document_title: Hello, Dolly! (musical)

question_text: who originated the role of dolly in hello dolly

text: Hello, Dolly! (musical)

text: History[edit]

text: The plot of Hello, Dolly! originated in an 1835 English play, A Day Well Spent by John Oxenford, which Johann Nestroy adapted into the farce Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Will Go on a Spree or He'll Have Himself a Good Time). Thornton Wilder adapted Nestroy's play into his 1938 farcical play The Merchant of Yonkers, a flop which he revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955, expanding the role of Dolly, played by Ruth Gordon.[3] The Matchmaker became a hit and was much revived and made into a 1958 film of the same name starring Shirley Booth. The story of a meddlesome widow who strives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant also features prominently in the 1891 hit musical A Trip to Chinatown.[4]

text: The role of Dolly Levi in the musical was originally written for Ethel Merman, but Merman turned it down, as did Mary Martin (although each eventually played it).[3] Merrick then auditioned Nancy Walker. Eventually, he hired Carol Channing, who then created in Dolly her signature role.[5] Director Gower Champion was not the producer's first choice, as Hal Prince and others (among them Jerome Robbins and Joe Layton) all turned down the job of directing the musical.[6]

text: Hello, Dolly! had rocky out-of-town tryouts in Detroit and Washington, D.C.[5] After receiving the reviews, the creators made major changes to the script and score, including the addition of the song "Before the Parade Passes By".[7] The show was originally entitled Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman [8] and Call on Dolly but Merrick changed the title immediately upon hearing Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello, Dolly". The show became one of the most iconic Broadway shows of its era, the latter half of the 1960s, running for 2,844 performances, and was for a time the longest-running musical in Broadway history. During that decade, ten "blockbuster" musicals played over 1,000 performances and three played over 2,000, helping to redefine "success" for the Broadway musical genre.[9]

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: Sources: Tams-Witmark[10] Guide to Musical Theatre[11] Masterworks Broadway[12]

text: Act I[edit]

text: As the 19th becomes the 20th century, all of New York City is excited because widowed but brassy Dolly Gallagher Levi is in town ("Call On Dolly"). Dolly makes a living through what she calls "meddling" – matchmaking and numerous sidelines, including dance instruction and mandolin lessons ("I Put My Hand In"). She is currently seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire, but it becomes clear that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself. Ambrose Kemper, a young artist, wants to marry Horace's weepy niece Ermengarde, but Horace opposes this because Ambrose's vocation does not guarantee a steady living. Ambrose enlists Dolly's help, and they travel to Yonkers, New York to visit Horace, who is a prominent citizen there and owns Vandergelder's Hay and Feed.

text: Horace explains to his two clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, that he is going to get married because "It Takes a Woman" to cheerfully do all the household chores. He plans to travel with Dolly to New York City to march in the Fourteenth Street Association Parade and propose to the widow Irene Molloy, who owns a hat shop there. Dolly arrives in Yonkers and "accidentally" mentions that Irene's first husband might not have died of natural causes, and also mentions that she knows an heiress, Ernestina Money, who may be interested in Horace. Horace leaves for New York and leaves Cornelius and Barnaby to run the store.

text: Cornelius decides that he and Barnaby need to get out of Yonkers. They'll go to New York, have a good meal, spend all their money, see the stuffed whale in Barnum's museum, almost get arrested, and each kiss a girl! They blow up some tomato cans to create a terrible stench and a good alibi to close the store. Dolly mentions that she knows two ladies in New York they should call on: Irene Molloy and her shop assistant, Minnie Fay. She tells Ermengarde and Ambrose that she'll enter them in the polka competition at the upscale Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in New York City so Ambrose can demonstrate his ability to be a breadwinner to Horace. Cornelius, Barnaby, Ambrose, Ermengarde and Dolly take the train to New York ("Put On Your Sunday Clothes").

text: Irene and Minnie open their hat shop for the afternoon. Irene wants a husband, but does not love Horace Vandergelder. She declares that she will wear an elaborate hat to impress a gentleman ("Ribbons Down My Back"). Cornelius and Barnaby arrive at the shop and pretend to be rich. Horace and Dolly arrive at the shop, and Cornelius and Barnaby hide from him. Irene inadvertently mentions that she knows Cornelius Hackl, and Dolly tells her and Horace that even though Cornelius is Horace's clerk by day, he's a New York playboy by night; he's one of the Hackls. Minnie screams when she finds Cornelius hiding in the armoire. Horace is about to open the armoire himself, but Dolly, Irene and Minnie distract him with patriotic sentiments related to subjects like Betsy Ross and The Battle of the Alamo shown in the famous lyrics "Alamo, remember the Alamo!" ("Motherhood March"). Cornelius sneezes, and Horace storms out, realizing there are men hiding in the shop, but not knowing they are his clerks.

text: Dolly arranges for Cornelius and Barnaby, who are still pretending to be rich, to take the ladies out to dinner to the Harmonia Gardens restaurant to make up for their humiliation. She teaches Cornelius and Barnaby how to dance since they always have dancing at such establishments ("Dancing"). Soon, Cornelius, Irene, Barnaby, and Minnie are happily dancing. They go to watch the great 14th Street Association Parade together. Alone, Dolly decides to put her dear departed husband Ephram behind her and to move on with life "Before the Parade Passes By". She asks Ephram's permission to marry Horace, requesting a sign from him. Dolly catches up with the annoyed Vandergelder, who has missed the whole parade, and she convinces him to give her matchmaking one more chance. She tells him that Ernestina Money would be perfect for him and asks him to meet her at the swanky Harmonia Gardens that evening.

text: Act II[edit]

text: Cornelius is determined to get a kiss before the night is over, but Barnaby isn't so sure. As the clerks have no money for a carriage, they tell the girls that walking to the restaurant shows that they've got "Elegance". At the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant, Rudolph, the head waiter, prepares his service crew for Dolly Levi's return: their usual lightning service, he tells them, must be "twice as lightning" ("The Waiters' Gallop"). Horace arrives with his date, but she proves neither as rich nor as elegant as Dolly had implied; furthermore she is soon bored by Horace and leaves, as Dolly had planned she would.

