“Hello, Dolly!” Way Of Life

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30947, 31 December 1965, Page 2

“Hello, Dolly!” Way Of Life

“Hello, Dolly!” the bubbling, bouncing musical comedy set at the turn of the twentieth century, becomes a way of life wherever it is staged, according to Mrs Simon Montigue, who has been closely associated with the show in Australia.

“Produced on a specially built stage, with a runway encircling the orchestra and extending into the auditorium, the show is a very personal experience for the audience. You really feel part of it and it is most exciting to be in the stalls,” she said yesterday. With excellent dancing (particularly by the men), tuneful music, sparkling comedy and a tremendous visual impact, the show had all the ingredients of real, old-fashioned musical comedy with a touch of music hall fun.

Mrs Montigue, formerly Miss Miriam Peppier, of Christchurch, is visiting New Zealand to supervise promotion of the show’s Dominion tour and to visit her family. She is public relations officer for J. C. Williamson, Ltd., at its beadquarters in Melbourne. Mrs Montigue said the firm had been looking for the right musical to follow "My Fair Lady” to New Zealand for a long time. “This is it,” she said. “And it will open in Auckland in February, just five years after "My Fair Lady.’ ” Mrs Montigue is back in her old territory as a theatre advance officer and knows her customers.

“I have a great regard for the discrimination of New Zealand theatre-goers, particularly after being away from the country for two years and seeing the picture in perspective,” she said. “I am very happy to be back on the job with a show of this quality.”

Carole Cook, who plays Dolly, in the Australian company, was a red-headed Texan with a "larger-than-life” personality and the right kind of hour-glass figure for the part, she said. “The part of the matchmaking widow with an eye on her own main chance, is one

of the most coveted roles in musical comedy and it is not a part for a young girl,” she said.

Miss Cook, a protege of Lucille Ball, was strongly recommended for the role in New York. She is on leave of absence from Warner Brothers in Hollywood, with whom she has a film contract. Two of her recent films are “The Incredible Mr Limpet” and “Palm Springs Week-end.” Her husband is Tom Troupe, temporarily on leave from the stage and television to be her business manager. “They did not want to be parted and Carole Cook has become so involved in the role she needs him around. So he is travelling with her," Mrs Montigue said. The Australian production of “Hello Dolly!” was the second in the world. It opened in Sydney only 13 months after the New York premiere, starring Carol Channing, and nine months before the recent London opening with Mary Martin. Carol Channing is now on tour with the show in the United States and Ginger Rogers is playing it in New York. “Hello Dolly!” is booked to open in Christchurch in May.