Alene Robertson on Hello,Dolly!

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Alene Robertson

ALENE ROBERTSON has spent much of the past twenty years terrorizing little girls in Annie, most recently at the Fulton Opera House, following the 30th Anniversary National Tour. In Chicago, she is a nine-time Joseph Jefferson Award recipient for the roles of Mama Morton in Chicago—The Musical, Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly!, Lalume in Kismet, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Vera Charles in Mame, And The World Goes ‘Round and twice for Mama Rose in Gypsy. Alene made her Broadway debut in Annie and her off-Broadway debut in Annie Warbucks. She was last seen at the Marriott Theatre as the chain-smoking, piano-playing Jeanette in The Full Monty.
 AleneRobertson has done six impressive productions of Dolly in her career. Her firsttrip to Hello, Dolly, she played Irene Molloy. She did one other non-unionproduction of Dolly. Those took place when she was younger and before shebecame a member of Actors’ Equity. She has performed Dolly in Cincinnati, Ohio. One was the Footlighters. One was in Lagrange,Illinois (that was the non-Union Mrs. Molloy). As she got older, she played Dollytwice at the Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She has done it inWest Virginia at the West Virginia Public Theater. In each of these cases, theyapproached Alene because they knew of her work and reputation.
She admitsthat the first time she did Dolly, she thinks she sang it well and she got allthe jokes, and she thought she was fine. The second time around, when she didit ten years later, she felt like she was much better. For one reason, she hadten more years of an actress’ experiences. She also had ten more years of life.She found Dolly’s vulnerability the second time around more so than she did thefirst time around. It was more full bodied and well rounded the second timearound. She got her MORE the second time around.The lasttime Alene played Dolly was in ’97. If given the chance to do it again, shefeels she would approach it the same way. However, she feels she is a muchbetter actress now. 
She has had peoplepass on that she misses tremendously. She does talk to those people. She knowsthat they are not physically with her. 
She does know they hear her. She canrelate to when Dolly is talking to Ephraim. She loves the character of Dolly. Thereare times in an actress’ life that she goes after what she is absolutely rightfor. Alene is also the perfect type for Mama Rose. She has the right vocalstyle, etc. With Dolly, it is so interesting because she can be played by somany different types of women. That role takes on the personality of whateverwomen plays her. All of the stars that have played Dolly are all verydifferent. All of them were wonderful in their own way. If Alene plays again,she hopes to tap into the life experiences she has had since last playingDolly. She hopes to play her many more times; she just hasn’t had theopportunity. She feels that her speeches to Ephraim would be even moreheartfelt with what she has learned and experienced.  

Jerry Herman with the original Dolly, Carol Channing

Alene didsee Carol Channing play Dolly on one of her tours. It happened when Alene wasworking down in Florida. This was in 1984 in St. Petersburg/Tampa. “Carol isthe originator and can’t be beat.” Alene vivid remembers her dining scene. Atthe time, Carol was sixty-three. Alene was also amazed at her energy. She wasbrilliant.Then thereis Barbra Streisand. Alene thought she was too young but her singing is incomparable.She has seen clips of Ethel Merman doing songs from Dolly on variety shows. 
Alene firstfell in love with Dolly as most people did, through the original Broadway castrecording, when one is just starting out as a teenager, listening to the Lps ofthose great classic Broadway musicals. Her family had Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun,and Hello, Dolly! She used to go downto the basement into the family room. There was a fireplace with a hearth. Sheused that as a stage. This was before she had any inkling that she was going tobe a singer or an actress. This was long before high school. She was stand onthat hearth and wail ALL of those diva roles. The first time her parents eversaw her in a show, they were scared to death. She had never really sung infront of anybody. She did her number and they thought, She’s pretty good!” Theyhad only heard her “hollering in the basement.” 
She was hollering to Dolly andthe other greats. She used to perform YouGotta Have a Gimmick from Gypsy. She would do it in the stripper voices and they couldn’t figure out what shewas doing. She remembers doing these recordings and doing ALL the parts. 
She isthe typical kid who loved Broadway musicals. Most of her friends in thetheater, guys and girls, did exactly what she did…with a hairbrush microphone!  

