By AARON KRAUSE

Helloooo, Angie, well helloooo, Angie, it’s so nice to have you back where you belong!

Indeed, award-winning veteran South Florida actress Angie Radosh seems made for the stage. So, it’s a delight to welcome her back as the titular character in the 1964 multi award-winning classic musical, Hello, Dolly!   

More specifically, Radosh stars in the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, The City of Lauderhill, and Arts Center Management’s professional production of Hello, Dolly! The mounting, which runs through April 21 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, is the final show of the 2024 Broadway at LPAC season.

After experiencing the season’s first two shows, the thought-provoking and meaty A Chorus Line and Memphis, it’s nice to conclude with a more lighthearted show in the delightful classic, Hello, Dolly!

Truly, the radiant Radosh delivers as the title character. With her supernova-bright smile, shining eyes, clear, honeyed voice, charisma, and seemingly effortless charm, Radosh imbues Dolly with an instant likability. You get the sense that nothing would faze Radosh’s Dolly.

Radosh, who exhibits impeccable stage presence, heads a talented cast of triple threat performers under Michael Ursua’s solid direction.

In addition to Radosh, the cast comprises Dru Loman, Christopher Dreeson, Erica Kaylee Gouldthorpe, Sam Joseph, Joel Hunt, Kristi Rose Mills, Allyson Rosenblum, Britte Steele, Lovell Rose, Bryce Bayer, Nia Bourne, Kalista Curbelo, Eytan Deray, Alexandra Dow, Desir Dumerjuste, Stephen Eisenwasser, Eli Flynn, Santiago Garza, Amanda Lopez, Michael Materdomini, Lovelle Rose, Izaiah Scott, Caroline Slagle, Larry Toyter, Alexandra Van Hasselt, and Herbert Welch.

Most people have probably heard the musical’s iconic title song. After all, it won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1965 and jazz great Louis Armstrong earned a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male, for his rendition of the number.

In Lauderhill’s co-production, the performers’ voices blend well while singing the title song. They sing it energetically, gracefully, and with good pace. While the male cast members sing it, Radosh’s Dolly appropriately basks in the spotlight. Clearly, the titular character is a beloved figure among the men working at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant.

Of course, there is more to Hello, Dolly! than the title song. The equally upbeat “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” and “Before the Parade Passes By,” as well as the more tender “It Only Takes a Moment,” join other gems to form one of musical theater’s most memorable scores. Certainly, the musical’s songs remain with you long after the performance.

On the other hand, how does a song such as “It Takes a Woman” come across in 2024, when we are hopefully advocating for equality for all? Vandergelder sings the song to explain why he wants to get married. Consider some of the lyrics: “It takes a woman all powdered and pink, to joyously clean out the drain in the sink. And it takes an angel with long golden lashes, and soft Dresden fingers for dumping the ashes. Yes it takes a woman, a dainty woman, a sweetheart, a mistress, a wife. O yes it takes a woman, a fragile woman, to bring you the sweet things in life.”

At its core, “Hello, Dolly!” is about realizing that we should enjoy and fully embrace each moment of life while we can.

As you may know, the title character is a widow who lost her husband years ago. But Dolly realizes that although she misses her husband and doesn’t necessarily want to “replace” him, she’s still alive. And, so, she wants to enjoy life to the fullest while she can. As a result, she wants to remarry – but only after her husband “gives” her a sign that it’s OK with him.

Dolly sings “Before the Parade Passes By” before an actual parade. Specifically, Dolly and other characters march in the 14^th Street Association Parade in New York during the show’s setting of the 1890s. But the song is also a metaphor for life, suggesting that we should enjoy all life has to offer before it is over (before it “passes by.”)

In LPAC’s co-production, Radosh and other cast members start singing the song softly and slowly. Gradually, they sing louder and faster as the musical number continues to progress. By the end of the song, it has become a rousing march-like number that is sure to invigorate and inspire you. You might even feel moved to dance and sing along.

While Hello, Dolly! leaves us with a message, it is hardly a show that preaches or hammers us over the head with its lesson. Instead, the musical is a cheerful, light-hearted show with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart.

Herman (1931-2019) was a composer and lyricist for a number of hit musicals starting in the 1960s. They include Mame (1966) and La Cage aux Folles (1984).

His shows were characterized by an upbeat and optimistic outlook and what he called “the simple, hummable showtune.”

They don’t make musicals like they used to. You know, complete with big numbers, lavish costumes and scenery, and humor. These days, the trend is to create darker, more intimate, meatier musicals that are heavier with messages.

While there is a place for these more complex shows, it’s always nice to fondly recall the shows your grandparents used to love. With that in mind, a production of a show such as “Hello, Dolly!” is always welcome. That is especially true when a company excels in its staging.

Hello, Dolly’s plot, of course, centers on the title character. She is a famed New York City matchmaker, among other things. And she is facing perhaps her toughest challenge yet – finding rich, grumpy Horace Vandergelder a wife. Dolly successfully matches many others in the city, including Vandergelder’s niece and two clerks. But she can’t quite match Horace with a wife. Could she possibly be a good match?

While Radosh radiates charm, warmth, and confidence (but never arrogance) as the titular character, she also imbues her with modesty and vulnerability while speaking to her late husband. No doubt, the performer delivers a multifaceted performance. However, Dolly is also an opportunist, and that doesn’t quite come across through Radosh’s performance.

Her castmates deliver impressive performances as well. For instance, Dreeson appropriately makes the wealthy Vandergelder uptight and grumpy. In fact. these traits make Vandergelder a perfect foil for the title character.

Dreeson and the other actors also demonstrate deft comic timing, which is important, especially during the farcical scenes. Indeed, in addition to being rich musically, Hello, Dolly! is funny.

Cast members also dance with flair. For example, prepare to see well-executed spins, cartwheels, leg kicks, and other physical moves. The choreographer is Alex Jorth, while Ursua serves as musical director, in addition to director. The musicians are not live. Instead, The MT Pit LLC (www.themtpit.com) provides musical recording.

Also behind the scenes, William Gibbons-Brown designed appropriately realistic lighting. And the functional scenery, based on the original scenic design, represents the work of Cindi Blank Taylor and John Blessed.

Hello, Dolly! will make you nostalgic for simpler days. And you may leave the theater humming and/or whistling, as I heard a patron do during intermission of the reviewed performance.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Hello, Dolly!

WHERE: Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, 3800 NW 11^th Place, Lauderhill.

WHEN: Through April 21.

INFORMATION: For more information, and to buy tickets, go to https://www.lpacfl.com/events-tickets/broadway-at-the-lpac.