Here we are, clutching the famous chorus of Hello, Dolly! in one breath, on Friday, December 6, at the Lido 2 Paris. And 850 people shared the exhilaration of this historic musical, created in 1964 in New York by Carol Channing, turned into a movie in 1969 starring Barbra Streisand, and now playing in Paris. While Louis Armstrong's deep voice was on the mind, the cacophony of a festive crowd covered the orchestra and the group of actor-singers led by the star Caroline O'Connor.

Hello, Dolly! is part of the American entertainment heritage. Since its premiere, the classic has been performed 2,844 times and won 10 Tony Awards. Directed by Gower Champion – Jerome Robbins declined – the libretto, written by Michael Stewart, with music and songs by Jerry Herman, looks very old-fashioned while beating the drum of love intrigue with twists and turns. The story, which unfolds the adventures of an early 20th-century professional matchmaker, Dolly Gallagher Levi, already a widow, chasing her new boyfriend, also a widower, all the way to New York, sometimes unwittingly matching other couples, has the charm of an almost exotic story, by dint of being dated.

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