Felicia Fields, Lauren Creel, Alene Robertson, Nicole Miller & Mary Robin Roth in Nunsense

As a noviceactress, she heard that a local theater group in Cincinnati was doing Dolly; she just had to be part of it.She never truthfully ever thought that she would eventually become Dolly. Shewent for it and got Mrs. Molloy. It was not a very good production but sheenjoyed it.
One thingthat worked, it always does, is the title song. It is the best number in theshow. There is that special sparkle and the fact that whoever is playing thisrole coming down those stairs in a red dress is a STAR! It doesn’t matter if itis being done in a church basement in Iowa or on a bigger stage, when Dollycomes down those stairs with all of those men focused on HER,  that’s it!
In anactress’ life, she might get glowing reviews. The one review, however, that sheremembers word for word is the “clunker” she gets. It is human nature. Aleneremembers the headline of that production, TheElephantine Side of Dolly! The review was referring to the mammoth sets andthe chunkiness of this community theater production. The review also mentionedthat Alene was neither old enough nor wistful enough to play Irene Molloy.With all duerespect to all of the directors who have directed Alene, one towers above allothers, Dominick Missimi. 

As Miss Hannigan in Annie

He directed her both times at The Marriott. There areseveral reasons that sets him apart. He is a true sense of the magic of Dolly. The last production they did in ’95, flowers would pop up at various times inthe production. The Victorian setting, this was in the round, was gorgeous.Dominick has directed Alene several times in her “big lady roles.” They trusteach other enough for him to allow her to take chances. She has been accused of“pushing the envelope” from time to time. Sometimes, it actually pays off. Helets her go there. She tells him to pull her back if she goes too far. He isvery trustful of her and she loves that about him. He is able to tell her whichline reading he likes better and she trusts his choices. They get each other.His wife, Nancy, was also the costumer of the Marriott Shows. The costumedesigns that she has come up with are incredible. She created all these greatpockets for Alene/Dolly to be able to pull out her cards that she freelydistributes. The audience was continuously amazed at where all these cards werecoming from. She had one right at the beast level, for example, and peoplebarely saw this sleight of hand trick. She had one on her hip. It was reallyfascinating. Dominick and Nancy are a wonderful team. Alene once again likeshim because he lets her go before reining her in. She used to get a littlefrustrated with him because she felt she needed direction when he wasn’t givingin. 

Alene Robertson, right, with Becca Nicole Snyder in "Annie.

Most directors like to get something on its feet before they hone in. Shefelt, going into dress rehearsal, that she needed him a little more. When sheleast expected it, he was right there. He knows how to put the finishingtouches on things. She adores the man!Alene neverknows if she is going to be good at anything. She strives to do her very bestand give one hundred percent and hopes that the audiences will love her andlove the show. One thing does bother her about Dolly. When she comes BACK tothe Harmonia Gardens after being away for “so many years”, why not get more olderguys beyond Rudolph to be welcomed back by? Younger men are always cast and,yet, Dolly is normally cast by a woman of age. 

A YOUNGER Dolly, Barbra Streisand with Tommy Tune

She’s been married and away. Ofcourse, these guys have to do the Waiter’s Gallop. They have to be young andable to leap. They remember Dolly. “Did she babysit for them?” There is aproblem there! It would be cost prohibitive to hire two casts to close thatgap.      Alene neverfooled around with the script. She learned that from Martin Charnin with whomshe has done several productions of Annieand Annie Warbucks. One doesn’t fool around with the script. That doesn’t meanthat any actor or actress can’t put their own take on it. There was one bitthat developed the first time they did Dollyat the Marriott. Having the same director, it found its way into their secondproduction of Dolly, also at theMarriott. Alene has since heard of people “stealing” that bit. They saw her doit and now it has found its way into subsequent productions of Dolly. It takesplace in Irene Molloy’s hat shop as Dolly is teaching Barnaby to dance, “You’renext Mr. Tucker.” Barnaby starts to  physically shake. 

Robertson's Miss Hannigan Belts Out Her Hatred of the Children

The actor playing the role was veryfunny. Alene remembers going over to him during one of the rehearsals andwalking over to take hold of him in the dance position. As she grabs hold ofthe shaking Barnaby, she begins to shake also. That bit remained in the showand audiences just ate it up. The plumes on her hat were just waving back andforth. Now people tell her they see productions of Dolly with that same bit!She doesn’t like that but what can you do? Imitation is the sincerest form offlattery.   The HoraceVandergelder that stands out above all others is Joel Hatch who recently movedto New York. He recently appeared in TheAdding Machine and Billy Ellioton Broadway. He did receive great recognitions for both.
Alene doesn’tknow Jerry Herman personally but she loves him. 

