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| Harvey Evans and Bibi Osterwald |
Harvey Hohnecker (now Harvey Evans) has the distinction of having appeared in four Broadway shows by Stephen Sondheim.Actor-dancer Harvey Evans is also a veteran of the original productions of West Side Story, Follies, Redhead and more. He also played Barnaby Tucker in the first national tour of Hello, Dolly with Carol Channing and Eve Arden. He played Barbaby on Broadway with Betty Grable and Bibi Osterwald. It all started with a wonderful teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio,Pat Goldin. This justifies why Harvey Evans feels that he was able to work withso many different people. This dance teacher was a real vaudevillian and hetaught his students to imitate Eddie Cantor, If You Knew Susie, and all the other great Vaudevillian stars.Consequently, Harvey has never thought about performing and dancing anydifferently than acting and singing; they are all the same to him. He taughtthem to entertain, that’s what it is all about.
Harvey’s love of performingstarted early on. Pat would send them out to do shows every weekend. Harveyknew that he had to be technically good, but never strived for that. He strivedto do it. Liza Minnelli once said that after she learned the steps of achoreographer, then she would watch his face. She would then see what hedesired to do with a step. By doing so, she was able to “act” the step. When Harvey left Ohio, he immediately began work with Fosse,then Gower, then Jerry Robbins. It was because Harvey really thought of dancingas acting. He also hit the golden era at the right time. He did Damn Yankees on Broadway, did the movieversion of The Pajama Game, he did New Girl in Town and Redhead, both with Gwen Verdon and BobFosse.
When West Side Story wasgetting ready to open, Harvey saw the run through and fell in love with it. Hewas so obsessed that he had to be in WSS. He got to be one of the first Jetreplacements. He also ended up doing the movie. He worked with Robbins again inGypsy as Tulsa’s understudy withMerman. After that, Harvey got a part in a stock production of Babes in Arms and that was hisintroduction to acting, singing, and dancing at the same time. had a lot of“bits” in New Girl in Town andeveryone in the cast had lines, but Babeswas his first big role. It was supposed to come to Broadway. Richard Rodgerssupervised it. Rodgers called Harvey, Harvey Purim. Harvey’s real name isHarvey Hohnecker. He had not changed his name at that point it was a pun onHanukah. That was his association with Richard Rodgers and a lucky break. Hecan’t express how lucky he was to be part of this golden era and working withall the giants. When one worked with them once and they liked them, they woulddesire those same artists in their next shows. 
They would become Robbinsdancers or Fosse dancers or Champion dancers, etc. Harvey was in the road company of Damn Yankees playing LA. Gower saw the show and came backstage tosee the leading lady. Harvey was coming down to his dressing room. Gower sawhim and told him he liked him very much. Harvey told him that he was such ahuge fan of Marge and Gower. They were the biggest MGM stars in the world tohim. They had a mini one on one conversation. Harvey stayed in LA after he did Damn Yankees and Gower was doing a moviecalled The Girl Most Likely. Harveysaw that he was auditioning dancers and wrote to him at RKO Studios. Goweranswered him! He remembered Harvey and asked him to come in and audition.Harvey did and got to dance in The GirlMost Likely. At that point, there was an organization called CentralCasting. If you weren’t in Central Casting, you could not be in the movie andvice versa. It was a catch-22, very much like Equity. Gower got Harvey intocentral casting and that was his first association with Gower. 
When Gower came to New York to do Bye Bye Birdie, he called Harvey. However, Harvey had just signedto do Gypsy. Gower would go on tocall on Harvey for Carol Channing’s first national tour of Hello, Dolly in 1965 and also cast him in the film, The Bank Shot, in 1974.When the original auditions for Hello, Dolly were held in August of 1963, Harvey did not audition.He was out of town with Anyone CanWhistle. After multiple revisions, the show opened on Broadway on April 4,1964 at the Majestic Theatre, where it closed after 9 performances and 12previews, unable to overcome the generally negative reviews it had received.There had already been a mini national tour of Hello, Dolly starring Mary Martin. Thattour began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in April 1965 and continued to KansasCity, Missouri and New Orleans, Louisiana,Dallas, Texas, and Memphis,Tennessee. The United States tour would end in Portland, Oregon beforeembarking to Tokyo, Vietnam, and London. Around that same time, Harvey hadgotten a gig after Whistle, dancingwith Debbie Reynolds in her act and making a lot of money. 
