"Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy merchant in 19th Century Yonkers, NY, decides to take a wife and employs a matchmaker, Mrs. Dolly Levi.  Dolly subsequently becomes involved with two of Vandergelder’s clerks, several lovely ladies, and the headwaiter at an expensive restaurant where this swift farce runs headlong into hilarious complications. After everyone gets straightened out romantically, Vandergelder finds himself affianced to the astute Dolly Levi herself."
The Matchmaker opened on Broadway on December 5, 1955 starring Ruth Gordon (Best Actress, Tony Award Nominee), directed by Tyrone Guthrie (Best Director, Tony Award Winner). TheMatchmaker ran for 486 performances, Wilder’s Broadway record, and closed on February 2, 1957. It was later adapted as the musical Hello, Dolly!." - ThorntonWilder.com