Cady Huffman on Hello, Dolly!

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Catherine Elizabeth “Cady” Huffman is a Tony Award-winningactress. Huffman first came to Broadway as a replacement cast memberin the hit musical La Cage aux Folles (1985), and was quickly cast in BobFosse's Big Deal, to be followed by a Tony-Award nomination for her performancein The Will Rogers Follies (1991).
In 2001, she played the role of Ulla in theBroadway musical The Producers, by Mel Brooks.
Huffman received the Tony Awardfor Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the role.
Cady also played Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly at Theater bythe Sea in 2010. Amiee Turner, producing artistic director at Theatre by theSea was the spirit behind it.
She is a great artist and director. Aimee andCady had worked together for years and have the highest respect for each other.After three years she finally succeeded in getting Cady there. Cady saw a highschool production when she was a teenager. That is the ONLY production Cady hasseen to date. She haven’t even seen the movie other than musical highlights.She loved the choreography but has never sat through a full showing.
It wasn’tsomething that was really on her radar to do. Amiee insisted that Cady come to Theater by the Sea.Cady was reluctant because she hates those two week rehearsal period summerstock gigs when she has so much to learn. However, at the time, Cady was goingthrough a divorce with no professional prospects and decided to give it a shot.
PerhapsAimee knew that Cady needed this show it because of what she was going through.
Her only regret is that she wishes she had had a longerrehearsal period. She began working on it, personally, a month prior tostarting rehearsals just to get the music down. She was shocked at how she knewalmost every song already. They worked on the keys. The keys were definitelytoo low for her. Being a soprano, the keys tended to be a little low for her.They had to redo everything. The creative team also includes musical directorBob Bray, as of this writing, musical director for Mamma Mia on Broadway. Bob re orchestrated everything for Cady. The “ghosts” of previous Dollys did not hang over her head.She already knew she could not compete with that.  Carol Channing is so unique and “odd” andbeloved. There was certainly no point in Cady trying to do what Carol did.
Cady went back to the source of The Matchmaker. She did that to find the core of the character. Sheis not an old lady. She really is about Cady’s age (late forties as of thiswriting). She is not Jewish. She is Irish. Cady just loves that rebellious partof her. At that time in history, she would probably have been shunned by herfriends and family because of her antics. She was much more “political” thanCady thought she would be.Cady was also very familiar wild Thornton Wilder, havingdone the musical version of The Skin ofOur Teeth. The Matchmaker is somuch more linear than The Skin of OurTeeth. On the outside, they both may seem like a lot of “fluff”, but thereare layers and layers that the audience may get or not. There is much more thanshe thinks he gets credit for. What she loves about Dolly, in addition to herrebellious attitude, are her survival instincts. That show can say so much morethan what the Legend has become. 

Cady with Al Bundonis

Cady didn’t want to make her “heavy”. Somepeople take her in that direction.What surprised Cady the most about playing Dolly is that shereally falls in love with Horace! Cady really fell in love with Horace. Thereis a reason to fall in love with Horace.   Al Bundonis was Horace opposite Cady. He is ahandsome leading man. “There you go, I’m easy that way!” Looking at thematerial, that manipulating aspect is a survival tool, but she actually fallsin love. One of Cady’s favorite moment’s was her talk with Ephraim, “Let mego…” It was very easy to get that emotion up every single time. 

Cady Huffman and cast

This production was done in a un air conditioned barn. Itwas one hundred degrees some nights. All of those clothes, underwear, wigs,hats, stockings, feet! One kid had heatstroke because he was rehearsing anothershow during the day and was doing Dolly every night.  The pounds just came off. Lou Bird's costumesand a fabulous wig were gloriously constructed for Cady.They had to improvise every night in the hat shopscene.  She was supposed to take off herjacket and gloves. They would stick to her because she is so sweaty. She wouldfan herself and comment to Irene how hot her hat shop was as she tried toremove those. She would try to cool off during intermission. She would stepoutside of the theater and remove her wig. It was a three week run. The director, Kevin Hill, had done therevival with Carol Channing with the original choreography. 

Evan Price (as Ambrose) and Cady Huffman

They had a muchsmaller ensemble. Girls played waiters. The level of taste that Aimee Turnerand her partner, Joel Kipper, managingproducer, brought to Theater by the Sea was astounding. They got everything outof the production that they desired. It was a shame to Cady that she never gotto see it!The music is a huge part of Dolly’s lasting legacy. Every single song is so catchy and memorable.It captures a very romantic part of our history, the hair, the costumes; thefun, colorful aspects make it a fun representation of musical comedy. It hasyoung love. 

JASON OSTROWSKi (Cornelius) and cast (Courtesy: Kevin Hill)

It has middle-age/old love. Cady loves Irene Molloy, a widow,falling in love with Cornelius. There is something about him being a virgin andher having been married. She is the wiser of the two. Cady loves that dynamicthat one hardly ever sees. It is not the traditional boy gets girl story. 
Cady also brought sexiness to Dolly. It is not always anelement attached to Dolly. Vicki Lewis and Betty Grable come to mind. 