text: Cornelius, Barnaby, and their dates arrive, unaware that Horace is also dining at the restaurant. Irene and Minnie, inspired by the restaurant's opulence, order the menu's most expensive items. Cornelius and Barnaby grow increasingly anxious as they discover they have little more than a dollar left. Dolly makes her triumphant return to the Harmonia Gardens and is greeted in style by the staff ("Hello, Dolly!") She sits in the now-empty seat at Horace's table and proceeds to eat a large, expensive dinner, telling the exasperated Horace that no matter what he says, she will not marry him. Barnaby and Horace hail waiters at the same time, and in the ensuing confusion each drops his wallet and inadvertently picks up the other's. Barnaby is delighted that he can now pay the restaurant bill, while Horace finds only a little spare change. Barnaby and Cornelius realize that the wallet must belong to Horace. Cornelius, Irene, Barnaby and Minnie try to sneak out during "The Polka Contest", but Horace recognizes them and spots Ermengarde and Ambrose as well. The ensuing free-for-all culminates in a trip to night court.

text: Cornelius and Barnaby confess that they have no money and have never been to New York before. Cornelius declares that even if he has to dig ditches the rest of his life, he'll never forget the day because he had met Irene. Cornelius, Barnaby, and Ambrose then each profess their love for their companion ("It Only Takes A Moment"). Dolly convinces the judge that their only crime was being in love. The judge finds everyone innocent and cleared of all charges, but Horace is declared guilty and forced to pay damages. Dolly mentions marriage again, and Horace declares that he wouldn't marry her if she were the last woman in the world. Dolly angrily bids him "So Long, Dearie", telling him that while he's bored and lonely, she'll be living the high life.

text: The next morning, back at the hay and feed store, Cornelius and Irene, Barnaby and Minnie, and Ambrose and Ermengarde each set out on new life's paths. A chastened Horace Vandergelder finally admits that he needs Dolly in his life, but Dolly is unsure about the marriage until her late husband sends her a sign. Vandergelder spontaneously repeats a saying of Ephram's: "Money is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread about, encouraging young things to grow." Horace tells Dolly life would be dull without her, and she promises in return that she'll "never go away again" ("Hello, Dolly" (reprise)).

text: Characters[edit]

text:
Dolly Levi: A widow in her middle years who has decided to begin her life again. She is a matchmaker, meddler, opportunist, and a life-loving woman.
Horace Vandergelder: The proprietor of a Hay & Feed store and a client of Dolly Levi. A well-known half-a-millionaire, he is a widower, gruff, authoritative, and set in his ways.
Cornelius Hackl: Vandergelder’s chief clerk who yearns for one exciting day in NYC. Energetic, enthusiastic, and adventurous young man who has a sweet innocence about him.
Barnaby Tucker: An assistant to Cornelius at Vandergelder’s Hay & Feed store. He is sweet, naïve, energetic, and a follower.
Irene Molloy: A widow and a beautiful, smart, fun-loving milliner with a hat shop in New York. Dolly has introduced her to Horace Vandergelder but she yearns for romance.
Minnie Fay: A young girl who works in Irene’s hat shop. Irene’s assistant, she is a naïve, strait-laced, fresh, and a follower.
Ambrose Kemper: A young and explosive struggling artist seeking to marry Ermengarde.
Ermengarde: The young niece of Horace Vandergelder. She cries often and wants her independence and wants to marry Ambrose.
Ernestina Money: An eccentric-looking girl in need of Dolly’s matchmaker services.
Rudolf Reisenweber: Maître d' of the Harmonia Gardens restaurant.
Waiters: A group of waiters at the Harmonia Gardens restaurant.
Judge: A white-whiskered night court judge. Easily moved to tears by romance.

text: Characters and original cast[edit]

text:
Character
Broadway
(1964)
West End
(1965)
Broadway
(1968)
Broadway
(1968)
Movie
(1969)
West End
(1979)
West End
(1984)
Broadway
(1995)
Paper Mill Playhouse
(2006)
West End
(2009)
Broadway
(2017)

Dolly Gallagher Levi
Carol Channing
Mary Martin
Pearl Bailey
Carol Channing
Barbra Streisand
Danny La Rue

Carol Channing
Tovah Feldshuh
Samantha Spiro
Bette Midler

Horace Vandergelder
David Burns
Loring Smith
Cab Calloway
Eddie Bracken
Walter Mathau
Lionel Jeffries

Jay Garner
Walter Charles
Allan Corduner
David Hyde Pierce

Cornelius Hackl
Charles Nelson Reilly
Garrett Lewis
Terrence Emanuel
Lee Roy Reams
Michael Crawford
Tudor Davies
Michael Sadler
Michael DeVries
Jonathan Rayson
Daniel Crossley
Gavin Creel

Barnaby Tucker
Jerry Dodge
Johnny Beecher
Grenoldo Frazier
Robert Lydiard
Danny Lockin
Richard Drabble
Mark Haddigan
Cory English
Brian Sears
Oliver Brenin
Taylor Trensch

Irene Molloy
Eileen Brennan
Marilynn Lovell
Mary Louise
Florence Lacey
Marianne McAndrew
Maureen Scott
Lorna Dallas
Florence Lacey
Kate Baldwin
Josefina Gabrielle
Kate Baldwin

Minnie Fay
Sondra Lee
Coco Ramirez
Chip Fields
Alexandra Korey
E.J. Peaker
Mandy More
Pollyann Tanner
Lori Ann Mahl
Jessica-Snow Wilson
Akiya Henry
Beanie Feldstein

