GUILDERLAND — Forty-three years after Thornton Wilder’s play, The Matchmaker, was made into a Broadway musical, Hello, Dolly! is still glowing, still crowing, still going strong.

The classic musical, with book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, is being presented by The Guilderland Players this weekend.
"It’s colorful and happy," said Director Andy Maycock, an English teacher at the high school. "There’s not a down moment in it; it’s all light and fun."

He contrasted this with the players’ last two spring musicals, Into the Woods and Steel Pier, which had their dark moments.

This year, Maycock chose a standby with which he was very comfortable because some long-time faculty members had retired from the annual show. Maycock had a part in the ensemble in a 1985 production of Dolly that played in the newly-renovated Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady. Then, in 1986, as a student at Burnt Hills, he played Cornelius in his high school’s production.
"I was breaking in some new people and I needed a show I was comfortable with," said Maycock, who has directed the players’ productions since 1998.
One of the new faculty, the choral director, Kerry Dineen, is really an old hand. Currently a music teacher at Pine Bush Elementary School, "She was in The Guilderland Players way back when," said Maycock. "She has a lot of energy and is enthusiastic working with the kids."
The new conductor, directing the pit orchestra, Alexis St. Clair, also has a history with the players. She teaches music in Guilderland elementary schools and she teaches the flute at the high school. "She was in the ensemble of Once Upon a Mattress, my first show here," said Maycock.
The new choreographer, Mike Gatzendorfer, works in the BOCES programs for the deaf and hard of hearing. "He’s a young guy who has worked with youth theater in Ballston Spa," said Maycock. "I told him that we work for four months, it’s a long haul, and we expect the kids to be top-notch...The kids demand it and so does the audience."
Gatzendorfer has risen to the occasion, said Maycock, describing one scene where Dolly is teaching people to dance. "The temptation is to do a simple waltz," said Maycock. "He’s got turns, flips, people jumping over each other," he said of the choreographer.

"Precursor to the Internet"
The play is set in 1890’s New York City. "It’s about a woman, a widow, who’s a busybody and a gossip," said Maycock. "She has a purse full of business cards that fit any occasion."
Her primary role, though, is to be a romantic matchmaker. "Sort of a precursor to the Internet," said Maycock, with a chuckle.
Dolly is played by Jen Meglino, a senior at Guilderland High School. Although Maycock knew Meglino was a strong player, he didn’t see her as Dolly until it came to the callbacks during the auditioning process. "She just took over the role, as a controlling, powerful character," he recalled.
"She’s a dancer," Maycock went on. "She’s little, but she’s commanding. She has a really sweet smile. What she says is the truth and nice to hear."
Maycock hasn’t been fond of the portrayal of Dolly in many productions, he said, citing Barbra Streisand’s rendition in particular. "Her Dolly was obnoxious. Jen is sweet and true and strong."

Dolly has her sights set on Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire; crotchety and cantankerous, he lives in Yonkers and owns a hay and feed store.
"But he’s about to propose to Irene, a woman Dolly set him up with," said Maycock. "So she has to set her up with somebody else."
David Alliger, a junior, plays Horace Vandergelder. "He’s a tall, slender guy; it seems like he’s 6 feet, 10," said Maycock. "He’s able to be funny without knowing it. He has an effortless humor."

Romantic subplots involve Irene Molly (played by Lydia Walrath) and Minnie Fay (played by Elizabeth Sherman) who work in a hat shop, and Cornelius Hackl (played by Zack Tolmie) and Barnaby Tucker (played by Andrew Saperstone), who work at Vandergelder’s Hay and Feed Store.
Maycock describes Tolmie as "a great kid, full of energy and ideas, with a golden voice to boot who’s been in every one of our shows the last four years."
Walrath, also a senior, is playing in her fourth musical. "Her character, like Dolly, is a widow. She’s not eager to settle down. She sees through Cornelius, who is pretending to be rich, but she thinks the boys are charming and plays along.
One of the high points of the show, said Maycock, is the song Tolmie and Walrath sing together — "It Only Takes a Moment."
Saperstone, another senior, plays Barnaby Tucker as "a neurotic and nervous guy, fumbling and bumbling, and fun to watch," said Maycock.
And Sherman, who is a senior, too, is creative with her portrayal of Minnie Fay. "I keep throwing things at her, like, ‘Do it in a Brooklyn accent,’ and she does and it’s outstanding," said Maycock.
"Grammy’s gonna love it!"
"There’s something for everyone in this show," said Maycock. "There are so many different dancing and singing styles — there’s a polka, there are big brass numbers and a waltz, and there’s that beautiful ballad, ‘It Only Takes a Moment.’
"People expect The Guilderland Players to do difficult stuff that you don’t normally see in a high school. We’re not just up there, standing and singing."
In fact, Maycock said that, when rehearsal first started four months ago, he sat down with Dineen, St. Clair, and Gatzendorfer and they decided to cut the encore to the "Hello, Dolly!" number, where Dolly dances with waiters.
"They’re supposed to look like swank waiters doing the soft shoe. Here are these boys I thought would never do it and now they’re leading the way...Last week, I watched the guys nail "Hello, Dolly!" and we put the encore back in...
"It ends much more beautifully now. The audience applauds and they get more. The boys really earned that."

The show, concluded Maycock, will appeal to discerning audiences of any age. Maycock’s mother comes to every show as does his seven-year-old daughter.
Watching a recent rehearsal, his daughter proclaimed, "Grammy’s gonna love it!"

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Hello Dolly will play on the Guilderland High School stage March 15 at 7 p.m., a show which is sign-language interpreted; March 16 and 17 at 8 p.m.; and March 18 at 2 p.m.

Tickets for all shows are $7. Reservations may be made by contacting Joan True at the high school at [email protected].

Remaining tickets will be sold at the door.