Dearborn Divine Child To Present 'Hello Dolly' Starting Thursday

DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn Divine Child High School Theater is presenting “Hello, Dolly!” starting Thursday, March 30 through Sunday April 2. Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler -- but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself.

Set in New York City at the turn-of-the- 20th century, “Hello, Dolly!” is boisterous and charming from start to finish. The show features such memorable songs as “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment,” “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” and -- of course -- the title number, “Hello, Dolly! Showtimes are: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and students and senior citizens for $8.

This year marks the third time Divine Child has produced “Hello, Dolly.” Previously, Divine Child put the production on in 1974 and 1992. The current production features students hailing from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Taylor, Northville, Livonia, Plymouth, Redford, Brownstown, Flat Rock, Trenton, Detroit, Canton, Westland, New Boston, Garden City and Wayne.

Freshman through seniors perform in roles from chorus to the leads with freshmen Ben Noethlich, Hannah Young, Kennedy Klauza, Emily Walker and Jonathan Sadler playing primary roles or understudying leads. Noethlich plays Ambrose Kemper, Klauza and Young share the role of Ermengarde, Walter understudies the role of Minnie Faye and Sadler understudies the role of Horace Vandergelder. Each understudy gets to perform at least two times.

The production team features Divine Child graduates, including Broadway “Wicked” cast member and dance captain Casey Quinn as the choreographer, Colleen Johnson as prop master, Walter Grysko as art director, and Elisa Noeske as director and producer. Robert Bush and Paul Abbott round out the production crew as the set director/pit orchestra conductor and choral director, respectively.

Over the last six years, Divine Child has been nominated for over 100 PAGE awards, winning many. The PAGE award is bestowed on local actors, actresses, musicians and other crews from the Dearborn Area Theater Association. Last year, current senior Jacob Brenner (Horace Vandergelder) won a PAGE award for outstanding achievement in a play by a lead actor. DC also won in the categories of set design, sound, orchestra, and several now-graduated seniors won awards. Current students Riley Klauza (Dolly Levi), Aria Hutchinson (Minnie Fay), and Anna Crandall (Irene Molloy) have all been nominated for PAGE awards in the past. Several times DC has won best production for both fall plays and spring musicals.

DC students have also competed for the Ovation Awards, a statewide honor where students from different high schools compete against other schools for the award of best musical theater performer in the state. From there, they go on to compete nationally at the Jimmy Awards to win the honor of best musical theater performer in the country. In 2015, DC student Alexsander Papanastasopoulos won the Michigan Ovation Awards and competed for a week in New York City at the Jimmy Awards.

Papanastasopoulos currently studies musical theater at Western Michigan University. Current senior Riley Klauza has been accepted to Long Island University and the American Musical Dramatic Academy, among others. DC students carry their love of theater with them as they attend colleges nationwide.

Photo courtesy Dearborn Divine Child