Ambrose Kemper
Igors Gavon
Mark Alden
Howard Porter
Michael C. Booker
Tommy Tune

David Ellen
James Darrah
Drew Gehling
Mark Anderson
Will Burton

Ermengarde
Alice Playten
Beverlee Weir
Karen Hubbard
K.T. Baumann
Joyce Ames

Sue Latimer
Christine DeVito

Clare Louise Connolly
Melanie Moore

Ernestina
Mary Jo Catlett
Judith Drake
Bessye Ruth Scott
P.J. Nelson

Carol Kaye
Monica M. Wemitt

Jennifer Simard

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text:
Act I

Prologue ("Hello, Dolly!") – Orchestra
"Call On Dolly" – Ensemble
"I Put My Hand In" — Dolly
"It Takes A Woman" — Horace, Cornelius, Barnaby and the Men
"It Takes A Woman (Reprise)" – Horace
"World, Take Me Back" – Dolly*
"Put On Your Sunday Clothes" — Cornelius, Barnaby, Dolly, Ambrose, Ermengarde, and Ensemble
"Ribbons Down My Back" — Irene
"Ribbons Down My Back (Reprise)" – Irene
"Motherhood March" — Dolly, Irene, Minnie, and Horace
"Dancing" — Dolly, Cornelius, Barnaby, Irene, Minnie, and Dancers
"Love, Look In My Window" – Dolly*
"Before the Parade Passes By" — Dolly and the Company
"Finale Act I: Before The Parade Passes By" – Dolly

Act II

"Entr'acte" – Orchestra
"Elegance" — Cornelius, Barnaby, Irene, Minnie
"The Waiters' Gallop" — Rudolph and the Waiters
"Hello, Dolly!" — Dolly, Rudolph, Waiters, Cooks
"The Waiters' Gallop (Reprise)" – Rudolph and Waiters
"The Polka Contest" — Orchestra**
"It Only Takes a Moment" — Cornelius and Irene, Prisoners and Policeman
"So Long, Dearie" — Dolly
"Finale Act II: Hello, Dolly! / Dancing / It Only Takes A Moment / Put On Your Sunday Clothes / Hello, Dolly!" — The Company

text:
*Song cut before Broadway Opening, reinstated when Ethel Merman joined to play Dolly.
**Song replaced "Come and Be My Butterfly" during Broadway Run.

text: Horace Vangergelder's solo "Penny in my Pocket", although it received rave responses out of town, was cut prior to the Broadway opening for reasons of time. For the 2017 Broadway Revival, it was added back in as the opening of Act Two in front of the curtain.

text: The song "Elegance", though credited to Herman, was written by Bob Merrill for the 1957 show New Girl in Town but deleted from the original production.[13]

text: Productions[edit]

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text: The musical, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and produced by David Merrick, opened on January 16, 1964, at the St. James Theatre and closed on December 27, 1970, after 2,844 performances. Carol Channing starred as Dolly, with a supporting cast that included David Burns as Horace, Charles Nelson Reilly as Cornelius, Eileen Brennan as Irene, Jerry Dodge as Barnaby, Sondra Lee as Minnie Fay, Alice Playten as Ermengarde, and Igors Gavon as Ambrose. Although facing competition from Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand, Hello, Dolly! swept the Tony Awards that year, winning awards in ten categories [14] (out of eleven nominations) that tied the musical with the previous record keeper South Pacific, a record that remained unbroken for 37 years until The Producers won twelve Tonys in 2001.

text: After Channing left the show, Merrick employed a string of prominent actresses to play Dolly, including Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey (in an all-black version with Cab Calloway), Mabel King, Clifton Davis, Ernestine Jackson and a young Morgan Freeman), Phyllis Diller, and Ethel Merman after having turned down the lead at the show's inception. Two songs cut prior to the opening — typical Mermanesque belt style songs "World, Take Me Back" and "Love, Look in My Window" — were restored for her run. Thelma Carpenter played Dolly at all matinees during the Pearl Bailey production and subbed more than a hundred times, at one point playing all performances for seven straight weeks. Bibi Osterwald was the standby for Dolly in the original Broadway production, subbing for all the stars, including Bailey, despite the fact that Osterwald was a blue-eyed blonde. Bailey received a Special Tony Award in 1968.[15]

text: The show received rave reviews,[5][16] with "praise for Carol Channing and particularly Gower Champion."[17] The original production became the longest-running musical (and third longest-running show)[18] in Broadway history up to that time, surpassing My Fair Lady and then being surpassed in turn by Fiddler on the Roof. The Broadway production of Hello Dolly grossed $27 million.[19] Hello, Dolly! and Fiddler remained the longest-running Broadway record holders for nearly ten years until Grease surpassed them.

text: Dorothy Lamour, Eve Arden, Ann Sothern, Michele Lee, Edie Adams, and Yvonne De Carlo played the role on tour. Betty White appeared with the Kenley Players as Dolly in the summer of 1979. Molly Picon appeared as Dolly in a 1971 production by the North Shore Music Theatre of Beverly, Massachusetts. Lainie Kazan starred in a production at the Claridge Atlantic City. Both Tovah Feldshuh and Betsy Palmer played Dolly in productions by the Paper Mill Playhouse. Marilyn Maye also starred in several regional productions and recorded a full album of the score.

text: Original London production[edit]

text: Hello, Dolly! premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on December 2, 1965 and ran for 794 performances. Champion directed and choreographed, and the cast starred Mary Martin as Dolly (after she, as well as Merman, had turned down the role for the original run of the show), Loring Smith as Horace Vandergelder (Smith had created the Horace role in the original production of The Matchmaker), Johnny Beecher as Barnaby, Garrett Lewis as Cornelius, Mark Alden as Ambrose Kemper, and Marilynn Lovell as Irene Molloy. Dora Bryan replaced Martin during the run.[20]

text: Revivals[edit]

text: The show has been revived four times on Broadway:

text:
November 6, 1975 – December 28, 1975, Minskoff Theatre – Starring Pearl Bailey and Billy Daniels in an all-black production (42 performances)
March 5, 1978 – July 9, 1978, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre – Starring Carol Channing and Eddie Bracken (147 performances)
October 19, 1995 – January 28, 1996, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre – Starring Carol Channing and Jay Garner (116 performances)
March 15, 2017 (previews), opened April 20, 2017, Shubert Theatre – Starring Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce

text: In the West End the show has been revived three times:

text:
1979 – Starring Carol Channing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and Shaftesbury Theatre
January 3, 1984 – April 27, 1984 – Starring female impersonator Danny La Rue as Dolly at the Prince of Wales Theatre[21]
July 30, 2009 – September 12, 2009 – Starring Samantha Spiro (Dolly) and Allan Corduner (Horace) at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.[22] Spiro won the Olivier Award for her performance.

