The Matchmaker is a play written by Thornton Wilder that is about a woman named Dolly Levi and her attempts to marry many couples together as well as get remarried herself. It also inspired the musical of Hello, Dolly! which has been performed here in Pittsburgh by many theatre companies as well as on Broadway, and has had multiple revivals due to it’s positive reviews. The play itself is quite funny and very charming, though it might be a little confusing and hard to follow at times. This is mainly due to its large cast of characters and many subplots in the show. But, when all of the subplots come to a head, it comes together to make a great performance.

As for the production, which was at Carnegie Mellon University and closed on October 14th, the show was spectacularly done. The leading actress, Chantelle Guido, seemed to be a little weak in the role as the show began, but she clearly became more and more comfortable with the part as the show went on. By the time the second act was reached, Guido was probably the strongest actor on the stage. Her facial expressions and tones really sold her part to the audience. Will Brosnahan, who played Horace Vandergelder, played the part very convincingly, delivering his lines with great eloquence and style. His acting technique was very impressively detailed.

Kevin William Paul, who played Cornelius Hackl, and Scott Kennedy, who played Barnaby Tucker,were both full of energy and very funny. In the scene where they enter the hat shop with Mrs. Malloy (played by Kate Margalite) and they attempt to hide from their boss, they both have a great knack for comedic timing and make the scene very enjoyable to the audience. Margalite was also very animated, making her character as eccentric as she should be.

As for the set, I very much liked that they painted roses to adorn it, as it gave a real sense of the show. It set a pleasant attitude for a pleasant night. As for Miss Flora van Husen’s house, it was not only historically accurate but also beautiful. The furniture and art decorating the set was undeniably well done. The same could be said for Mr. Vandergelder shop, which was detailed and with a well thought out color scheme.

The one shortcoming was the makeup and hair for the show. CMU’s attempt to make Brosnahan look like the middle aged Mr. Vandergelder were not successful, as not only did his grey hair not look real, but it made him look like a younger man pretending to be older. The costuming, which was historically accurate and detailed, made up for this aspect of the show.

Overall, the show was outstanding, and only raised the bar higher for CMU’s streak of well done shows. Congratulations to the cast and crew of the Matchmaker, and bravo to Anthony McKay, the director of the show.