Joining Carol's Revival: Randy Slovacek

Few people have lived with Hello, Dolly! as extensively as Randy Slovacek.

What began as a last-minute audition for Carol Channing's 1994–95 national tour and Broadway revival evolved into a decades-long relationship with one of America's most beloved musicals. Over the years, Randy has appeared in, staged, choreographed, supervised, or recreated numerous productions of Hello, Dolly!, becoming one of the foremost interpreters of Gower Champion's original choreography and Lee Roy Reams' celebrated staging.

His journey with the show began just days before rehearsals were scheduled to start.

A performer originally cast in the ensemble left to join the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, creating an unexpected vacancy. More than one hundred dancers attended the replacement call. Randy, recently unemployed and carrying what would be his final unemployment check, almost counted himself out before he even entered the room.

Rumors quickly spread that the creative team was searching for someone over six feet tall to fit the departing actor's costumes. At five-foot-eight, Randy assumed his chances were slim.

With nothing to lose, he decided to simply be himself.

After singing for director and choreographer Lee Roy Reams, Randy received an unexpected compliment.

"Where were you three months ago?" Lee Roy asked.

Randy jokingly pointed to the bag containing his last unemployment check and replied, "I'm unemployed now, and my last unemployment check is in that bag on its way to the credit union—and baby needs a new pair of shoes!"

Lee Roy burst out laughing.

An hour later, Randy received a phone call from casting director Mark Reiner.

"Are you sittin' down?" Reiner asked.

After repeating the question several times, he finally delivered the news.

"You got it."

"Dolly?" Randy asked in disbelief.

He had just been cast in what would become his Broadway debut.

Lee Roy Reams had chosen him.

That decision would change the course of Randy's career.

During the original 1994–95 tour and subsequent Broadway engagement, Randy served as dance captain, swing, and understudy for Barnaby Tucker. When Carol Channing returned to the road following the Broadway closing in 1996, Reams—now stepping into the role of Cornelius Hackl—asked Randy to help maintain and supervise the production.

What began as an effort to teach replacement performers quickly evolved into a much larger responsibility. Randy became Lee Roy's eyes in the theater, monitoring performances, maintaining choreography, overseeing technical elements, and helping preserve the integrity of the production while Reams performed onstage each night.

In many ways, Randy had become the show's guardian.

It was the beginning of a creative partnership with Lee Roy Reams that would continue for decades.

Randy Slovacek: Keeping Dolly Dancing

When audiences think of Hello, Dolly!, they often think first of Carol Channing's unmistakable voice, Jerry Herman's glorious score, or Gower Champion's iconic staging and choreography. Behind the scenes, however, there are artists whose devotion has helped ensure that the spirit and legacy of the show continue to thrive long after the curtain falls.

Randy Slovacek is one of those artists.

Over the course of nearly two decades, Randy's relationship with Hello, Dolly! evolved from ensemble performer to dance captain, swing, production supervisor, choreographer, and trusted collaborator of Lee Roy Reams. What began with a last-minute audition for Carol Channing's 1994–95 national tour and Broadway revival became a lifelong connection to one of the most beloved musicals in theatrical history.

Randy's story is also a story of mentorship. Through Lee Roy Reams, he inherited not only the responsibility of preserving Gower Champion's original vision, but also the understanding that great theater is about more than reproducing steps and staging. It is about preserving intent, style, storytelling, and heart.

During our conversation on April 29, 2013, Randy reflected on his Broadway debut, his experiences working alongside Carol Channing, Jerry Herman, and Lee Roy Reams, and the many productions of Hello, Dolly! that followed. He spoke candidly about the challenges of maintaining such a large musical, the lessons he learned from some of Broadway's greatest artists, and why the show's central message continues to resonate so deeply with him.

Most importantly, he shared why Hello, Dolly! is far more than a musical comedy. For Randy, it is a reminder to embrace life fully, seize opportunities, and never let the parade pass by.

Preserving Gower's Legacy

For Randy Slovacek, Hello, Dolly! became much more than his Broadway debut. It became a master class in understanding the genius of Gower Champion.

As a performer, Randy initially focused on learning his own track. As a dance captain, swing, and later choreographer, he found himself studying the entire architecture of the show. What appeared effortless from the audience was, in reality, a brilliantly constructed machine in which every movement served the story.

When Lee Roy Reams entrusted Randy with helping to stage and supervise productions of Hello, Dolly!, he also entrusted him with preserving Champion's legacy.

