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant also features prominently in the 1891 hit musical A Trip to Chinatown.
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