(Courtesy Kevin Hill)

At thattime in history, “feminine wiles” pretty much was her ammunition. Lee Roy Reamstouched upon this as well. Cady desires everyone to live happily ever after.Dolly wants the same thing.  
Cady also has a history with Jerry Herman. She was in theoriginal La Cage Aux Folles. Sheappreciates Jerry Herman more and more, the older she gets. She was eighteenyears old when she did La Cage. Itwas her first Broadway show and everything was spectacular. She was a Cagelleand actually didn’t pay that much attention to the show, overall.   She was a “teenage drag queen” and reallydidn’t think beyond the scope of that. She went in originally as a replacementin the Los Angeles Company. She considers herself “dumb” at that time andshould have paid more attention. She loved the last revival. She loves hismusic much more as an older woman. 

Cady Huffman. October 25, 1985 Angelique (La Cage Aux Folles)playbillvault.com

She did not remain in touch with Jerry Herman. Looking at hisbody of work is just crazy!  Mame isanother role Cady would love to take on. Jerry's style is very personal and veryheartfelt. There are so many beautiful melodies.
Cady would LOVE to do Hello, Dolly again. NOW, she knows it.She would love a shot at I Put My Hand Inagain. That was a difficult scene.
Cady was really hearing a lot of the songs for the firsttime AS Dolly. She is not a “musical theater geek.”  Dreamgirls,Ragtime, and A Chorus Line are among the few cast recordings that she listensto over and over. 

edgeboston.com

She has been lucky enough to be a part of the shows that havesunk into our consciousness. The most difficult part, no surprise was the eating scene,but it was hilarious! She came to enjoy it because that scene always deliveredthe pay off, no matter what. The key is not to freak out. Cady is not a freakout kind of girl. She would just keep talking. There were safety nets but shenever paid attention to them. Her Horace would go to the next “safety” and shewould barrel past it. For the dumplings, it was the Carol Channing trick oftissue paper. That scene is so ridiculous and so crowd pleasing. The audiencewould just howl. She is used to playing the “straight” man. In The Producers, all of the insanity wasgoing on around her. She is a dancer and loves physical humor. The survival part of Dolly is very much a part of Cady.

(Courtesy Kevin Hill)

Kevin Hill was the director for this production. They hadnot worked together before, but they both share a background in dance and Cadyloved working with him. He was extraordinarily well organized which a greatdirector should be. He brought amazing things out of a summer stock ensemble.There were a lot of company frustrations because there was so much to learn,but it all came together. He pushed everyone to do their best and it paid off.He expected a lot and Cady loves that. Cady had a few challenges with some ofthe ensemble members who were not as committed; their energies were beingdivided between Dolly and the nextshow they were working on. Some of them thought they were “stars, which wasfine. She explained that they were part of “team Dolly” and not to insult her personallyby not giving their all. There was a little drama there. She is “old school.”
Cady absolutely feels that she has an obligation to the nextgeneration of artists to impart the knowledge of a theater tradition that shewas a part of. A few of the next generation are getting it.
The biggest change that Cady has seen since making herBroadway debut in 1985 is this sense of entitlement. This new crop of artistsis very proficient in every area, acting, dancing, and singing. They are all “experts”.Unfortunately, shows are now being cast that way, as well. Individuality isbeing erased, that vaudevillian sense of standing out. Everybody is the same.Recently, a production number was put together of Beat meDaddy, Eight to the Bar from Big Deal,which Cady was in. They had a group of dancers from nineteen to thirty. This group of dancers wasreally hungry to soak it in. It was great. Cady has been with some dancers whoroll their eyes and say, “I have a Masters in dance.”  Cady’s thought? “So go teach it!” There aren’t a lot of shows that Cady has carried. PlayingDolly gave her a whole new confidence.  She loved walking down the three steps intothe audience and playing directly to the audience. There was no passarelle. Cady loved the breaking of the fourth wall aspect of Dolly. She got really great at that in The Will Rogers Follies. She reached apoint where she practically had conversations with people in the audience. Shegot so comfortable with that and brought that to Dolly. She loves that aspect of the show more than anything.  She desires to be one with the audience; toslap their wrists when they need to be slapped and to celebrate them when theyneed to be celebrated. She would love to revisit Dolly, not that she feels she didanything wrong, she just didn’t have the time! She would LOVE to have theopportunity to do an “original” new take on it. The original choreography isgreat, but would love to be part of a re-imagining. It could be a “very modern”story with a whole new take. It would be fun to be creating today’s history. 

Courtesy: Kevin P. Hill

Because she doesn’t want to offend, she will not say who that dream team wouldbe! There are so many choices!
Dolly was hard to let go of and is the type of role shecould do for a long period of time. Cady is a big old softie. When she came down those stairs, “thosethree little stairs”, for the last time on closing night, she looked at herwaiters, and began to sing; “Hello…” and her eyes welled up, got choked up andcould not continue singing. The quick thinking waiters jumped in to sing toher. She just linked in their eyes and continued to cry! It was a love in andshe hated to say goodbye to this family. Hello, Dolly came a long at a time in Cady Huffman’s lifewhen she was going through a divorce. Thornton Wilder’s story of new and olderlove gave Cady a sense that there is hope for her as well. That is a story thatis relevant to all people. Dolly is a go getter and a strong woman. Most matchmakersdon’t have a match for themselves. That is not the case with Dolly. That generosityof spirit and the fact that Dolly is enamored with the world are aspects thatCady desires to keep close to her heart. Cady, like Dolly, is a warm givingsoul.  
     
Thank you Cady Huffman for the gifts you have given to the world and will 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!



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