"From the very beginning," Randy explained, "I wanted to be very true to Gower Champion's original choreography and his original intent."

That responsibility became even more significant as productions moved into regional theaters and performing arts centers of varying sizes and configurations. Randy quickly discovered that recreating a Broadway production exactly as it had originally been staged was not always possible.

One memorable example came during productions at The Muny in St. Louis. The vast outdoor stage presented challenges that simply did not exist in a traditional Broadway theater.

"In most proscenium theaters, actors are running around backstage making entrances and exits," Randy recalled. "At The Muny, because of its immense size, that's impossible. Whatever side you exit from is generally where you have to come back on."

Necessity required adaptation.

Fortunately, Lee Roy Reams encouraged Randy to embrace flexibility while remaining faithful to the show's spirit.

"Lee Roy told me that as long as I had the style and the original intent of the show, that was the most important thing."

That philosophy became a guiding principle.

If a crossover needed to be added, if a waltz sequence needed to be expanded, or if additional dancers could enhance a moment without compromising the storytelling, Randy was encouraged to explore those possibilities. The goal was never to recreate the choreography step-for-step as if it were frozen in amber. The goal was to preserve what made it work.

Nowhere was that more evident than in the title number itself.

Over the years, Randy developed an even deeper appreciation for Champion's ability to create theatrical impact through simplicity. He often pointed to moments such as the famous "duck walk" at the end of "Hello, Dolly!" as examples of Champion's genius.

"It doesn't have to be the most complicated step in the world," Randy said. "If it's a great step, done cleanly by eighteen people, the audience goes crazy."

As he began staging productions himself, Randy found that he was learning new lessons every time he returned to the show. What had once seemed like a collection of dance numbers revealed itself as an intricately woven storytelling device.

"When I set the show, I had to learn not only my part, but everyone's part. The men's tracks. The women's tracks. How everything fit together. That's when I really began to understand Gower's genius."

That understanding brought with it tremendous responsibility.

Each new production became a balancing act between preservation and practicality. Randy approached every rehearsal determined to honor the artists who had come before him—Champion, Jerry Herman, Carol Channing, and Lee Roy Reams—while also creating a production that worked for the performers standing in front of him.

The process never became routine.

"Every time I start a production of Hello, Dolly!," Randy said, "I stand there on the first day and think, 'Well, here we go.' It's a huge undertaking."

But it is one he embraces wholeheartedly.

Because for Randy Slovacek, preserving Hello, Dolly! has never been about preserving dance steps. It has been about preserving the joy, optimism, craftsmanship, and humanity that have kept the show alive for generations.

That, perhaps more than anything else, is Gower Champion's true legacy.

The following is Randy Slovacek's Hello, Dolly! story, told in his own words.

How Randy Got Dolly

Sometimes a Broadway career can change in a matter of minutes.

For Randy Slovacek, that moment came just days before rehearsals began for Carol Channing's 1994–95 national tour of Hello, Dolly!

The production had already been cast. Then, at the last minute, one of the performers left to join the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. A replacement audition was quickly scheduled, and more than one hundred dancers showed up hoping to land a role.

Randy was among them.

At the time, he was unemployed and actively auditioning. In fact, the day of the audition happened to be the day he received his final unemployment check.

As the audition progressed, rumors began circulating among the dancers. The creative team, it was said, was looking for someone over six feet tall—someone who could fit into the costumes already built for the departing performer.

Randy, who stands five-foot-eight, assumed his chances were slim.

"They need someone six-foot-two," he remembered thinking. "I'm not going to get this."

With nothing to lose, he decided to stop worrying and simply enjoy the experience.

The field of auditionees was quickly narrowed. More than a hundred became seventy, then thirty, then fifteen. After dancing came the singing portion of the audition.

Randy knew one thing about director and choreographer Lee Roy Reams.

"He likes big voices."

Randy had one.

After he finished singing, Lee Roy smiled and asked, "Where were you three months ago? That's very nice."

Randy explained that he had been working when the original casting took place. Then, pointing toward the bag containing his final unemployment check, he added:

"But I'm unemployed now, and my last unemployment check is in that bag on its way to the credit union—and baby needs a new pair of shoes!"

Lee Roy burst out laughing.

Randy left the audition, went home, and thought little more about it.

About an hour later, the telephone rang.

When he answered, the voice on the other end asked a strange question.

