Falkirk Operatic: Unique family double for production of Hello Dolly!

The director of an amateur musical is raising the curtain on a unique family double - 50 years after her mother brought the production to the stage for the same company.
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Falkirk Operatic Society members will perform the popular musical Hello Dolly! at Falkirk Town Hall from Tuesday, April 26 to Saturday, April 30.

Directing and choreographing the show is Judy Brown.

Half a century earlier, Judy’s mum, Irene Langlands, choreographed the company’s first-ever production of Hello Dolly!.

The cast of Falkirk Operatic's latest production of Hello Dolly. Pic: Michael GillenThe cast of Falkirk Operatic's latest production of Hello Dolly. Pic: Michael Gillen
The cast of Falkirk Operatic's latest production of Hello Dolly. Pic: Michael Gillen
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Judy, who was ten back in February 1972, remembers watching some of the rehearsals which took place in the former Comely Park school building close to Falkirk town centre.

When the show’s run took place it coincided the UK miners’ strikes which led to scheduled power cuts across the country.

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In preparation, the company bought a back-up generator so “the show could go on”.

As far as Judy remembers, it was only needed once – when the lights went out halfway through the iconic Hello Dolly! number.

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Irene Langlands is a well-know dance teacher in Falkirk, founding Stenhouse School of Dance in the late 1950s and training hundreds of budding ballerinas. In addition to working with Falkirk Operatic, she was choreographer with Falkirk Bohemians and both Falkirk Children’s and Youth Theatre groups.

Judy has followed in her dancing footsteps and has directed and choreographed over 50 shows, working with casts including Falkirk Operatic, Falkirk Bohemians, Livingston Players, Shotts St Patricks Opera Group and several Edinburgh companies.

Hello Dolly! is based in New York at the turn of the last century and centres around widowed but brassy Dolly Gallagher Levi who makes a living through “meddling” or matchmaking as we would call it.

The show includes such well-known numbers as It Takes a Woman, Before the Parade Passes By, The Waiters' Gallop, It Only Takes a Moment, and, of course, the headline number, Hello Dolly!.

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Curtain up is at 7.30pm each night with a Saturday matinee at 2pm.

All tickets on Tuesday at £10 and for other performances they are £15 and £12 for concessions.

These can be purchased at www.falkirkoperatic.com/tickets and from company members.