Making a stand: Pickering Musical Society in Hello, Dolly! All pictures: Robert David Photography
ANTICIPATION is building with only one week to go as Pickering Musical Society prepares to raise the curtain on its final full-scale musical production, Hello, Dolly!
Luke Arnold’s show will run from June 10 to 14t at the Kirk Theatre, Pickering, with evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
After more than a century of staging book musicals in the Yorkshire town, the society has decided to step away from staging spring musicals in future seasons, citing rising production costs and a shrinking membership base.
Before that curtain falls, however, the society is determined to deliver one of its most dazzling and memorable shows to date.
Tim Tubbs’s Horace Vandergelder and Rachel Anderson’s Dolly Gallagher Levi in Pickering Musical Society’s Hello, Dolly!
Theatre manager and director Arnold says: “It has been a difficult decision to make, but the soaring costs associated with performance rights, casting demands and mounting a full musical such as Hello, Dolly! have made it increasingly challenging to continue.
“That said, we do not aim to go quietly! We’ve poured everything we have into this production — from the dazzling costumes to the towering set pieces — and I believe it will be a truly show-stopping finale.”
Set in the energetic bustle of 1890s’ New York, Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! follows the irrepressible Dolly Gallagher Levi — a witty matchmaker, meddler, and “arranger of things” — as she decides this is the time to find a match for herself.
The musical is filled with Broadway classics, including Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Before The Parade Passes By, It Only Takes A Moment and the title number, Hello, Dolly!
Jack Dobson’s Barnaby Tucker in Pickering Musical Society’s Hello, Dolly!
Arnold’s cast is led by society favourite Rachel Anderson as the effervescent Dolly, while Tim Tubbs returns to the Kirk Theatre after his performance as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady to play the curmudgeonly half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder.
Stephen Temple and Jack Dobson bring comic warmth as Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, joined by a strong principal cast that features Paula Paylor, Danielle Long, Courtney Brown and Will Smithson as the artistic and earnest Ambrose Kemper.
Adding to the production’s scale and sparkle, a ten-piece professional orchestra will provide live musical accompaniment throughout the show, bringing Herman’s beloved score to life.
Also joining the ensemble will be talented students from the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance, contributing energetic and stylish choreography to the show’s biggest numbers.
Pickering Musical Society musical director Clive Wass and members of his ten-piece orchestra
Behind the scenes, Hello, Dolly! marks one of the most ambitious technical undertakings in the society’s long history. The production team has installed a complex array of lighting and sound equipment, with more arriving daily as the full vision comes together.
The centrepiece of the elaborate set is the Harmonia Gardens staircase, a grand and glamorous showstopper in its own right. Meanwhile, the wardrobe department, led by the tireless Maureen Symonds, has been hard at work for months crafting a rich collection of period costumes designed to dazzle.
Early ticket demand has been strong: two performances are nearing sell-outs and bookings have been brisk for the rest of the week. Audiences are urged to book soon to avoid disappointment.
Sue Smithson and cast members in Pickering Musical Society’s Hello, Dolly!
Although Hello, Dolly! will be the final musical to be staged by Pickering Musical Society, the society’s commitment to live performance will continue.
The annual pantomime, a firm fixture in the Kirk Theatre calendar, continues to go from strength to strength, drawing large audiences each winter.
The society’s popular concert, previously held in October, will shift to June from 2026 onwards to ensure Pickering audiences can still enjoy high-quality musical entertainment each year.
The society emphasises that Hello, Dolly! is not a goodbye, but a celebration: a tribute to the talent, community spirit and dedication that has defined the society’s musical legacy for generations.
Pickering Musical Society in Hello, Dolly!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 1o to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833; kirktheatre.co.uk or in person from the box office, open Tuesdays, 11am to 1pm.