In 1967, after Hello, Dolly! had played over 1,500 performances on Broadway (with Dollys including
Carol Channing,
Ginger Rogers,
Martha Raye, and
Betty Grable), the show's producer,
David Merrick, hit on the idea of extending its run even more by swapping in an all-black cast led by
Pearl Bailey, with
Cab Calloway co-starring as Horace Vandergelder. This replacement cast debuted on November 12, 1967, and five days later,
RCA Victor put them in a studio to record their version of the score. This was an unusual step; replacement casts very rarely get to appear on record. But the results justify the decision.
Bailey and
Calloway are Broadway veterans, and they handle the familiar material well, supported by such players as
Jack Crowder (as Cornelius Hackl) and
Emily Yancy (as Irene Molloy), who get to duet on
"It Only Takes a Moment." For the most part, one simply suspends disbelief about a turn-of-the-century New York exclusively peopled by blacks, although some theatergoers probably shift in their seats during
"Motherhood," which, even though it is a deliberately cockeyed celebration of patriotism, forces the singers into positive references to "Dixie" and Stonewall Jackson that seem odd coming out of the mouths of these cast members. (Even if the casting proves successful,
Merrick might not want to use it for songwriter
Jerry Herman's other show on Broadway in 1967. Imagine an all-black cast dancing before a plantation mansion and singing, "You make the South revive again, Mame!") ~ William Ruhlmann