"Are you sittin' down?"

Randy was puzzled.

The voice repeated the question.

"Are you sittin' down?"

Looking around his apartment, Randy wondered if someone could somehow see him through the window.

The caller asked one more time.

"Are you sittin' down?"

Finally, the voice delivered the news.

"You got it." It was casting director Mark Reiner.

For a moment, Randy could hardly process what he was hearing.

"Dolly?" he asked.

He had been cast.

More importantly, he had been chosen by Lee Roy Reams.

Years later, Randy would still marvel at the fact that Lee Roy selected him despite not fitting the physical specifications everyone thought they were seeking. "I said to Mark, 'You know I'm not six-foot-two, right?'"

It didn't matter.

Lee Roy wanted Randy.

That decision not only gave him his first Broadway show, it launched a relationship with Hello, Dolly! that would span decades. Randy would go on to serve as dance captain, swing, understudy, production supervisor, choreographer, and keeper of a legacy that had begun long before he entered the rehearsal room. What started as a last-minute audition became one of the defining experiences of his life.

His Relationship with Lee Roy Reams

If Hello, Dolly! introduced Randy Slovacek to Broadway, Lee Roy Reams helped shape the artist he would become.

Their professional relationship began with that life-changing audition for Carol Channing's 1994–95 national tour. Lee Roy saw something in Randy and cast him despite concerns that he did not fit the physical specifications of the role they were seeking to fill. What followed was not simply a working relationship, but a mentorship that would influence Randy's career for decades.

During the original tour and Broadway revival, Randy served as a dance captain, swing, and understudy. After the Broadway engagement closed in January 1996, Carol Channing took Hello, Dolly! back on the road later that year. By then, Lee Roy had stepped into the role of Cornelius Hackl and could no longer devote all of his attention to supervising the production from the outside.

He needed someone he trusted.

He chose Randy.

Initially, Randy's responsibility was straightforward: teach the new swing his track and help maintain the choreography. But as rehearsals and technical preparations continued, his role expanded. During technical rehearsals, the new swing often performed Randy's track while Randy sat in the house observing the production and relaying notes back to Lee Roy.

"Lee Roy needed an outside eye," Randy recalled.

Without ever officially being given the title, Randy became the production's supervisor.

It was a responsibility he took seriously. More importantly, it was a sign of the confidence Lee Roy had placed in him.

Over time, Randy came to understand that Lee Roy's greatest gift as a director was not simply his knowledge of the material, but his willingness to trust the artists around him.

Many directors insist that choreography and staging be reproduced exactly as originally created. Lee Roy approached things differently.

He taught Randy that preserving a show did not mean preserving every step. It meant preserving the intent.

"Lee Roy always told me that as long as I had the style and the original intent of the show, that was what mattered most."

That philosophy proved invaluable as Randy began helping to recreate Hello, Dolly! in theaters of all shapes and sizes. Whether working at The Muny in St. Louis, a regional theater, or a touring production, circumstances often required adjustments. Rather than fearing change, Lee Roy encouraged creative problem-solving.

"If you need to add a crossover, add a crossover. If you need a waltz, add a waltz. Use the dancers." The lesson stayed with Randy.

As the years passed, the two collaborated on numerous productions of Hello, Dolly! Together they helped bring the musical to new generations of audiences, including productions starring Gretchen Wyler, Randy Graff, Christine Toy Johnson, and the groundbreaking National Asian Artists Project production featuring an all-Asian cast. They also worked together on the historic Wick Theatre production in Boca Raton, where Lee Roy himself stepped into the title role of Dolly Gallagher Levi.

For Randy, each production became another opportunity to learn.

He admired Lee Roy's fearlessness, his imagination, and his refusal to become trapped by tradition.

"When Lee Roy gets a new idea," Randy said, "he starts dancing." That spirit of curiosity and creativity remained a constant source of inspiration.

Even after years of collaboration, Randy never stopped learning from him.

"I can't say enough good things about Lee Roy Reams," he reflected.

Their relationship was built on mutual respect, trust, and a shared love for one of the greatest musicals ever written. More than a director, Lee Roy became a mentor. More than a colleague, he became a friend. And through that friendship, Randy inherited not only the responsibility of helping preserve Hello, Dolly!, but also a philosophy that would guide his own work as a choreographer and director for years to come: honor the past, understand the intent, and never be afraid to bring life to the material in the present.