‘Hello, Dolly!’ set for stage at River View High School
River View High School students Samantha Corbett, Annie Bosson, Jordan Colley, and Jayvin Deeds are pictured practicing a scene from “Hello, Dolly!” The production will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, in the auditorium. Tickets are $6. Visit rvmusic.ludus.com, e-mail rvhsmusical@gmail.com, or call the RVHS office at 740-824-3522. Josie Sellers | Beacon
WARSAW – The River View High School Music Department will bring a story of love and adventure to the stage when it presents “Hello, Dolly!” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, in the auditorium.
“Hello, Dolly!” is set in the rural Yonkers, New York in the 1890s. One of the main characters in the play is Dolly Levi, a widow who makes her living as a matchmaker.
“She is full of heart,” said Mary McMullen, director of play. “She loves people and loves helping them find love. She also is very gutsy being a woman with her own business during that time period.”
Dolly is supposed to be helping the wealthy Horace Vandergelder marry Irene Molloy who owns a hat shop. Mixed into the story are Horace’s employees Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker who work at his hay and feed store in Yonkers. They want to get out of the country and go to New York City for adventure.
“Eventually everyone ends up in New York City and there is lots of craziness and dancing,” McMullen said.
She has 50 to 60 students helping her bring the play to life and 32 of them appear on stage.
“This is my fourth year here and I knew we had some really strong upper classmen that could do this play,” McMullen said. “It’s been incredible working with these young people. They start out fresh faced and a little awkward and end up poised and strong.”
Samantha Corbett has been in every play since her freshman year and is excited to end her high school career with the role of Dolly.
“She’s very comedic, fun, and outgoing,” said Corbett, who is a senior at RVHS. “I like getting to pretend to be someone I’m not.”
One of her favorite scenes in the play occurs in the hat shop.
“It’s super hilarious because Dolly has a very flirtations personality,” Corbett said.
Senior Annie Bosson, who plays Irene, also likes the hat shop.
“I love hats and everything from that time period,” Bosson said.
She also loves acting and plans to major in theater and earn minors in musical theater and dance at The Ohio State University.
“You can bring so much joy to other people (through plays),” said Bosson.
New to the stage at River View is junior Jordan Colley who plays Barnaby Tucker.
“He’s naïve and doesn’t really worry about women as much as Horace and Cornelius,” Colley said.
So far he loves his first experience with a production at River View.
“I’ve met a lot of people and made some pretty good friends,” Colley said.
Cornelius is played by senior Jayvin Deeds.
“I was in ‘Shrek’ last year and I just like the feeling of family that comes with this,” Deeds said. “I’ve gotten to know people I wouldn’t have talked to before doing the plays.”
He described Cornelius as starry-eyed and awkward.
“He’s very similar to me so I’m a good fit for his character and can do it well,” Deeds said.
Freshman Cole Tatro fills the lead male role of Horace.
“He’s in his mid 40s and really wants a wife,” he said. “He realizes though that his heart is what matters most.”
Tatro has gone to plays at River View for years and when he was 5 or 6, appeared in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“When I got to high school I knew I wanted to make the best of every opportunity I had with plays,” he said.
Tickets to “Hello, Dolly!” are $6. A dinner will be served prior to the show from 5 to 7 p.m. for $8 for adults and $5 for children under 10. For tickets, visit rvmusic.ludus.com, e-mail rvhsmusical@gmail.com, or call the RVHS office at 740-824-3522.
“It’s a funny story, but also has a lot of heart-touching moments,” said Colley.
Category: Education, Multimedia, Photo Galleries