text: In 1989, there was a UK tour of the show directed and choreographed by Paul Kerryson, starring Dora Bryan. Kerryson went on to direct the show again in 2014 at the Curve Theatre in Leicester UK, starring Janie Dee.

text: 2017 Broadway revival[edit]

text: On January 19, 2016, it was announced that Bette Midler would play the title role in a Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!. Previews began March 15, 2017, officially opening on April 20, 2017, at the Shubert Theatre.[23][24][25]

text: The production is produced by Scott Rudin, directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. David Hyde Pierce plays Horace Vandergelder.[26] Other principal casting for this revival includes: Kate Baldwin as Irene Molloy, Gavin Creel as Cornelius Hackl, Jennifer Simard as Ernestina Money, Taylor Trensch as Barnaby Tucker, Will Burton as Ambrose Kemper, Melanie Moore as Ermengarde, and[27] Beanie Feldstein as Minnie Fay.[28] Donna Murphy plays the role of Dolly at Tuesday evening performances beginning in June 2017, as well as covering Midler's holiday dates.[29] Midler will leave the production as of January 9, 2018. Bernadette Peters will take over the role of Dolly, officially starting on February 22, 2018 (with previews from January 20, 2018), and Victor Garber will take over the role of Horace Vandergelder.[30] Charlie Stemp will assume the role of Barnaby Tucker on January 20, 2018.[31]

text: International productions[edit]

text: The original German production of Hello, Dolly!, with the title character's surname "Wassiljewa" (Vasilyeva) rather than "Levi," starred Tatjana Iwanow (Tatyana Ivanov).

text: The Australian production in 1965–66 starred Carole Cook, produced by JC Williamson Theatres LTD. She was the second woman to play the role. Jack Goode as Horace and Bill Millican as Cornelius also starred. The show played at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney and Melbourne, and His Majesty's Theatre, Aukland in 1966.[32][33][34]

text: The first production in Spanish was held in 1967 at the Teatro Nacional in Buenos Aires, starring Argentinian actress and tango singer Libertad Lamarque, who also performed it in Mexico.

text: In 1985, Cuban diva Rosita Fornes played Dolly in a Cuban production of Hello, Dolly by the Teatro Karl Marx in Havana, Cuba. She also played the role in Camaguey City and in a television production under director Manolo Rifat.[35]

text: In 1989, Nonnie Griffin performed the role of Dolly for a ten-month run at Toronto's Limelight Dinner Theatre.

text: In 1996, Mexican cinema star Silvia Pinal starred in the Spanish language version of the musical, ¿Qué tal Dolly? ("What's Up, Dolly?"), opposite Ignacio Lopez Tarso in Mexico City.[36]

text: Tours[edit]

text:
Mary Martin starred in a US tour, starting in April 1965 and playing in 11 cities. The production also toured in Japan, Korea and Vietnam for a special USO performance for U.S. troops.[37]
A second US tour began in September 1965, headed by Channing, and ran for two years and nine months. Eve Arden and Dorothy Lamour were replacements.[38]
In 2008, Anita Dobson toured in the UK.[39]
Sally Struthers appeared as Dolly in the 50th anniversary tour of the musical, starting in October 2013[40]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Opening night reviews of the original production were generally positive, and Carol Channing's performance as Dolly Levi was greatly acclaimed; however, some reviewers criticized the score and the libretto, implying that Channing's performance was responsible for the efficacy of the show. In his review of the opening night performance, The New York Times theatre critic Howard Taubman wrote

text: "Hello, Dolly! ... has qualities of freshness and imagination that are rare in the run of our machine-made musicals. It transmutes the broadly stylized mood of a mettlesome farce into the gusto and colors of the musical stage. ... Mr. Herman's songs are brisk and pointed and always tuneful ... a shrewdly mischievous performance by Carol Channing. ... Making the necessary reservations for the unnecessary vulgar and frenzied touches, one is glad to welcome Hello, Dolly! for its warmth, color and high spirits."[41]

text: John Chapman of the New York Daily News lauded Carol Channing's performance, declaring her "the most outgoing woman on the musical stage today – big and warm, all eyes and smiles, in love with everybody in the theatre and possessing a unique voice ranging somewhat upward from a basso profundo." He also wrote, "I wouldn't say that Jerry Herman's score is memorable."[42] New York Post critic Richard Watts, Jr., wrote,

text: "The fact that [Hello, Dolly!] seems to me short on charm, warmth, and the intangible quality of distinction in no way alters my conviction that it will be an enormous popular success. Herman has composed a score that is always pleasant and agreeably tuneful, although the only number that comes to mind at the moment is the lively title song. His lyrics could be called serviceable."[42]

text: In the New York Herald Tribune, Walter Kerr wrote,

text: "Hello, Dolly! is a musical comedy dream, with Carol Channing the girl of it.... Channing opens wide her big-as-millstone eyes, spreads her white-gloved arms in ecstatic abandon, trots out on a circular runway that surrounds the orchestra, and proceeds to dance rings around the conductor.... With hair like orange sea foam, a contralto like a horse's neighing, and a confidential swagger, [she is] a musical comedy performer with all the blowzy glamor of the girls on the sheet music of 1916."

text: Kerr perceived deficiencies in the libretto, though, stating that the "lines are not always as funny as Miss Channing makes them".[42] John McClain of the New York Journal American particularly praised the staging of the musical, saying that

text: "Gower Champion deserves the big gong for performance beyond the call of duty. Seldom has a corps of dancers brought so much style and excitement to a production which could easily have been pedestrian.... It is difficult to describe the emotion [the song "Hello, Dolly!"] produces. Last night the audience nearly tore up the seats as she led the parade of waiters in a series of encores over the semi-circular runway that extends around the orchestra pit out into the audience, ... a tribute to the personal appeal of Miss Channing and the magical inventiveness of Mr. Champion's staging."[42]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

1964
New York Drama Critics Circle Award[43]
Best Musical
Won

Tony Award[44][45][46]
Best Musical
Won

Best Book of a Musical
Michael Stewart
Won

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Carol Channing
Won

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Charles Nelson Reilly
Nominated

