After a two year hiatus the Falcon Players returned to musicals with Hello Dolly which follows widow and matchmaker Dolly Levi (senior Sydney Fendler) as she assists her most recent clients in finding love as she attempts to seduce a man of her own. 

The performance follows “half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder (sophomore Aiden Eslick) and artist Ambrose Kemper (senior Riley Hannon) as they seek engagements to New York hatmaker and recent widow Irene Malloy (senior Delilah Ricci)  and Vandergelder’s niece, Ermengarde (senior Paige Seifert). With the help of Dolly, the two marriage proposals are set; however, the Malloy-Vandergelder plot quickly falls through as it turns out Dolly has a secret plan of her own: to marry Horace Vandergelder for his money. Her intentions set, Dolly begins scheming, and ultimately ends up pulling Vandergelder’s employees Cornelius Hackl (senior Brenden Duff) and Barneby Tucker (senior Lucas Bytner) into the fray. After a confusing and hectic interaction in Ms. Malloy’s hat shop , an engagement is  broken off and  two new pairs are made between Hackl and Malloy and their trusty sidekicks Barneby and Minnie Fae (senior Amelia Bell). Dolly arranges for the duos to have a dinner date at Harmonia Gardens cafe where Ermengarde and Ambrose will be performing in the dance competition in order to win the cash prize and Vandergelder will be dining with his newest Dolly-picked love interest, the rich and stunning Ernestina Money (senior Hannah Menke). 

At the restaurant Cornelius and Barneby struggle to pay for the large amounts of food that Minnie and Irene purchase while Horace realizes that his date isn’t all that Dolly chalked her up to be. While waiting for Dolly to arrive, the parties decide to tip the band to play, however while doing so money gets mixed and Barneby and Cornelius come into possession of Vandergelder’s purse which was swapped for Barneby’s empty wallet. Soon, Dolly makes her grand entrance wearing a sparkling gold gown and is greeted by the restaurant staff with familiarity and love. She is seated front and center with Vandergelder as the entertainment for the night begins: the dancing competition. Immediately, Horace sees his niece and in a fit of rage attempts to leave the restaurant without paying- he is stopped but when he goes to take out his purse he realizes that there has been a mistake. Cornelius and Barneby see Vandergelder and attempt to make their big break as well but are caught before they get the chance. Chaos ensues as Vandergelder fires his employees and tries to regain control of his niece as she and Ambrose make a run for it. The cops soon arrive and a trial begins where Dolly acts as a defense attorney for the accused. During the trial Cornelius takes the stand and confesses his love for Irene Malloy which puts him in good graces with the judge who rules Vandergelder as the guilty party. After the trial, Dolly and Vandergelder are left behind where Dolly declares her final goodbye to Vandergelder who angrily bids farewell, saying that he hopes to never see her again. However, naturally Vandergelder finds that he does not truly mean that and in a chance meeting at his house, he proposes to Dolly who finds that she has also fallen in love and accepts. Irene, Minnie, and Ermengarde face similar fates, each marrying their respective partners. The actors told a story of love and circumstance through an exemplary performance.

Perhaps the most captivating performance came from Fendler as Dolly. Not only did Fendler match Dolly’s quick wits and spontaneity but she was able to quickly flip the switch for the more reserved and emotional scenes when she spoke to her dead husband begging him for signs as to whether or not she should marry Vandergelder. Fendler was able to capture the true essence of Dolly and showcased her character development throughout the musical as she went from money seeking widow to a woman with an open heart and an open mind. Hello Dolly told a wonderfully funny and heartwarming story about love and how it can be found in the most unlikely of places.