By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Clarkston High School Drama Club invites the community to Yonkers, New York in 1898 as they present “Hello, Dolly!” for their winter musical, Feb. 13-16.
“It will connect a lot of audiences,” said senior Olivia Lafnear, who plays Dolly Levi. “It’s about Dolly, who’s a matchmaker. She’s going around Yonkers and matchmaking singles. Her whole main plot is she is going to marry Horace Vandergelder for his money. Along the way she runs into Irene Molloy and Millie Fay who runs the hat shop and she matches them up with Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker. It’s really funny.”
“It’s one of those feel good shows because it’s iconic,” added senior Budzinski, who plays Irene Malloy. “The music is fun. The dancing is fun. It’s really feel good.”
Lafnear shared Dolly is young at heart.

“She’s very quick and she’s a little bit of a diva, too,” she said. “She knows everything that’s going on and she says it herself – she likes to meddle. I always have my nose in other people’s business and I am always trying to help some of them.”
Senior Luke Agar plays Horace Vandergelder.
“Horace is pretty much the grumpy grandpa of the show. He’s an older character. He’s not in a very good mood for the majority of the show,” he said. “It’s been fun trying to play around with being an older character and the mannerisms an older character like Horace would have. It’s been a lot of fun breaking into Horace and trying to find the moments he’s having a good time or he is genuinely happy throughout the show.”
Budzinski’s character of Irene owns a hat shop and is one of the singles Dolly matches up.
“I feel like my character is very complex because she has to deal with so many emotions like she mentions her husband who has died so she is going through the grief of that, but she also falls in love with Cornelius,” she said. “She is just trying to rebrand herself and become more happy.”
Senior Keith Garrison steps into the role of Cornelius Hackl.
“He has a lot of aspiration to do new things,” Garrison said about his character. “He is trying to pursue something he hasn’t done before and also one of his main things is leaving the area he has been in his whole life for the first time and experiencing something new.”
Senior Alex Taylor plays Barnaby Tucker.
“He’s like accidentally a charming,” Taylor shared. “He’s a follower. He’s really young. I am the same age as him, but it’s different to play someone who leans into their silly side. I am more serious and sassy where he is kind hearted and following of inspiration of Cornelius.”
The seniors added their experience performing “Hello, Dolly!” as their final musical before graduation.
“It has been pretty amazing to see all of our growth,” Taylor said. “In this show there are so many leads we all had an opportunity to shine which has been different in the past years and it’s been nice getting to know each other better during the show.”
“It’s very bitter sweet because one of our first musicals was ‘Oklahoma,’ a golden age show and we are ending with a golden age,” Budzinski added. “We have been doing theater together for years and years even before high school. All of the characters are close and it’s made us closer.”
Lafnear added her favorite part of rehearsal has been all of the characters having scenes with each other.
“The show closes out with the song ‘So Long Dearie,’ and I think its fitting we are all graduating and we are ending with that song in the show,” she shared. “It is bitter sweet like Hannah said, but our last show ends on a happy note so we can end on a happy note, too.”
The cast and crew invite the community to come to see the musical.
Lafnear shared there is something for everyone.
“It’s a fun flashy show, and it gets young kids interested in theater,” she said. “It’s also good for anyone who wants to hear some good music and all my castmates are all talented. Come out and see it. We have all worked hard.”
“‘Hello, Dolly!’ is iconic,” Garrison added. “Some in the community grew up with ‘Hello, Dolly!’ They will love seeing it here.”
Budzinski added the show brings people together.
Agar shared there is a mix of everything – drama, comedy and romance.
“There is a little bit of everything,” he said.
Performances for “Hello, Dolly!” at Clarkston High School Performing Arts Center are Thursday, Feb. 13, Friday, Feb. 14; and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors. Reserved seating and presales are encouraged.
Tickets may be purchased with a credit card online by visiting https://clarkstonhighschool.csstix.com/ or purchased in person Monday through Friday during school lunches 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
The production is made possible by the generous contributions provided by The Clarkston Foundation and the Clarkston High School PTO.
“Hello, Dolly!” is a musical comedy with music and lyrics for by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart.

  Clarkston High School Drama Club, performing arts, winter musical