She Must Have Been A Good Tipper

I just read Thorton Wilder's farce The Matchmaker. It's best known today as a precursor of Hello Dolly!, but it stands on its own. It was actually a rewrite of an earlier Wilder version that had flopped, which itself was based on a German play from the 1800s, and that was based on a British play.

One interesting item: the third act takes place at a fancy restaurant, and there is no mention of Dolly Levi (a character Wilder added to the plot) ever having been there before. This is because she's not the type that would have gone there, at least not much--certainly not enough for anyone to remember her.

Yet, the famous title number in Hello Dolly! is her grand return. It always bothers me. Allegedly, Harold Prince was asked to produce (or direct) the show, and said he would only do it if they cut the "Hello Dolly!" number, because it made no sense. He's right, but I guess some big numbers don't need to make sense.