Dolly Gallagher Levi | |
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The Merchant of Yonkers character | |
First appearance | The Merchant of Yonkers |
Created by | Thornton Wilder |
Portrayed by | See below |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation |
|
Spouse | Ephram Levi (dec.) Horace Vandergelder |
Religion | Catholic |
Home | Yonkers, New York |
Nationality | American |
Dolly Gallagher Levi is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 1938 play The Merchant of Yonkers and its multiple adaptations, the most notable being the 1964 musical Hello Dolly! Levi's main profession is matchmaking in Yonkers, New York. She also begins a romantic involvement with businessman, Horace Vandergelder, when she sends his niece on a date with a local town boy.
Dolly Levi is a "widow in her middle years who has decided to begin her life again. She is a matchmaker, meddler, opportunist, and a life-loving woman." She is from Yonkers, New York and was married to Ephram Levi, who dies before the events of the story. She is loud, brassy, and constantly meddling in others' lives. These qualities make her beloved by her hometown. During one of her matchmaking jobs, she meets half-a-millionaire, Horrace Vandergelder, who owns a store in downtown Yonkers. During the story, she attempts to make him fall in love with her, though her attempts are mostly unsuccessful. She also constantly quotes her late husband's favorite saying:
Money is like manure. It's no good unless you spread it around.
During the first act of the musical, Dolly is still quite attached to her late husband, Ephram. However, during the act finale, "Before the Parade Passes By," she decides to move on with her life and chase after Horrace's affections. In the titular song, Dolly claims to the waiters of the Harmonia Gardens restaurant that she will never leave New York again.
While many portrayals of Levi in the musical are comedic and loving, Barbra Streisand's concept of the character is more harsh to those around her, especially Horace (who is played by Walter Matthau). This feeling can be seen especially in the penultimate song, "So Long Dearie."
Notes
Clips from the 1969 musical film were featured in the 2008 computer-animated film WALL-E.
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).
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Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955. The musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder.
The Matchmaker is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play The Merchant of Yonkers.
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The Merchant of Yonkers is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder.
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