Debbie and Gowerwere very close from their MGM days. Gower called Harvey to come and auditionfor Barnaby Tucker for the Mary Martin Company. He was torn. Debbie calledGower, told him that Harvey was torn, and asked if he could audition in thefuture. Johnny Beecher ended up getting the job. Harvey worshipped Gower. When he was ready to send CarolChanning out in her tour, he again called Harvey. This time, Harvey wasready. The tour started in San Diego thefirst week in September for a tryout before going to the Dorothy ChandlerPavilion in LA in mid September 1965. Harvey would stay with this tour for oneyear. In terms of what an acting teacher taught Harvey yearsbefore, everything Carol did was “wrong”…and yet it worked…for her. She dideverything the same every single performance; she manufactued the momentrather than truly living in it. She DID live in the moment as a programmedactress. The thing that saves her is that she finds the humanity and comedy init. Acting teachers encourage actors not to strive for the “same” performancebecause the performance won’t be “real”. Live in the moment. Carol breaks thatrule. Carol is the only person that Harvey knows in show business who can getaway with that and make it wonderful. He believes it is because she is smartenough to seek out the pathos in the Ephraim speeches. She knew she could killwith those speeches and she did. She slayed people with that, they were sowonderful and so truthful and so meaningful. She could do that at the drop of ahat. 
Harvey got along with Carol but did not have a relationshipbeyond a professional one. Barnaby is a scene stealing part. Other “Barnabys”have mentioned trouble if they ever stepped outside the realms of what Carolspecifically desired them to be. That was NEVER an issue with Carol and Harvey.As a matter of fact, he was having vocal problems in Chicago. He was out acouple of performances and Carol personally called him. She said, “Please comeback. The people from the movie are coming to see the show tomorrow night. Wereally need you. We want the show to work.” Not that the show wasn’t workingwith Harvey’s understudy, Spider Duncan. He was wonderful. She made a desperatecall for him to come back to the show.  |
| Danny Lockin, EJ Peaker, Marianne McAndrew, Michael Crawford from the film |
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| Eve Arden |
A year later, John Mineo, who was playing Barnaby onBroadway, wanted to leave the company, and once again, Harvey was called. Theshow had been running two and a half years by this point. Harvey had gone backto work with Debbie Reynolds. The joy of going to Broadway, for Harvey, wasgetting to play opposite Will Mackenzie as Cornelius. He got to know Will andhis wife, Patsy. They are all still friends to this day. At this point, BettyGrable was the Broadway Dolly. Harvey thought she was terrific. The show didn’tget the laughs it got with Carol.
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| Bibi Osterwald |
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| Pamela Myers as Dolly (Courtesy: Sarah Boone) |
Harvey jokingly says they were fired by Pearl Bailey’s allblack company. There was a transition period between Betty Grable and PearlBailey and Harvey got to play Barnaby opposite Bibi Osterwald’s Dolly for oneweek. Bibi and Harvey also worked together in Gower’s film; The Bank Shot. They became instantbuddies during his time with the Broadway DollyCompany. She was a combination of all of the Dolly’s and about as good as onecould possibly get. That was the end of his Dolly days…as Barnaby. (He wouldplay Horace years later in a concert version opposite Pamela Myers as Dolly). Harvey did see Pearl Bailey play Dolly and thought she wasbrilliant.