Best Original Score
Jerry Herman
Won

Best Producer of a Musical
David Merrick
Won

Best Direction of a Musical
Gower Champion
Won

Best Choreography
Won

Best Conductor and Musical Director
Shepard Coleman
Won

Best Scenic Design
Oliver Smith
Won

Best Costume Design
Freddy Wittop
Won

1968
Special Tony Award[47][48][49]
Special Award
Pearl Bailey
Won

1970
Drama Desk Award[50][51]
Outstanding Performance
Ethel Merman
Won

text: 1978 Broadway revival[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

1978
Tony Award[52]
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Eddie Bracken
Nominated

text: 1979 West End revival[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

1979
Olivier Award
Best Actress in a Musical
Carol Channing
Nominated

text: 1995 Broadway revival[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

1996
Tony Award[53][54]
Best Revival of a Musical
Nominated

text: 2009 Open Air Theatre revival[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

2010
Laurence Olivier Award[55]
Best Musical Revival
Won

Best Actress in a Musical
Samantha Spiro
Won

Best Theatre Choreographer
Stephen Mear
Won

text: 2017 Broadway revival[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result

2017
Tony Award
Best Revival of a Musical
Won

Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
David Hyde Pierce
Nominated

Best Actress in a Leading Role in Musical
Bette Midler
Won

Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Gavin Creel
Won

Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kate Baldwin
Nominated

Best Direction of a Musical
Jerry Zaks
Nominated

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Santo Loquasto
Nominated

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Won

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Natasha Katz
Nominated

Best Orchestrations
Larry Hochman
Nominated

Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Won

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Bette Midler
Won

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gavin Creel
Won

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin
Nominated

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Jerry Zaks
Nominated

Outstanding Choreographer
Warren Carlyle
Nominated

Outstanding Set Design
Natasha Katz
Nominated

Outstanding Costume Design
Santo Loquasto
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Design
Scott Lehrer
Nominated

Outstanding Wigs and Hair
Campbell Young Associates
Nominated

Drama League Award
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical
Won

Distinguished Performance
David Hyde Pierce
Nominated

Outer Critics Circle Award
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway Musical
Won

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
David Hyde Pierce
Nominated

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Bette Midler
Won

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gavin Creel
Won

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin
Nominated

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Jerry Zaks
Nominated

Outstanding Choreographer
Warren Carlyle
Won

Outstanding Costume Design
Santo Loquasto
Nominated

Outstanding Lighting Design
Natasha Katz
Nominated

Outstanding Orchestrations
Larry Hochman
Won

Chita Rivera Awards
Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show
Nominated

Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show
Warren Carlyle
Nominated

text: Recordings[edit]

text: The RCA Victor cast recording of the original Broadway production was released in 1964. It was the number-one album on the Billboard pop albums chart for seven weeks and the top album of the year on the Year-End chart. In 1965, a recording of the original London production was released. In 1967, RCA Victor released a recording of the all-black Broadway replacement cast, featuring Pearl Bailey, who also starred in the unrecorded 1975 revival. The movie soundtrack was released in 1969. On November 15, 1994, the 1994 revival cast recording was released.[56]

text: Cultural influence[edit]

text:
In 1964, Armstrong's recording of the song, "Hello, Dolly!", rose to number one on the Billboard pop chart,[57][58] making Armstrong, at age 62, the oldest person ever to accomplish that feat. In the process, Armstrong dislodged The Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love" from the number-one position they had occupied for 14 consecutive weeks with three different songs.
The title song was sung in the 1999 film Dick by actor Dan Hedaya, playing President Richard Nixon.[59]
The red satin, sequin-bedecked costume, designed by Freddy Wittop, that Channing wore during Hello, Dolly! was donated to the Smithsonian by Channing and theatrical producer Manny Kladitis, following the thirtieth anniversary tour of the show. It is currently on display at the National Museum of American History.[60] While Miss Channing's Harmonia Gardens gown is in the Smithsonian, the remainder of the original Freddy Wittop costumes are now housed in the permanent collection of the Costume World Broadway Collection, a theatrical museum dedicated to Broadway costuming located in Pompano Beach, Florida.[61]

