Hello, Dolly!

For repeat viewing, "Hello, Dolly!" is probably my favorite of her "old-fashioned" musicals. You can't help but feel better after listening to the soundtrack.


My first screening of "Hello, Dolly!" was at a midnight show at the Campus theater in College Station, TX (of all places) in January 1977. I was there for a Texas A&M football game. And what better way to celebrate a football victory than watching "Hello, Dolly!" in a college town!

My second viewing was at the Olmos theater in San Antonio when it was a repertory theater (I also remember it was on a Sunday). It was a double feature with "The King and I". I went with a friend (who had only seen the movie on TV during a daytime airing). He freaked out during the opening number. Turns out the version he had seen edited out the opening number! He thought it opened with the credits.

When the movie was over, we just had to see it again. We went up front and asked if we could skip "The King and I" and come back and see "Hello, Dolly!" again because we were Barbra fans. The manager agreed. We went flea market shopping (always on the lookout for Barbra memorabilia) that afternoon and came back for the second screening.

We drove back home. This was during the summer and my friend had an evening job he had to go to. Well I didn't and my parents were out of town so what was I to do? Drive back to the "big city" and see the last showing of "Hello, Dolly!" what else?

The photo above is from the roadshow engagement of "Hello, Dolly!" at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA. (from the L.A. county library).