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<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; &#8220;If I had any intention of marrying again,&#8221; Dolly Levi tells Horace Vandergelder, &#8220;it would be to a far more pleasure-loving man than you.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;You go your way,&#8221; she adds, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll go mine.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t want to manage anything as out of control as your household,&#8221; the consummate 1890s match-maker tells the prosperous feed-store owner at a restaurant meal during which she manages to feed him food he doesn&#8217;t think he wants as well as plant the idea he&#8217;d be better off married &#8212; to her.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s manipulating him completely throughout the show,&#8221; said Michael Gallagher, of Wilkes-Barre, who portrays Horace Vandergelder in the Music Box Playhouse production of &#8220;Hello, Dolly!&#8221; through Dec. 16. &#8220;She shoves food into his mouth because she&#8217;s trying to &#8216;fatten him up,&#8217; not really physically.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The best way to get him to marry her is to make it seem like it&#8217;s his idea,&#8221; said Michael Marone, of Wilkes-Barre, who is directing the show. &#8220;She wants to be with Horace but it&#8217;s not entirely selfish. She knows at the end of the day he needs someone to be with, and she&#8217;s the best choice for him.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Horace is the classic curmudgeon, very frequently with a sour face,&#8221; Gallagher said. &#8220;But Dolly is capable of melting him in the end.&#8221;</p><p>Why does a personable woman like Dolly want this curmudgeonly man?</p><p>&#8220;I do think there&#8217;s a great deal to be said about her wanting him because of his money,&#8221; Gallagher said. &#8220;On the other hand I do think there is an attraction beyond it. She has a great way of getting what she wants.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I like to use the word &#8216;meddling&#8217; to describe her,&#8221; Marone said. &#8220;Not &#8216;conniving&#8217; because that has an evil connotation and she never does it in a way to hurt anyone.&#8221;</p><p>Local actress Amanda Reese has the title role, and portrays Dolly &#8220;with great comic flair,&#8221; Marone said. &#8220;She has impeccable comic timing. She also knows how to hit home with the soft moments, when she speaks to her husband who has passed away. It adds up to a well-developed Dolly Levi.&#8221;</p><p>One of the most famous images from the play is the Waiters Gallop (when waiters dance and sing &#8216;Hello, Dolly! It&#8217;s so nice to have you back where you belong &#8230;&#8221;)</p><p>We have 12 men in that scene. It&#8217;s quite astounding to round up that many in the area,&#8221; Marone said, adding there are other &#8220;huge dance numbers&#8221; for the audience to enjoy, including &#8220;a full partner dance with big lifts where the men are lifting the women in ballet poses. It&#8217;s really nice.&#8221;</p><p>The story is based on Thornton Wilder&#8217;s &#8220;The Matchmaker,&#8221; and &#8220;considered to be one of the great American farces,&#8221; said Gallagher, who has portrayed Vandergelder in three previous Music Box productions. &#8220;It was a very good straight movie too, many years ago, with Shirley Booth as Dolly. As a musical there are so many delightful and charming scenes. It&#8217;s a sweet, charming show.&#8221;</p><p>Along with such songs as &#8220;Hello, Dolly!&#8221; &#8220;Put on Your Sunday Clothes&#8221; and &#8220;Before the Parade Passes By,&#8221; audiences can enjoy &#8220;wonderful, colorful turn-of-the-century costumes,&#8221; Gallagher added. &#8220;It&#8217;s sort of like a musical/dance/ fashion show.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In this scene from &#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217; at Music Box Playhouse, Dolly Gallagher Levi (Amanda Reese) teaches Cornelius Hackl (L. Edward Joseph) to dance, much to the surprise and confusion of Barnaby Tucker (John Toussaint, Jr.) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_hello.dolly_.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this scene from &#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217; at Music Box Playhouse, Dolly Gallagher Levi (Amanda Reese) teaches Cornelius Hackl (L. Edward Joseph) to dance, much to the surprise and confusion of Barnaby Tucker (John Toussaint, Jr.) </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_hello.dolly_.feeding.horace.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dolly Gallagher Levi, at right, played by Amanda Reese, seems to know what&#8217;s best for Horace Vandergelder, played by Michael Gallagher, whether it&#8217;s food or a woman to share his life.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_hello.dolly_.feeding.horace.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dolly Gallagher Levi, at right, played by Amanda Reese, seems to know what&#8217;s best for Horace Vandergelder, played by Michael Gallagher, whether it&#8217;s food or a woman to share his life.  </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_helly.dolly_.ladies.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left, Irene Molloy (Kristina Toussaint), Dolly Gallagher Levi (Amanda Reese) and Minnie Fay (Maia Bagusky) share a chat and a giggle in the Music Box production of &#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217; which continues through Dec. 16 in Swoyersville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_helly.dolly_.ladies.jpg</photo2><caption2>From left, Irene Molloy (Kristina Toussaint), Dolly Gallagher Levi (Amanda Reese) and Minnie Fay (Maia Bagusky) share a chat and a giggle in the Music Box production of &#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217; which continues through Dec. 16 in Swoyersville. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>&#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217; returns to Music Box Playhouse in Swoyersville</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What: </strong>&#8216;Hello, Dolly!&#8217;</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Through Dec. 16 with shows at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Meals start 90 minutes before show time.</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville</p><p><strong>Tickets: </strong>Show-only tickets are $18. Buffet dinner and show tickets are $35.</p><p><strong>Reservations: </strong>570-283-2195</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

It’s nice to have ‘Dolly’ back where she belongs