The Cypress Ranch Theatre Department is an organization that constantly wows the community with their vibrant performances. Between their most recent play, A Piece of My Heart, and the students’ humorous competitions during their frequent Comedy Sportz events, the Mustang actors and actresses constantly prove their talent spills off the stage. While wrapping up the production of A Piece of My Heart, lead theatre director, Coach Bradford, and lead musical director, Bankston, have worked diligently to transition the students into their newest musical, Hello Dolly!

Hello Dolly! is a 1969 originated Broadway musical that stems from Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play, The Merchant of Yonkers. Dolly Levi is a widowed, charismatic character who serves as a matchmaker for those around her. However, Dolly decides to head to Yonkers, New York to find love for herself.

Dolly begins looking for a wife for the rich, dull  Horace Vandergelder, but she soon realizes that she wants to marry him. While Dolly focuses on the financial benefits of marrying Horace, she is a gal who surely knows what she wants and what she must do to achieve her goals. Hello Dolly! tells the story of the comical manipulation that Dolly exerts on anyone she comes in contact with to ensure she ends up with a pretty ring on her finger.

Speaking with senior Abby Weeks who is playing the role of Dolly Levi, Weeks shared that anyone who is attending the show can “expect a lot of great songs, big dance numbers, and just a lot of fun. There are tons of jokes and innuendos.”

While spending late nights rehearsing and preparing for the production, the theatre department has involved other organizations throughout Cypress Ranch to make Hello Dolly! a spectacular show. Along with the actors and directors who have poured their time and resources into the musical, Weeks shares that “the technicians built a huge, incredible set with this grand staircase and houses with different stories. The sculpture [students] have been working on things for [the musical] and the cosmetology [students] are helping too. The whole school has come together to work on this.”

Hello Dolly! will first be performed for Warner Elementary students on Wed., November 9th. However, the musical begins public showings from Thurs. November 10th until the matinee show on Sun., November, 13th. All show times are scheduled for 7:00 pm, except for the Sunday evening performance which begins at 2:00 pm.

Tickets are available here: http://cyranchtheatre.org/events/hello-dolly/