The Golden Trident

By Olly Johnson

Photos by Olly Johnson and Jax McKinnon

As their major musical in 2025, Stage Right Productions performed the 1960s classic “Hello Dolly!” for the spring season. But most importantly, this musical marks the final theater production of Allie Matsuo, the theater teacher, who will be leaving Golden High School after the end of the school year to pursue her dream of working as an educational program coordinator at the Four Mile Historic Park. While even Matsuo agrees that this is not her favorite show, “Hello Dolly!” is the perfect send-off for Golden’s iconic theater teacher.

Originating as the Thornton Wilder play “Merchant of Yonkers” and its revised play “The Matchmaker”, “Hello Dolly!” was written by Michael Stewart with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Set in a “Great Gatsby” style New York, the musical follows the eccentric matchmaker Dolly Levi (played by Abby Trapp) and her efforts to find a wife for the miserly half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder (played by Corey Saffer.) During this, Horace’s clerks, Cornelius Hackl (played by Oliver Thompson) and Barnaby Tucker (played by Dylan Dwyer,) decide that they want a day off, while Horace is out to New York to find a new wife, which he wants for the sole reason of having someone to do the chores around the house. So, Cornelius and Barnaby head out for New York, with their main goal being to have an adventure and kiss a woman. As with every Stage Right production, the acting is the star point of this musical. The cast all seem to be having a blast on stage, dancing and acting with pride and power. The titular main character was full of charm and had many memorable moments, such as running across the aisles handing out business cards to the audience, to her eating a lovely dinner while everyone around her gets arrested. However, the best characters had to be Cornelius and Barnaby. Not only were they hilarious and fun to watch, they had a great bond and chemistry with not only themselves, but their eventual wives, Irene Molloy (played by Hope Songer) and Minnie Fay (played by Kayleigh Ewing), who are also a great duo. The music was top notch, with special notes going to “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Dancing,” and the star of the show, “Hello Dolly.” The musical hits its pinnacle during Act II, specifically everything inside Harmonia Gardens. The “Waiters’ Gallop” was a treat, even if it did last a little longer than necessary. The characters are at their best, both acting-wise and costume-wise. The scene contains some of the best music in the show, such as “Hello Dolly.” Even the side actors and such do fun stuff in the background, making the scene interesting no matter what you’re looking at. Harmonia Gardens represents what the show should be: a fun time full of spectacle, humor, and character, and that’s what the musical is.

 Dolly (Abby Trapp) performing the show-stopping number, “Hello Dolly”

The one thing that holds this show back is a lack of one of those three things. It is full of humor, it has buckets of characters, but the one thing it lacks is spectacle. This show is set in 1920s New York, an era famous for its glitz, glamor, and all-around pizazz. However, aside from the Gardens and the vintage, fan-style lights on the side of the stage, the musical feels a little bland and empty. If they didn’t say it was set in the Roaring Twenties, you would have a hard time knowing that it was New York or the 20s. The only thing that carries the time period of the show is the great costuming, but this does not make up for the lack of spectacle. For example, as the final scene before the end of Act I, there is a massive parade. It’s a big moment when Dolly declares that she will move past her late husband and will marry Horace, to spread his money around to the needy. However, the actual parade is just the entire cast walking in pairs in a single file line around the house. It’s not like they had to make an elaborate parade set or anything similar, but it would have been nice to have at least a sign, a banner, a flag, anything to sell that this is a “great” parade. Let’s put it another way. “Hello Dolly!” is the best vanilla ice cream that Stage Right has ever made. The texture, the shape, the taste, and everything else are the best they can be, but there are so many more interesting flavors, even if they are objectively worse than vanilla ice cream. 

Horace (Corey Saffer) scolding his employees, Corneilus (Oliver Thompson) and Barnaby (Dylan Dwyer

This does not detract from the overall quality of the show, as it is almost perfect. The characters, the costumes, the songs, the technical stuff, all of it was at peak performance. This show is just a joy to watch. Moreover, this is the perfect way to say goodbye to Allie Matsuo. A great show for a `great teacher. Is there anything more fitting than that?