Jerry Herman

She loves his music. “He iswhat a Broadway musical is all about.” She has also done productions of Mame and loves his songs. In Chicago,Alene was part of a couple of recordings called Second City Divas. They could choose whatever songs they desired tosing. The first recording was done in a studio. Alene Chose If He Walked into My Life because sheloves that song. She has never played Mame, only Vera. La Cage is another favorite of Alene’s. If one wants to call it old fashioned, OK. Alene LOVES it!    
Alene wassomewhat established locally before playing Dollyat the Marriott. She has a nice fan base. With Dolly, people got to see Alene’s truly feminine side more. She gotus use her femininity and charming side. People were used to seeing her inthese big brassy roles and funny characters and sidekick roles which she adoresand is known for, the comedy. Dolly is a more gentle comedy.The onething that Alene learned playing Dolly that she has carried forward isunderplaying. Audienceslove Dolly. Alene has never seen a production where the audiences don’t loveDolly. Dolly connives her way through life, but she does it in a charmingloving way that audiences just fall in love with her just as Horace does at theend. It is obvious that he is in love with her. There aretwo brilliant actresses in Chicago, Paula Scrofano and Susan Moniz who haveboth played Irene Molloy with Alene. She loves them both very much. They bothfound what Alene didn’t find when she played Irene. They found that wistfuldetermination. They also have tremendous voices. Paula also happens to be afriend of Alene’s and a wonderful actress. She has played many roles inChicago.
There arealso a couple of amusing anecdotes. On Alene’s piano in her home is a framed adthat ran in The Chicago Tribune. The first time she did the show in 1985, shewas so thrilled that a full page ad of her appeared in a paper advertising ashow she was starring in. There she is with her arms outstretched. It was aroundthe holiday season and the typesetters at The Chicago Tribune were on strike.The ad copy read, in a neon arch type lettering, “Come see Hello, Dollystarring Alene Robertson…” and with the addition of one letter, she became aholiday threat for the entire family! At theMarriott, it is in the round. There are these long aisles. During the Put On Your Sunday Clothes number, therewas a full train that came on stage. It was propelled by people. Once it got onstage, the chorus started getting on it with their valises and it would goaround and everyone was singing at the top of their lungs. The train would exitdown another aisle. It would be exiting on, “You won’t go home till you fall inlove.” Alene gets on in her long dress with her valise. She’s flipping out hercalling cards from the back of the caboose. The company are pulling it down theaisle at a pretty fast clip. It’s not that they are over eager but they arekeeping it in time to the music. 

(L-R) Alene Robertson ("Sister Mary Regina") and Chicagoland actress Mary Ernster

She gets in and has to walk backwards up theaisles because she is in the caboose. It’s like that Streisand thing where sheis standing on the back of the train in the film. The train of Alene’s dressgot caught in the wheel. It was wrapping around it and she could feel herselfbeing pulled down. People behind her were going “stop! Stop!” in the middle ofthe number. She was on the floor, fortunately, it was during a preview and theproducer saw it happening. The crew manipulating the train could not see her.The singers are singing, the orchestra is blasting, and Alene is about to bechoked to death. The theater is packed with 1500 people and the producer isscreaming, “Stop the train! Stop the train!”   

Alene Robertson, Omar Lopez-Cepero and Kevin Earley, Pirates of Penzance

The first part of the train was already out inthe lobby. This quick thinking producer saved Alene’s life. It was a fright.From the beginning, Alene worried about that happening and it did! From thatpoint on, she was a little more careful. What wereher dumplings in the Harmonia Gardens? Canned Pears!       Alenedefinitely puts Hello, Dolly in hertop five list of shows she has done. When a show isblocked, that pretty much will not change. Everything else gets tweaked as a showprogresses. She is always finding things, new things, for example, that arefunny.As of thiswriting (in 2012), the last production of Dolly that Alene has appeared in wasin West Virginia at the West Virginia Public Theater in 2000. She is waitingfor someone to snatch her up again!  In oneword, Hello, Dolly to Alene Robertson is JOY!  

