If you paid any attention at all while watching “Hello Dolly,” I guarantee you’ll recognize the setting of Yonkers, N.Y. The musical, set in 1890s America, is based in Yonkers, and follows the story of Dolly Levi as she meddles her way into marrying a Yonkers native, Horace Vandergelder.
The setting and time plays such an important role in the play; it allows for the divides that build the show. Despite this, the reality of the setting often goes over people’s heads. Sophomore Molly Palmer puts it best. “I didn’t even know Yonkers was a real place,” she admitted. In order to fully understand the complexities of the musical, you must understand the complexities of the time period and the setting, and who could tell you more about Yonkers than our very own Yonkers-native and Upper School history teacher Robert Kyff.
Mr. Kyff can trace his roots in Yonkers all the way back to 1891, which is the era in which “Hello Dolly” is set. Mr. Kyff’s great grandfather Leonardus Kyff arrived in Yonkers at 23 years old. He immigrated from the Netherlands, and joined a large population of Dutch settlers in the area. “He was attracted to staying in the New York area because a lot of Dutch people lived in Yonkers,” Mr. Kyff commented. “This is because New York was originally a Dutch settlement, so there were a lot of Dutch people who just decided to stay in the New York area.”
This demographic is properly expressed through the characters of “Hello Dolly.” This can be seen through the male lead’s name, Horace Vandergelder, which can be simplified to Van Gelder. Van Gelder quite literally means “habitational name for someone from Gelderland in the east-central Netherlands.”
It is important to note that Horace is a wealthy individual who owns a hay and feed store. His employees, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, easily succumb to poor treatment from Horace, suffering from poor wages and even poorer working conditions. The last name Hackl is of German descent. This poorer, working class character could represent the unpopular view of the German immigrants at the time. This is easily countered when considering one of the female leads, Irene Malloy. “I came here at fourteen years of age as an immigrant girl from a land that oppressed my people,” she says in the show. Even as an Irish immigrant, which was an oppressed ethnicity at the time, she still found a way of being successful.
The character of Irene embodies the prototypical American Dream. “I must echo here what was said by the great patriotic American,” Irene begins in the middle of the song “Motherhood,” which depicts not only the role of women at the time, but also the aims of progressive movements. She has built up her life to become a successful and independent business owner. Her occupational success allows her to focus on the more joyous aspects of life: love and happiness. Throughout the single day that the musical takes place, Irene experiences the joys of living in America; she falls in love and experiences life. This is the life that people sought when they came to America: one filled with money, hope, and, most importantly, love.
The contrast of Horace with Cornelius and Barnaby is representative of the huge income inequality present in American life. “Yonkers was a real factory town,” Mr. Kyff commented. “It was a working class town. The big industry in Yonkers was the Alexander Smith Carpet Company.” The carpet company is reflective of the major industries that ruled the time. They created vast income inequality between citizens; high-up executives consolidated a bunch of wealth, whereas the working class lived hard, tough lives.
This is shown in “Hello Dolly” when looking at the wealth dynamics of the characters. Horace represents the powerful, greedy, robber barons, who practically controlled America. This idea of control can be expressed through Horace’s role as the “chief citizen of Yonkers.” This can also be seen in the origins of his last name, which, when translated from Dutch to English means “of money.” Cornelius and Barnaby represent the working class, who struggle to get by. They suffer terrible working conditions, working out of a small, stuffy box and receiving extremely low wages. “My back salary for the past four months: six dollars and 12 cents,” Baranby says in the musical.
The premise of the plot is that in a day (or a moment), people can change. This is mainly seen through Horace’s character arc, as his compassion grows with his love for Dolly. This love story is most likely representative of the one between Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Frances Armstrong Crawford Vanderbilt, who went by Frank. Cornelius, much like Horace, was always known for being particularly business-driven. He was greedy and driven, lacking compassion. While Cornelius had a wife before marrying Frank, it was often noted that he didn’t really care about her or the 13 children they had together.
This is easily mirrored in the character of Horace, a widow. “My wife died, which was foolish of her,” Horace says with a scowl in his opening monologue. Despite his seemingly empty heart, Cornelius went on to marry Frank, who was an avid philanthropist. Frank used Cornelius’s money to help others, donating large sums to organizations and causes such as the founding of Vanderbilt University. Dolly is very much representative of Frank. In her first monologue, Dolly openly proclaims the reason she plans to marry Horace. “I’m going to marry Horace Vandergelder for his money and send it out circulating among the people like rainwater,” Dolly declares.
This concept aligns with the philanthropic philosophies of the notorious robber baron, Andrew Carnegie, which he outlines in his 1889 book, “The Gospel of Wealth.” He expresses that the wealthy have a moral obligation to help others with the money they have. While Carnegie still believed in the rich maintaining and controlling their wealth, he also believed that they had the duty to help others. This is reflected in the millions of dollars he donated to organizations, favoring educational institutions, such as libraries. Dolly would very much align herself with this idea, agreeing that the rich have a duty to help others.
The musical also reflects the growing reform movements of the time. The song “Motherhood” is sung by Dolly, Irene, and Minnie Fay, the three female leads. Together, they sing about a patriotic America, advocating for “motherhood, America, and a hot lunch for orphans.” These ideas properly express the values of not only many Americans at the time, but also those part of the growing progressive party. The progressives stood for social reform, helping with issues regarding poverty, education, urban development, regulation of trusts, and so much more. The idea of a hot lunch for orphans could symbolize the idea of a settlement house, which was essentially a support house. They were located in poor neighborhoods, and run by college-educated women who offered support such as child care, classes, health clinics, and life advice.
Another large part of both “Hello Dolly” and life in the 1890s was the role of the train. The train provided an easy way of transportation of goods, people, and ideas. If you’ve seen “Hello Dolly,” I’m sure you remember the giant train that entered the stage after “Sunday Clothes.” The train offered a way for the citizens of Yonkers to commute to New York City, which was an important aspect of life. “A lot of people in Yonkers worked in Manhattan,” Mr. Kyff said. “It was a commuting town.” The train also played an important role in the personal lives of the citizens of Yonkers, most notably Mr. Kyff, whose parents met through the train. “They were fixed up by someone who commuted on the same train and knew her and knew my dad,” he explained.
The resolution of “Hello Dolly,” can symbolize the outcome that the majority of Americans wanted: better wages, better working conditions, love, and progressivism. Cornelius becomes partner, and Barnaby becomes chief clerk, a fair representation of the hopes of many Americans at the time. Horace and Dolly get married, and Dolly circulates Horace’s wealth throughout the people to support the progressive values of the time. Irene and Minnie find love, and with that, they reinstate the importance of the American Dream.
The musical, while on the surface appearing lighthearted and quaint, carries much more profound meaning. The complexities buried underneath the jokes reflect a real-life America, where people struggled. While the musical results in a happy, idealistic ending, the true lives of many Americans at the time did not turn out that way.
This theme of wealth disparity can be carried through to today’s world. We now live in a world where America is once again being controlled by some of America’s richest men, while others struggle to make ends meet. It is important to recognize the faults of our past, so that we can improve our future. The historical significance and motifs that “Hello Dolly” carries are still relevant, and it is more important than ever to understand them.