text: Footnotes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Grammy Hall of Fame Award Archived 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Albums (2010), Record Research, ISBN 0-89820-183-7, p.973
^ Jump up to: a b "Hello Dolly! – New Wimbledon Theatre" IndieLondon, March 2008
Jump up ^ Saltzman, Simon. "A CurtainUp Feature. Hello Dollys. . .They Never Say Good-Bye" Curtain Up, 2006, retrieved March 16, 2017
^ Jump up to: a b c Kenrick, John.Musicals101 "Hello, Dolly! article" Musicals101.com
Jump up ^ Gilvey, John Anthony. Before the Parade Passes by: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical (2005), St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-33776-0, p. 117
Jump up ^ Gilvey, p. 149
Jump up ^ Bloom, p. 152.
Jump up ^ Kantor, p. 302
Jump up ^ Hello, Dolly! tamswitmark.com, accessed December 20, 2016
Jump up ^ Hello, Dolly! guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed December 20, 2016
Jump up ^ Hello, Dolly!" masterworksbroadway.com, accessed December 20, 2016
Jump up ^ Suskin, Show Tunes, p. 263
Jump up ^ " 'Hello, Dolly!' Listing" tams-witmark.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Dan. " 'Rosencrantz' and 'Hallelujah, Baby!' Garner Tonys: Zoe Caldwell and Balsam Capture Acting Honors", The New York Times, April 22, 1968, p.58
Jump up ^ Bovson article
Jump up ^ Green, Stanley. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Da Capo Press, 1980, ISBN 0-306-80113-2, p. 183
Jump up ^ "Long Runs on Broadway" playbill.com, retrieved July 1, 2010
Jump up ^ Bloom, Ken, and Vlastnik, Frank. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time, pp. 302. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-57912-390-2
Jump up ^ "1965 London production" BroadwayWorld.com
Jump up ^ " 'Hello, Dolly!' listing" thisistheatre.com, retrieved July 1, 2010
Jump up ^ " 'Hello, Dolly!' listing" openairtheatre.org, retrieved July 1, 2010
Jump up ^ Kennedy, Mark. "Bette Midler to return to Broadway in 'Hello, Dolly!'". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
Jump up ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Get a First Look at Bette Midler in 'Hello, Dolly!' Playbill, March 14, 2017
Jump up ^ Soloski, Alexis (April 21, 2017). "Hello, Dolly! review – Bette Midler is irresistible in a riotous delight". The Guardian. Manchester.
Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2016). "David Hyde Pierce Will Join Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly!". Playbill. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
Jump up ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Kate Baldwin, Gavin Creel, Jennifer Simard Join Bette Midler 'Hello, Dolly!' ", Playbill, September 16, 2016
Jump up ^ Viagas, Robert. "Broadway’s 'Hello, Dolly!' Casts Its Minnie Fay", Playbill, October 18, 2016
Jump up ^ Hetrick, Adam (October 20, 2016). "Donna Murphy Will Play Matchmaker Once a Week in Broadway's 'Hello, Dolly!'". Playbill.
Jump up ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Bernadette Peters Will Succeed Bette Midler in Broadway's 'Hello, Dolly!'" Playbill, September 5, 2017
Jump up ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Charlie Stemp Will Make Broadway Debut in 'Hello, Dolly!' Alongside Bernadette Peters and Victor Garber" Playbill, September 7, 2017
Jump up ^ "Call on Dolly" callondolly.com, accessed September 24, 2016
Jump up ^ " 'Hello, Dolly!' Australia" ovrtur.com, accessed September 24, 2016
Jump up ^ "Stage set for the J. C. Williamson production of 'Hello, Dolly!'" nla.gov.au, accessed September 24, 2016
Jump up ^ "YouTube video"
Jump up ^ The Latin American Musical Comedy Stars: Silvia Pinal
Jump up ^ Information about a documentary chronicling Martin's Asian tour in Hello, Dolly! imdb.com
Jump up ^ Green, Stanley."Encyclopedia Of The Musical Theatre" (1980), Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80113-2, p. 183
Jump up ^ Edmonds, Richard. "'Hello Dolly!' review" thestage.co.uk, 8 February 2008
Jump up ^ Hetrick, Adam. "50th Anniversary Tour of 'Hello, Dolly!', Starring Sally Struthers, Parades Across U.S. Beginning Oct. 5" playbill.com, October 5, 2013
Jump up ^ Taubman, Howard. "Hello Dolly!". The New York Times, 1964
^ Jump up to: a b c d Suskin, Steven. Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre, pp. 297–301. Schirmer Books, New York, 1990. ISBN 0-02-872625-1
Jump up ^ "New York Drama Critics Past Awards, 1964" dramacritics.org, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ " 'Hello Dolly' Listing, 1964–1970" Internet Broadway Database, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Tony Awards, 1964" broadwayworld.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Tony Award Winners, 1964" infoplease.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Tony Awards, 1968" broadwayworld.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Pearl Bailey Listing, Awards and Nominations" Internet Broadway Database, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Tony Award Winners, 1968" infoplease.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Drama Desk, 1969–1970" dramadesk.org, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ Flinn, Caryl. "Chapter 17" Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman (2007), University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-22942-8, p.376
Jump up ^ " 'Hello, Dolly!' Tony Awards Listing" broadwayworld.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ "Tony Awards 1996" broadwayworld.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ Evans, Greg. "50th Tonys raise 'Rent' with 'Class' ", Daily Variety, June 3, 1996, p.1
Jump up ^ "Olivier Winners 2010" Archived 2012-09-07 at Archive.is olivierawards.com, accessed March 29, 2012
Jump up ^ Release date of 1994 revival album Amazon.com, retrieved June 26, 2010
Jump up ^ "'Hello, Dolly!' Louis Armstrong Listing" allmusic.com, accessed April 2, 2012
Jump up ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Song Review" allmusic.com, accessed April 2, 2012
Jump up ^ "Movie/Video Review. 'Dick' " All-Reviews.com, accessed April 2, 2012
Jump up ^ ""Hello, Dolly" Dress". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
Jump up ^ "Broadway Collection" costumeworld.com, accessed April 2, 2012


document_title: Miracle on 34th Street

question_text: who played kris kringle in the original miracle on 34th street

root

text: Miracle on 34th Street

text: Plot[edit]

text: Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is indignant to find that the man (Percy Helton) assigned to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he complains to event director Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to take his place. He does so well, he is hired to play Santa at Macy's flagship New York City store on 34th Street.

tag: p

text: Ignoring instructions to steer parents to buy from Macy's, Kris directs one shopper (Thelma Ritter) to a competitor. Impressed, she tells Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge), head of the toy department, that she will become a loyal customer.

text: Attorney Fred Gailey (John Payne), Doris's neighbor, takes the young divorcée's daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) to see Santa. Doris has raised her to not believe in fairy tales, but Susan is shaken after seeing Kris speak Dutch with a girl who does not know English. Doris asks Kringle to tell Susan that he is not Santa, but he insists that he is.

text: Worried, Doris decides to fire him. However, Kris has generated so much positive publicity and goodwill for Macy's that Macy (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and Julian bonuses. To alleviate Doris's misgivings, Julian has Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) administer a "psychological evaluation". Kris passes, and questions Sawyer's own mental health.

text: The store expands on the concept. To avoid looking greedy, competitor Gimbels implements the same policy, forcing Macy's and others to escalate. Eventually, Kris does the impossible: he reconciles bitter rivals Macy and Gimbel (Herbert Heyes).

text: Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris' nursing home, assures Doris that Kris is harmless. Kris makes a pact with Fred – he will work on Susan's cynicism while Fred does the same with Doris, disillusioned by her failed marriage. When Susan reveals she wants a house, Kris reluctantly promises to do his best.

text: Kris learns that Sawyer has convinced young employee Alfred that he is unstable simply because he is kind-hearted. Finding Sawyer unwilling to budge, Kris hits him on the head with Sawyer's umbrella, which was on the desk. Sawyer exaggerates his pain in order to have Kris confined to Bellevue Hospital. Tricked into cooperating, and believing Doris to be in on the deception, Kris deliberately fails his examination and is recommended for permanent commitment. However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up.

