Pacific Union College Students Present Hello, Dolly!

Pacific Union College's Napa Valley Musical Theatre is presenting the musical comedy Hello, Dolly! on April 3, 5, 6, and 7 at Lincoln Theater, Veterans' Home of California in Yountville. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company in St. Helena and Napa, and they will also be available at the door.

Set in early 20th century New York, Hello, Dolly! is a choreographed and fully-orchestrated musical comedy of matchmaking and meddling. Dolly Gallagher Levi, played by junior graphic design major Heather McDonald and by Sarah Takii, is supposed to find a wife for the miserly millionaire Horace Vandergelder, played by senior liberal studies Matthew Payne (who is also the play's producer). But when Dolly decides she wants to marry Vandergelder herself and to persuade him to take his clerk as a partner and allow his niece to marry, things get complicated very rapidly.

"Besides all of the matchmaking, one of the hidden points of the story is that people should use their money to help young people and society as a whole," said director Mark Phillips, senior communications major. Phillips sees Hello, Dolly! as an opportunity for good fun and entertainment for both students and members of the community. "This musical is a way for us to focus on our community in the valley and is a good outlet for our energy and creativity," he said.

Hello, Dolly! was first performed in 1964. The story was written by Michael Stewart, and the music and lyrics were written by Jerry Herman. A movie version featured Walter Matthau, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Crawford. Hello, Dolly! has now returned to Broadway, with Carol Channing as Dolly.