Thank you Alene Robertson for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!


With grateful XOXOXs ,


Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly!  If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!

Do you have any pics to share?
If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.


NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.  FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!



Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!    
                My next blog will be...My exclusive interview with Ernestine Jackson on Pearl Bailey's Hello, Dolly!


Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!

  Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!
Come here me sing Tomorrow night for a great cause! BroadwayConcerts Direct
proudlypresents
abenefit concert for
ZANI'S FURRY FRIENDS- a wonderful animal rescue organization
at The Laurie Beechman Theater


LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND
AnEvening of Song to Help Our Furry Friends
SAT11-24-12 7pm
(doorsopen at 6:00)

Starring (multipleTony, MAC and Bistro Award Winners): *Dana Lorge, co-hostSidney Myer, co-hostCelia BerkEmily ButtnerLen Cariou (SWEENEY TODD, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, BLUEBLOODS)Edd ClarkCarole Demas (GREASE --original Sandy, THE MAGIC GARDEN)Rich FlandersJoanna Morton GarySteve HerbstSue MatsukiSarah Rice (SWEENEY TODD)*Richard SkipperJoAnn Yeoman
OTHERPERFORMERS TBA! 
JoAnnYeoman, directorKathleenConry, Stage ManagerJulianaMeehan, Asst. Dir.
MarkJanas, PianoSteveSaari, PianoMatthewMartin Ward, PianoEveWeiss, Classical GuitarAmyRalske, CelloJonathanRussell, Jazz ViolinJimRussell, Recorder
*Artists subject to change without notice.

LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATERWest Bank Cafe407W 42nd Street(between9th and 10th Ave.)NYC,NY
RESERVATIONS:212.695.6909
TKTSvia OvationTix.comOvationTixby phone 866-811-4111

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/9736856
$50/ $25 cover+$15 Food and/or Beverage Min.Doorsopen 1 hour prior to show
Tktsmay also be purchased at:PETQUABroadwaybet. 98th & 99th Street, NYC, NY
cover: $50 VIP gold circle-$25 general seating / $15 food/drinkmin. not included-- they have really great food!Children are welcome.
Thisevening's cabaret extravaganza by some of Broadway and Cabaret's finestperformers will be a party mix of enchanting music, guaranteed totouch the heart and delight the spirit to help this wonderful animalrescue organization, Zanis Furry Friends, atax deductible organization, 501c3.
Thisincredible group rescues dogs, cats and bunnies right out of the euthanasiarooms of the city's animal shelters,  gives them medical care, kindnessand loving attention and gets them adopted into loving homes through theirown tremendous effort and many times paid for out of their own personalpocketbooks. Wefeel it is an honor to be of some help. 100% of the money from the evening'sproceedings (cover charge, raffle, journal) will go to Zani's Furry Friends. 
Pleasehelp us pack the room. Buy your tickets early through OvationTix. This willguarantee you get in. Tell your friends.
Ifyou can't come to the performance you can still make a donation www.ZanisFurryFriends.com.
TheLaurie Beechman Theatre and Phil Geoffrey Bond have generously donated the fullproceeds (100%!!!!) of the cover charge to all go to Zani's FurryFriends. (not including the food/drink charges)
A great way to feel good about the upcoming holidays! Help theunloved and the dumped, find love, safety and kindness.
Prizes!Raffles! for some great stuff! Specialtydrinks: THE MEOWTINI, THE BARKTAILand 2 non alcoholic drinks: THE ARISTOCATand THE TRAMP.
Immerseyourself in the thrilling beauty of these naturally gorgeous, powerful, warmvoices at that hot spot, The Laurie Beechman Theater at the West Bank Cafe, oneof the best  of cabaret/supper club spaces. BCD concerts have beencalled "Life-affirming", "show-stopping", "LikeBabette's feast for the ear" by reviewers and audience members luckyenough to have seen our previous performances. Don't miss out on thisheartbreakingly beautiful and thrilling concert.
For moreinformation visit our web sitewww.BwayDirect.com
Seating is limited and filling up fast, so be sure to buy yourtickets early for this exciting event. At the last ZFF benefit concert we hadto turn so many people away who wanted to be there and to help support ZFF.Don't be left out.





TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAYRichard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com                              
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!