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Now in her “late 30s, early 40s,’’ Rachel York is enthusiastic about taking on one of the great roles of the musical stage in “Hello, Dolly!’’ It is her first time performing with Reagle Players. |
Stages
In transitional phase, she says hello to "Dolly''
WALTHAM - Broadway actress Rachel York still looks every inch the ingénue, with copper-colored locks and a dimpled grin. She has sculpted cheekbones and a breezy, girlish laugh. But when asked about her age, York wryly locates herself in the ambiguous territory of “late 30s, early 40s.’’ She knows that for women in show business, nothing is more harrowing than getting older. And now - after two decades playing Broadway’s slinky vamps and sweet-faced leading ladies - she is taking on a different kind of role: the widowed matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi in “Hello, Dolly!’’ with Reagle Players.
“After a while, you get to a point as a woman in this business where it almost becomes terrifying to get older,’’ York says. “You feel like, ‘Oh my God, if I get past a certain age, I’m not worth as much anymore.’ ’’ Then she shakes her head and smiles. “When they offered me Dolly, I decided to reverse all that. To say, ‘Fine, universe. You want me to play Dolly? Bring it on.’ ’’
York was 19 years old when she moved to Manhattan, her sights set on the incandescent lights and glossy billboards of Broadway. She shared a tiny studio apartment with a friend from high school. She lived on canned tuna fish and got a job as a bartender. She hired an agent, but struggled to find work.
When the musical comedy “City of Angels’’ was done on Broadway, the producers wouldn’t give York an audition because she wasn’t a big enough name. But days went by and no one seemed to fit the part of the brassy young starlet, so they let York try out. She sang Ella Fitzgerald’s “Blue Lou.’’ She scatted. They laughed and laughed.
In the elevator, York ran into one of the men who’d heard her sing.
“How old are you?’’ he asked. “Twenty,’’ she told him. “You’re gonna be a star,’’ he said.
“City of Angels,’’ which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, was York’s big break. Next she was cast as the tragic Fantine in “Les Miserables.’’ Then ditzy gangster’s moll Norma Cassidy in “Victor/Victoria’’ opposite Julie Andrews. Then heartbroken French actress Marguerite St. Just in “The Scarlet Pimpernel.’’ And then the fiery Kate and diva Lilli in “Kiss Me, Kate.’’
But “Dolly’’ is a far cry from the roles that York portrayed in her earlier years. Dolly is a sharp and savvy businesswoman, a matchmaker with a keen eye on her own self-interest. And she has mostly been portrayed by women - Carol Channing, Ethel Merman - much older than York.
York, however, is undaunted. She has long been praised for her versatility. As a child, she used to entertain her family by impersonating different celebrities. She can do a killer Liza Minnelli and a spot-on Britney Spears. And TV critics raved about her performance as Lucille Ball in the 2003 CBS made-for-television movie “Lucy.’’
But York says that “Hello, Dolly!’’ is more than just a chance to take on one of the great roles of the musical stage. It also represents a transition to the next phase of her career. “I tend to attract whatever role I need to play at that time, depending on where I am in my life,’’ she says. “Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of ‘She’s too old.’ I’m at a place now where a woman does not want to accept getting older, where you’re constantly trying to look younger.’’
Then she adds: “Carol Channing played Dolly well into her 70s, but she originated the role at 45. And she was a knockout. She had a body to die for.’’
This is her first time performing with Reagle Players, although she has played concerts in Boston before.
“Rachel is a very big name on Broadway, and it is a great honor and privilege to have someone of her caliber regionally,’’ said Reagle spokesman Frank Roberts. “Dolly is a role associated with a more mature person, but she doesn’t have to be an old woman.’’
York now regards Dolly as a sort of kindred spirit. After Dolly loses her husband, she begins going through the motions of daily life, living “hand to mouth,’’ according to a line from the musical.
“I was also experiencing a transition,’’ York explains. Like Dolly, York had recently lost someone very close to her. And while she kept going to auditions, her heart wasn’t in it. “After dealing with all the ageism, I got to a point where I was looking at acting as a job instead of a passion,’’ she admits.
And just as Dolly ultimately falls in love again, York feels that this role marks her wholehearted return to the stage. As the title song goes, “Hello, Dolly. So nice to have you back where you belong.’’
“No more cowering at the prospect of getting older,’’ York says. “I’m back.’’
June 18 through 27. Tickets: $32-$54. 781-891-5600, www.reagleplayers.com
Laura Bennett can be reached at lbennett@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
