DINNER THEATERS’ MENUS SPARKLE WITH FUN : ‘HELLO, DOLLY!’

Well, well, hello, Dolly, indeed. The irrepressible matchmaker has waltzed back into Orange County in a warmly affectionate, gloriously showy revival of the Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman musical comedy at Sebastian’s/West Dinner Playhouse in San Clemente.

Happily, this version takes “Hello, Dolly!” back to its very human story, based on Thornton Wilder’s play “The Matchmaker.” It’s the tale of a widow who cheerfully “arranges” the lives and loves of others--for a small fee--as she searches for her own happiness. Director John Alexander Lee has staged a production that manages to be intimate and genuine yet big, busy and flashy when it’s appropriate. Lee is a magician when it comes to making less seem like more. He craftily employs his capable (and versatile) chorus members in a variety of roles, and even fills out their ranks with clever plywood cutouts when the occasion demands.

With the assistance of set designer Gil Morales and choreographer Susan Thomas Lee, this “Dolly” always appears larger than life, chock-full of background detail and period charm. But not at the expense of the human story. Any revival of “Dolly” is only as good as its leading lady, of course, who has to fashion her own matchmaker amid the ghosts of Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey (on stage) and Barbra Streisand (on film). Beth Hansen rises to the occasion, creating a carefully understated, gracious but very efficient businesswoman who clearly knows her mind and is ready to embrace life--providing she can dictate the terms, naturally. Hansen invests her Dolly with a quiet wisdom born of experience and a heart as big as all of Yonkers.

Robert Donnelly makes stingy Horace Vandergelder, the object of Dolly’s very calculated affections, less fierce and more chatty than the traditional gruff penny pincher. If that makes him slightly less of a Mt. Everest for Dolly to conquer, well, it’s clear from the outset that it will just be a matter of time anyway before he succumbs to her charms, once Dolly has made up her mind.

But much of the charm in this production is found in the subplot that throws together the spirited young widow Irene Molloy, her giggling shopgirl Minnie Fay and Vandergelder’s two naive store clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby. Romance blooms to the strains of “Dancing,” a waltz lesson cleverly choreographed to fit a very small space. All four supporting performances are textured and endearing: Tricia Griffin is spirited and captivating as Mrs. Molloy, and her solo, “Ribbons Down My Back,” is achingly wistful; William T. Lewis makes an attractive, engaging Cornelius, bursting with longing for adventure--and the opposite sex; Valerie Zisser makes her shopgirl’s coy shyness infinitely appealing, and Lawrence O’Connor, who is transformed by love from a gawky, backwoods bumbler into a gawky, Big City bumbler, delivers a very funny, carefully drawn portrayal.

Gil Morales’ compact set design nicely evokes turn-of-the-century charm, using a series of hinged fold-out panels that instantly transform a train depot into a Yonkers hay and feed emporium, into a Manhattan millinery, into a mid-town street corner and into the glamorous Harmonia Gardens restaurant. Costume designer Millicent Rene manages to find new variations on the familiar, and D. Jay Bradley’s musical direction does justice to the score.

“Hello, Dolly!” continues through April 6 at Sebastian’s/West Dinner Playhouse, 140 Avenida Pico, San Clemente, (714) 492-9950.