Pearl Bailey's reputation was not great; she was difficult. He witnessed that.He was in the audience for the special that she did with Carol Channing, Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway. It was not a nice experience for the audience because Pearl Bailey was just temperamentalin front of the audience at the taping of that show. He was so embarrassed byher unprofessional antics. He met Pearl Bailey once when she was appearing atthe Riviera Hotel before his show with Debbie Reynolds opened. Debbie got sickand had to postpone a few days. Pearl Bailey stayed on until Debbie was readyto open.
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| Martha Raye |
Harvey believes that the reason Hello, Dolly continues toentertain audiences is because it is so beautifully constructed. Louis Stadler,who did a recent production of Dolly,says the same thing. He cried during the sitzprobe, saying they just don’t makethem like that anymore. A sitzprobe (German) is a term used in opera andmusical theatre to describe a seated rehearsal—the literal translation ofSitzprobe—where the singers sing with the orchestra, focusing attention onintegrating the two groups.
It is often the first rehearsal where the orchestraand singers rehearse together.Harvey says his experience from everybody else’s. He lovedbeing in Anyone Can Whistle verymuch. He knows that show didn’t work and he knows a lot about the cause ofthat. As an experience, it was glowingly wonderful for him. When they came in, Dolly had just opened and was a majorhit. His dressing room overlooked the St. James Theater. There was oneperformance in which Gower was in the audience and Harvey was thrilled. At thefirst intermission, he and his group left. In fact, Harvey saw them walk intothe St. James Theater. From that point on for a while, Harvey had a block aboutliking Hello, Dolly! Then he saw itand fell in love with it. Once he got into it, he loved it even more. 
Looking back, there is nothing Harvey would change. He isvery happy with that period in his life. He got to do four Sondheim shows. Hegot to do Gower’s best work, Hello,Dolly! Nothing was as good as Put OnYour Sunday Clothes. Some of his work in The Happy Time was equally good. “The Happy Time got screwed.”It was a lot better than people thinkit was, Harvey thinks. Harvey would have liked to have worked with Jack Coleand Michael Kidd. If that had happened, he would have worked with all themasters, the geniuses. Harvey thinks Hello,Dolly should return to Broadway, but it is too hard to say who he thinksshould be Dolly.What did Harvey like MOST about being in Hello, Dolly! “Playing Barnaby.” There was not a LEAST! It was a totallypositive experience and he got to do things like moving the set at the end of It Takes a Woman as it was brilliantlystaged by Gower. Gower also gave Harvey a wonderful bit which had not been doneby previous Barnaby’s. It took place in the hat shop scene when he is hiding underthe table. Harvey’s recollection is that Gower whispered to Horace McMahon, whowas playing Vandergelder at the time, to hit the table with his cane as hardand as loudly as he possibly could. At that point, Harvey had his head out,facing the audience. 
Harvey didn’t know what was going to happen, but he did a “cartoon”Roadrunner kind of take where he slowly let his face fall apart, taking thecurtain, and slowly let it fall down over his head. That bit stayed in. DannyLockin also did that bit in the movie.In previous chapters, there has been mention of the CarolChanning/Horace McMahon “rift”. Harvey knew there was trouble. McMahon was not “fastenough.” He truly was not good enough. He was not a stage actor. When an actoris opposite Carol, he has to be “with it…to be right there.” Everyone knew thatboth Carol and Gower were unhappy. Everyone could sense it. He was eventuallyreplaced by Milo Boulton.
Harvey felt, in actuality, that he was too old to playBarnaby. He was twenty nine playing sixteen and a half! He was also tall.Harvey never thought, “Oh, gee! That’s a good part for me.” When Harvey went to Broadway to “replace” John Mineo, hewasn’t thinking of his own performance. He was thinking about making everyonehappy. He doesn’t like replacing someone. He admits that he stole as much as hecould from Jerry Dodge. As the part grew on him, he began to add his owntouches. The wildest thing that Harvey remembers is a crazy person inthe ensemble. He fell in the pit once.