text: At a hearing before Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart), District Attorney Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) gets Kris to assert that he is Santa Claus and rests his case. Fred argues that Kris is not insane because he actually is Santa. Mara requests Harper rule that Santa does not exist. In private, Harper's political adviser, Charlie Halloran (William Frawley), warns him that doing so would be disastrous for his upcoming reelection bid. The judge buys time by hearing evidence.

text: Doris quarrels with Fred when he quits his job at a prestigious law firm to defend Kris. Fred calls Macy as a witness. When Mara asks if he believes Kris to be Santa, Macy starts to equivocate, but when pressed, he remembers the good Kris has done and states, "I do!" Afterward, Macy fires Sawyer. Fred then calls Mara's own young son (Bobby Hyatt), who testifies that his father told him that Santa was real. Mara concedes the point.

text: Mara then demands that Fred prove that Kris is "the one and only" Santa Claus on the basis of some competent authority. While Fred searches frantically, Susan writes Kris a letter to cheer him up, which Doris also signs. When a mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees Susan's letter, he suggests delivering the many letters to Santa taking up space in the dead letter office too. Fred presents Judge Harper with three of them (from 21 full mailbags), addressed simply to "Santa Claus" and delivered to Kris, asserting the Post Office has acknowledged that he is the Santa Claus. Harper dismisses the case.

text: On Christmas morning, Susan is disappointed that Kris could not get her what she wanted. Kris gives Fred and Doris a route home that avoids traffic. Along the way, Susan sees her dream house with a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to have faith and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he must be a great lawyer since he proved Kris was Santa. However, when they spot a cane inside that looks just like Kris's, he is not so sure.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Maureen O'Hara as Doris Walker
John Payne as Frederick M. "Fred" Gailey
Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle
Gene Lockhart as The Hon. Henry X. Harper
Natalie Wood as Susan Walker
Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer
William Frawley as Charlie Halloran
Jerome Cowan as District Attorney Thomas Mara
Philip Tonge as Julian Shellhammer

tag: ul

text: Uncredited (alphabetically):

text:
Jack Albertson as Post Office Mail Sorter
Harry Antrim as R. H. Macy
Lela Bliss as Mrs. Shellhammer
Jeff Corey as Reporter
Mary Field as Dutch Girl's Adopted Mother
William Forrest as Dr. Rogers at Bellevue
Alvin Greenman as Alfred
Theresa Harris as Cleo, the Walkers' maid/housekeeper
Percy Helton as Drunken Santa Claus
Herbert Heyes as Mr. Gimbel
Robert Karnes as 2nd Bellevue Intern
Snub Pollard as Mail-Bearing Court Officer
Thelma Ritter as Peter's Mother
James Seay as Dr. Pierce, physician at the Brooks Memorial Home for the Aged

text: Production[edit]

text: Although the film is set during the Christmas season, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May, arguing that more people go to the movies in warmer weather. The studio rushed to promote it while keeping its Christmas setting a secret. Fox's promotional trailer depicted a fictional producer roaming the studio backlot and encountering such stars as Rex Harrison, Anne Baxter, Peggy Ann Garner, and Dick Haymes extolling the virtues of the film. In addition, the movie posters prominently featured O'Hara and Payne, with Gwenn's character kept in the background. The film opened in New York City at the Roxy Theatre on June 4, 1947.[6] By contrast, modern home video packaging has Gwenn and Wood dominating the imagery, with the DVD release having Kringle in his Santa Claus costume.

text: O'Hara was initially reluctant to take the role, having recently moved back to Ireland. She immediately changed her mind after reading the script[7] and came back to the United States for the film.

text: The Christmas window displays seen in the film were originally made by Steiff for Macy's. Macy's later sold the window displays to FAO Schwarz in New York. FAO Schwarz then sold the windows to the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they are on display every December in the bank's lobby on North Water Street.

text: The house shown at the end of the film is a 1703 square foot single family home built in 1943 at 24 Derby Road, Port Washington, New York. The home looks practically the same as it did in 1947, except that the roof line has been altered by the addition of a window.

text: Rowland Hussey Macy, called R. H. Macy in the film, died 70 years prior to the film (in 1877).[8]

text: Legal inaccuracies[edit]

text: In the book Reel Justice, the authors claim that Judge Harper could have dismissed the case early without the political repercussions he feared. In their theory, once the prosecutor rested his case immediately after Kris Kringle admitted in court simply that he believed he was Santa Claus, Judge Harper could have ruled that prosecution had forfeited its opportunity to prove that Kringle was dangerous (the basic point of such hearings; Kringle's actual mental state itself being irrelevant), and ordered him immediately released. However, this high standard for involuntary commitment was not instituted until 1975 with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision O'Connor v. Donaldson.

text: When demonstrating that he has taken several mental examinations in the past, Kris Kringle answers his own question about who was the Vice President under John Quincy Adams as Daniel D. Tompkins. Tompkins actually served under James Monroe. John C. Calhoun is the correct answer to Kringle's question. Tompkins was the 6th vice-president and Quincy Adams was the 6th president, leading to confusion in the script.[9]

text: Release[edit]

text: The film was re-released in theatres on December 20 and 23, 2015, as part of the "TCM Presents" series by Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events.[10]

text: Reaction[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2014)

tag: table

text: Miracle on 34th Street received mostly positive reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said: "For all those blasé skeptics who do not believe in Santa Claus—and likewise for all those natives who have grown cynical about New York—but most especially for all those patrons who have grown weary of the monotonies of the screen, let us heartily recommend the Roxy's new picture, Miracle on 34th Street. As a matter of fact, let's go further: let's catch its spirit and heartily proclaim that it is the freshest little picture in a long time, and maybe even the best comedy of this year."[11] Today, it is considered by many as one of the best films of 1947.[12][13] The film currently holds a 96% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[14]

text: The Catholic Legion of Decency gave the movie a "B", "morally objectionable in part" rating. This was mainly due to the fact that O'Hara was portraying a divorcée in the film.[15]

text: Awards and honors[edit]

text: The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentleman's Agreement.

