Hello, Dolly! - London Palladium (2024)

Imelda is a work-horse and will do all shows. The only exception will be if she’s ill. Otherwise, she’ll be there.

This! I'd honestly do anything in my power to be there if Jodie goes on as Dolly.

Finally starting to see some social media ads that aren't the heart logo on black background, or imelda being interviewed.

Now one with a press quote and imelda in the green dress with dancers. Much more appealing

This entirely met my expectations, which had been somewhat tempered after hearing initial reports of this production. It’s doing its own thing with the show and that’s absolutely fine. A lot of it is excellent - the band sounds fantastic and the comedy is played well. It is all very well acted, but I do wish that some of the roles had been cast with singers with more lyrical voices. And the choreography didn’t really do much for me, it was all a bit too frenetic and lacked a sense of flow. ‘Elegance’ was the only number where I really liked the choreography.

Imelda’s ‘So Long Dearie’ was the highlight of the evening for me. The title number sounded phenomenal but once you’ve seen the Gower Champion staging, even just a video of it, nothing else can ever compare!

Yes, I think for a limited Palladium run this is very good!

I do think if this transferred or toured that the set may not stack up with other West End musicals and will have to bump up the budget a bit. The screen at the back is by far the cheapest thing here.

I was unpleasantly surprised when I saw that premium seats for this were up to £150! I am rethinking if I should book it now.

I didnt like this and im sure this mostly due to the changes in the book and dull choreography

Cast are good and its funny but yet the pace drags. I liked Love, Look In My Window but Penny in my pocket is such a dull song that just created further lag. Why?

I LOVED the Open Air theatre production which zipped by, had 'elegance' and pathos. Unfortunately this failed to impress.

Can anyone point towards an article about the changes made for this production? Id be interested to see why changes were necessary.

That Title number as staged here does not deserve a standing ovation.

Saw the matinee yesterday. Dame Imelda captured the pain of being a widow who is struggling to move on with her life so masterfully. I actually liked that the staircase moment was her fighting back the tears as all the memories of visiting Harmonia Gardens with her late husband came back. Although it would have then been nice to see her spirits lift more as she was swept up in the excitement of the dancing. Unlike Gypsy where she seemed to capture every aspect of her character so well, this felt a bit too much stuck in grief. What I missed was the sense of mischief, especially during the opening number where she should be annoying everyone with her business cards. Saying that, she did get a few laughs, and had fun with the opening section of So, Long Dearie! But the scene where she eats the turkey, that was hilariously funny on Broadway, was tucked away in a far corner and didn’t really get many laughs at all. I actually quite like her singing voice in general. A lot of the comedy heavy lifting is left to Emily Lane who was the perfect Minnie Fay.

I thought the travellators were used far too much, and were most effective during Elegance. The choreography was a bit too much throwing each other around for me. I prefer the stylistic walking and swaying that you get more in other versions.

It was enjoyable but I wasn’t blown away at the same time.

MUSICAL NUMBERS
Act I
“Overture” - Orchestra
“Just Leave Everything to Me”/“Call on Dolly” - Dolly & Company
“It Takes a Woman” - Horace, Cornelius, Barnaby & Company
“Put on Your Sunday Clothes” - Cornelius, Barnaby, Dolly, Ermengarde, Ambrose & Company
“Ribbons Down My Back” - Mrs. Molloy
“Ribbons Down My Back” (Reprise) - Mrs. Molloy
“Motherhood March” - Dolly, Mrs Molloy & Minnie
“Dancing” - Dolly, Cornelius, Barnaby, Mrs Molloy, Minnie & Company
“Before the Parade Passes By” - Dolly & Company
Act II
“Entr’acte” - Orchestra
“Penny in My Pocket” - Horace
“Elegance” - Mrs Molloy, Minnie, Cornelius & Barnaby
“Love, Look in My Window” - Dolly
“Waiters Gallop” - Orchestra
“Hello, Dolly!” - Dolly & Company
“Polka” - Orchestra
“It Only Takes a Moment” - Cornelius, Mrs Molloy & Company
“So Long, Dearie” - Dolly
“Finale” - Full Company

“A lot of the comedy heavy lifting is left to Emily Lane who was the perfect Minnie Fay”

Couldn't agree more with this. She overdid it in ‘Frozen’ quite distractingly, but was fab in ‘Starter for Ten’ and has somehow made an impression in this with a pretty minor part; her performance is lovely, nuanced and much more than is on the page.