Several people fell in the pit. Therewere strange things always happening around this person. Once, the fire alarmwent off where they were staying. It was a false alarm. They finally figuredout that it may have been this one person. There were always strange goings on.What did Harvey bring to the production? Gower was sotheatrically show business that Harvey brought all of that to the production.Before Gower came in to work with the National Company, Lucia Victor put it upand staged it. Harvey, as well as the rest of the cast, tried to stay withinthe guidelines of the original Company. Harvey never felt that he had muchfreedom, but he did what he desired especially in his own line readings. Harvey didn’t care for Lucia’s work too much. It was veryprofessional, but he found it cold. It was hard to read her. He never knew ifshe liked him or not. When Gower came in, Harvey always knew if he was pleasedor not. He always gave more encouragement to go further. Harvey loved workingwith Gower.
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| Jerome Robbins: Dancer, choreographer, director, producer, writer, and all-round theatre man ...masterworksbroadway.com |
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| Patte Finley, Will Mackenzie, Sondra Lee, Jerry Dodge |
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| Ed Sullivan |
Audiences know when they see a great show. Hello, Dolly is that show. They exit thetheater joyful. Going in, audiences know that Dolly will take her final bow inwhite. It’s just built that way. It makes audiences crazy. Everyone is waitingwhen the cast turns upstage for Dolly’s final entrance. That’s Gower’s doing.That, once again, was his knowledge of what worked in show business. Thedifference between Robbins and Gower was that Robbins went for the soul of theperson. Gower went for show business. Harvey LOVES LOVES LOVES Jerry Herman! In addition to Dolly, Harvey also did La Cage Aux Folles. What Harvey didn’tlike was this “fight” between Herman and Sondheim. Harvey feels that whenHerman won his Tony, he made a remark he shouldn’t have said. It was along thelines with his win that people loved true musical theater. Jerry Herman won the1983 Tony Award for La Cage Aux Follesover Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in thePark with George. They are totally two different people and Harvey adoresthem both. Once during a rehearsal of LaCage, Herman took director Arthur Laurents into a corner to discusssomething. Harvey’s insecurities kicked in and immediately he thought they didn’tlike him. Harvey played opposite Larry Kert in the second National Tour. Harveyand Larry had been friends since WestSide Story. They had a playful quality playing opposite each other whichreally worked in their favor. It was a wonderful joyous experience for Harvey.  |
| Bibi Osterwald |
No one knew how sickshe was. She died six years later on July 2nd, 1973. She had hadsevere vocal challenges. Although there were still several road companies still inexistence, Harvey was not offered any of them. Harvey went into George M and was back on Broadway thefollowing April of 1968.
Harvey used to hear stories of conflicts in the originalshow between the secondary leading players, Eileen Brennan, Sondra Lee, JerryDodge, and Charles Nelson Reilly. At one time, Charles Nelson Reilly broughtCarol on stage purposefully at the wrong time in Dancing. Charles doesn’t know if this is true or rumor. He workedwith Sondra Lee her last week in the show. It was his first week and he wasscared to death of working with Sondra Lee because he was afraid she wouldn’tlike him. They hit it off immediately and became fast friends. She told Harveythat he reminded her of Spencer Tracy. A bigger compliment could not have beenpaid to him. Theatre Jacksonville presented a concert version of Dolly in 2009 starring Harvey and PamelaMyers at the Harold K. Smith Playhouse. Without meaning to, he channeled DavidBurns. He just flowed right through him. He and Pamela have similar ways ofworking and had a delicious time. She was a wonderful Dolly and he wishes theycould do it more. 
Hello, Dolly to Harvey Evans evokes “proudness”. It is one of the jewels of great American musicaltheater and Harvey was proud of it. That makes him very proud. Thank you Harvey Evans 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!
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 interview with Nicole Barth on the original company of Hello, Dolly!
Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!
Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!
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Richard 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!
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