text: It was ranked ninth by the American Film Institute on 100 Years... 100 Cheers, a list of America's most inspiring films.[16] Miracle on 34th Street was listed as the fifth best film in the fantasy genre in the American Film Institute's "Ten top Ten" lists in 2008.[17][18]

text: In 2005, Miracle on 34th Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[19][20]

text: American Film Institute Lists

text:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated[21]
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[22]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #9
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated[23]
AFI's 10 Top 10 – #5 Fantasy Film

text: Home media and colorization[edit]

text: Miracle on 34th Street was first released on VHS and laserdisc in 1987.

text: In 1985, it became one of the first full-length black and white films to be colorized.[24] The 4½-month process was carried out by Color Systems Technology, Inc.[25] In 1993, this version was released on laserdisc and VHS and was followed four years later by a "50th Anniversary Edition", remastered by THX.

text: The first DVD release was in October 1999, featuring the B&W version alongside the original theatrical trailer and a TV spot. In November 2006, it was re-released as a two-disc "Special Edition" DVD, with disc one containing an "all new colorized version" carried out by Legend Films. The second disc had the original black-and-white version and numerous extras, including The 20th Century Fox Hour's 1955 TV remake. Both discs also included a full-length audio commentary by Maureen O'Hara. The B&W disc has since been re-released several times, including in a pairing with the 1994 remake.

text: In October 2009, 20th Century Fox released the B&W version on Blu-ray with all previous extras, bar the TV remake.[26]

text: Remake[edit]

text: A 1994 feature film starred Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J. T. Walsh, Timothy Shea, James Remar, Jane Leeves, Simon Jones, William Windom and Mara Wilson. It was adapted by John Hughes from the Seaton script, and directed by Les Mayfield. Due to Macy's refusal to give permission to use its name, it was replaced by the fictitious "Cole's". Gimbels no longer existed by 1994 and was replaced with the fictional "Shopper's Express". Alvin Greenman (Alfred in the original version) played a doorman. This version had a more serious tone than the original and a large portion was rewritten, although the majority of the plot and characters remained intact. The film also added a subtext concerning religious faith.

text: In other media[edit]

text: There are four remakes of the movie and a Broadway musical.

text: Radio[edit]

text: Lux Radio Theater broadcast an adaptation in 1947 which starred the original cast including Natalie Wood. In 1948 it was done again on Lux, without Natalie Wood's participation, and it was adapted as a half-hour radio play on two broadcasts of Screen Director's Playhouse, all featuring Edmund Gwenn in his screen role. In these production Kris correctly cites James Monroe as the President for whom Daniel D. Tompkins was the Vice-President.

text: Theatre[edit]

text: A 1963 Broadway musical version, entitled Here's Love, was written by Meredith Willson.

text: The novella was adapted into a stage play by Will Severin, Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder and John Vreeke in 2000. It is a favorite in many community and regional theaters during the Christmas season.[27] The characters' names are those used in the novella, and the stage setting is distinctly late 1940s. Production rights are held by Samuel French, Inc.[28]

text: Television[edit]

text: A 1955 one-hour television adaptation of the movie starred Thomas Mitchell as Kris, Macdonald Carey as Fred, Teresa Wright as Doris, and Sandy Descher as Susan. This version did not show the drunken Santa at all. Titled "The Miracle on 34th Street", it originally aired as an episode of The 20th Century Fox Hour. It was later re-run as "Meet Mr. Kringle".

text: Ed Wynn played Kris in a 1959 television adaptation of the movie. Also featured was Orson Bean. It was broadcast live and in color on NBC the day after Thanksgiving. NBC made a kinescope of the program, probably for broadcasting opening night on the West Coast. The copy was in a large collection of kinescopes donated by NBC to the Library of Congress and recently unearthed by Richard Finegan, who reported his experiences in the December 2005 issue of Classic Images.

text: A 1973 television version featured Jane Alexander, David Hartman, Roddy McDowall, Sebastian Cabot as Kris (without his natural beard; he was forced to shave and wear a false beard for the role), Suzanne Davidson, Jim Backus, David Doyle and Tom Bosley. It was adapted by Jeb Rosebrook from the George Seaton screenplay, and directed by Fielder Cook. Mrs. Walker's first name is changed to Karen in this version. This would prove to be the final version in which the department store was actually Macy's. David Doyle, who played R. H. Macy in this version had played Mr. Sawyer in the original Broadway cast of Here's Love 10 years earlier.

text: Puppets[edit]

text: The flagship Macy's Department Store at Herald Square in New York features a 30-minute puppet version of the story within its Santaland display, featuring the voice talents of Broadway stars Brian Stokes Mitchell and Victoria Clark.

text: Changing character names[edit]

text:
1947
1955
1959
1963 Broadway musical
1973
1994

Doris Walker
Karen Walker
Dorey Walker

Frederick M. Gailey
Bill Schaffner
Bryan Bedford

Kris Kringle

Susan Walker

Cleo

[eliminated]

Drunk Santa

[no name given]

[no name given]
Tony Falacchi

Julian Shellhammer
Mr. Shellhammer
Marvin Shellhammer
Horace Shellhammer
Donald Shellhammer

Mrs. Shellhammer
[eliminated]

Alfred

Alfred
[eliminated]

Granville Sawyer
Dr. Albert Sawyer
Dr. William Sawyer
Dr. Bartholomew Sawyer
Dr. Henry Sawyer
[eliminated]

R. H. Macy
Mr. Macy
R. H. Macy
C. F. Cole

Mr. Gimbel
Victor Landbergh

Dr. Pierce
[eliminated]
Dr. Pierce
[eliminated]

Hon. Henry X. Harper
Hon. Harper
Hon. Martin Group
Hon. Harper
Hon. Henry Harper

Charlie Halloran

Tammany O'Halloran

[eliminated]

Thomas Mara
Mr. Mara
Thomas Mara
Ed Collins

Mrs. Mara
[eliminated]

[eliminated]
Rebecca Collins

Macy's Department Store
Cole's Department Store

Gimbels Department Store
Shopper's Express