Hello, Dolly! Reviews

Washington Post- Recommended

"...But it proves to be a performance that builds through the night. With every return to the stage in ever more dazzling gowns, Payton's Dolly gets looser and wilder, her self-possession dissolving into a contagiously joyful self-absorption. By her third scene she snowballs into the full-on capital-C character you've been waiting for. "Rip-ple, rip-ple, rip-ple," she coos over the musculature of her client-turned-target Horace Vandergelder - a stalwart Moses Villarama as the "half-a-millionaire" hardware king of 1890s Yonkers - to the giggling delight of the audience. Only to make them weep minutes later (or was that just me?) during the emotional carpe diem of "Before the Parade Passes By," where the groundedness pays off."

DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended

"...One of the most successful musicals in history, Hello, Dolly! has starred everyone from Carol Channing to Pearl Bailey to Bette Midler. In a new version, now playing at Olney Theatre Center, Nova Y. Payton steps into the historic role. Payton’s Dolly is a true icon — a charismatic Black woman in control of her own destiny. As a stage presence, her star power is palpable; as a vocalist, sublime. But it is the empathy behind Payton’s triumphant façade that makes her truly irresistible."

Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended

"...First of all, Payton is a firecracker onstage, not to mention a fashion trendsetter thanks to costume co-designers Paris Francesca and Julie Cray Leong. She makes her entrance in a blue ensemble featuring sleek trousers beneath her overskirt, and her outfits just get more elaborate and embellished from there. She sings, she does broad comedy, she confides in the audience, and she is warm and sympathetic as she rearranges the lives of everyone around her."

Washington City Paper- Highly Recommended

"...Hello Dolly! is a star-vehicle concoction for Payton, that much is clear (the role has famously been played to acclaim by such luminaries as Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Bernadette Peters). Payton pays her dues to those greats, but—immensely to the performer’s credit—delivers a Dolly that is wildly ambitious, charmingly aloof, and uniquely her own creation. Dazzling in the title number, “Hello, Dolly,” but even more rapturous with “So Long, Dearie,” Payton’s performance is what sets this revival apart from its more humdrum regional equivalents."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"...Olney Theatre Center is presenting a confection for the holidays with its production of “Hello, Dolly!” directed by Kevin S. McAllister. This legendary musical of the American theater is based on the 1954 play “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder. With a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, it debuted on Broadway in 1964, winning 10 Tony Awards, which was a record at the time. It has since produced four, award-winning revivals on Broadway, world-wide tours, and an Oscar-winning film."

Morris Theatre DC- Recommended

"...Nova Payton returns to DC stages as the title character, and what a homecoming it is. Each mannerism and quippy expression are worth the price of admission alone, but that would discredit the excellence of the cast by-and-large, which are unmatched on DMV stages right now."

BroadwayWorld- Recommended

"...This holiday season Olney Theatre Center's Hello, Dolly! gives audiences a chance to see a rarely performed classic on the Roberts Mainstage, in an entertaining production that harks back to the Golden Age of Broadway musicals."