Interview: Elaine Hendrix Dances Her Way Back to the Stage in Hello, Dolly!

Elaine Hendrix, forever iconic as Meredith Blake in The Parent Trap and Lisa Luder in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, hadn’t yet danced with the stars when OFC Creations in Rochester invited her to play Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!

Surprised that she’d even be considered for the role, Hendrix jumped at the opportunity, unsure whether she was really up to the task. Months later, after spending weeks dancing in front of millions of viewers, she came to a simple realization: she can do anything. That confidence fueled her brief rehearsal process, followed her into performances (which continue through February 15), and reminded her that there’s nothing like a live audience.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

This seems like it would have come from your being on Dancing with the Stars, but they came to you earlier than that.
They asked me to do this last April. Of course, I’m familiar with Hello, Dolly! I started listening to the soundtrack and I thought “Oh, I’ve got plenty of time,” and then Dancing with the Stars happened. Then, it’s December and I’ve got an entire musical to learn.

And it’s not the easiest role.
No, it is not. It’s so deceivingly pretty and joyful, but I keep laughing that I think she talks kind of like Yoda. A really flowery Yoda. She’ll use 40 words when she could use seven. My poor little brain is like “What are you doing?”

Is this your first musical?
I grew up doing theater. I’ve done tons of short performances, but from beginning to end, professionally and all that, it’s my first one.

What made you want to do it?
I just thought it was so random that this theater in Rochester, New York, thought, “Hey, let’s ask Elaine Hendrix if she wants to come do Hello, Dolly!” It’s so rare that I get to do full runs because of my schedule. But this time of year tends to be on the slower side, and it all worked out beautifully. I’m excited to do it. I love doing theater and I’m really happy they asked me.

Had you seen Dolly before?
I hadn’t seen it live until the revival. I saw it with Bernadette. Oh, my God, she was incredible. I went to a matinee, and she had a cold or something going on, and I’m like “Freaking Bernadette Peters is performing like it’s nothing with a cold.”

Makes the rest of us look like peasants, doesn’t it?
And it seemed like…Of course, performers make everything look easy. I feel like we made Dancing with the Stars look easy, and it was so incredibly hard. On the outside, Dolly is so frothy, but on the inside, she has so much going on. We get these wonderful little moments into her, but it’s been very challenging to balance the pageantry of Hello, Dolly! with grounding her into a real person.

Did performing on Dancing with the Stars in the interim help you gain the stamina and confidence to carry a full musical?
After Dancing with the Stars, I feel like I can do anything. My confidence is through the roof. There’s nothing like going on TV and dancing live for millions of people. That was so daunting and now I’m like “Oh yeah, I can do this in a 260-seat theater.”

I know you did a bit of theater with Ginger Twinsies, too.
Yeah, I co-produced that.

That aspect must have been a new way for you to look at things.
I had total FOMO that I wasn’t on stage with them. It was a very surreal feeling. When you’re in a cast, you’re in the thick of it together. Being in a producer, you’re outside of that. Everything in me kept being like “No, I’m supposed to be inside of that,” and I just wasn’t. They embraced me entirely and I still loved the experience.

Do you want to do more theater or live performance in general now?
Yes, especially now. I want to do Broadway. I want to keep doing great productions. Mainly, it’s always dictated by my schedule.

What does theater offer you as a performer?
I began my career as a dancer. I began in theater. Dancing with the Stars took me back. It reignited skills that I never thought I’d get to do again at that level. I love the immediate response. We give to the audience; they give to us. Sometimes, I just want a break from feeling like you’ve got to put something down that’s going to live forever. At this point in my life, the feeding off the energy of the audience is what I want.