“You’re lookin’ swell, Dolly!”

The Haugh Performing Arts Center was packed on Saturday, February 27 for the Citrus College Performing Arts Department’s production of “Hello, Dolly!”

The Jerry Herman masterpiece is about an upbeat and quirky matchmaker named Dolly Levi, who takes a trip to Yonkers, New York, to see Horace Vandergelder, a shop owner and “half a millionaire.”

During her visit, she convinces Vandergelder, his two stock clerks Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, his niece, and her boyfriend to go to New York City.

While in New York City, she fixes Vandergelder’s clerks up with  Miss Irene Malloy (Lindsay Rupp), the hatshop owner Vandergelder had been courting and her shop assistant, Mimmie Fay (Samantha Vasco), because Dolly wants to marry Vandergelder herself.

From the minute the curtains opened until the final close, the audience’s attention was grabbed by the brightly colored costumes and animated performances.

After working on the show for months, director Douglas Austin and his cast of 50 students along with 15 others working backstage put on a spectacular performance. 

About twenty cosmetology students worked vigorously on the hair and make up that accentuated the colorful costumes from the 1890s sported by the cast.  

Professional performer Vonetta Mixson, who played Dolly, also wowed the audiences with her phenomenal singing chops and quick-witted dialogue. Mixson is known for mastering various styles of singing, alto being one of them, which she used for Dolly. 

“Before the Parade Passes By” is a classic tune known all around the world, and Mixson performed it to perfection.

Raymond Barcelo, who played  Vandergelder, delighted the audience by portraying  the tough and bitter attitude of his character. Barcelo’s baritone was able to hit every necessary note, and astonished the audience during the song “It Takes a Woman.”

Other standouts included Citrus students Cesar Quintero, who played the comedic Cornelius Hackl, and James McGrath, who played Cornelius’ trusty sidekick, Barnaby Tucker.

Their unmatched chemistry had the audience laughing each time they were on stage.

Gracefully conducted by Bill Hoehne, the orchestra comprised of 25 Citrus College students never missed a beat.

“Hello, Dolly!” featured a relentlessly hard-working cast and crew whose endless time and energy spent culminated into a memorable performance.