‘Hello Girls’ musical tells story of forgotten World War I heroes

It’s not often that a high school actor has the opportunity to become immersed in a character for most of the school year, but Sutton Van Lenten and her fellow cast members of “Hello Girls” have done  just that at Greenbrier High School.

Van Lenten plays Grace Banker, who led a group of women soldiers in World War I in France. They were telephone operators known as the “Hello Girls’. A musical based on their stories will be presented at 7 p.m. Jan. 29-31 at Greenbrier High School. For tickets, go here.

They did a one-act version of the show in the fall.

The Hello Girls were female telephone operators who served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I. Photo courtesy US Army.mil website

Van Lenten can relate to parts of her character.

“I’m pretty strong. Act 2 Grace Banker is very similar to me as a person. In Act 1, she’s a softer leader – more like “big sister Grace’ than a leader,” said Van Lenten, a senior, who enjoys watching and experiencing Grace’s character arc.

Preparations for “Hello Girls” began in the summer of 2025 with opportunities for the students to learn about this unique group of women.

“In 1918 the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. By war’s end, they had connected over 26 million calls and were recognized by Gen. John J. Pershing for their service,” said a 2018 press release from the National Archives in highlighting a documentary about them.

Most telephone switchboard operators in the U.S. at the time were women. At the time of their military service, women had yet to be granted the right to vote.

Students visited Fort Gordon, the home of the Signal Corps, to learn about the Hello Girls’ history and to see some of the equipment they would’ve used. Some of the cast members also talked with their descendants while studying their roles.

Greenbrier High School will present “Hello Girls” at 7 p.m. Jan. 29-31 at Greenbrier High School. Photo courtesy Greenbrier High School

Van Lenten learned a lot about the woman Grace Banker was through her journals and other writings. She’s worked to stay true to history.

The play is based on the lives of several women including Banker as well as composites of other Hello Girls. Some of the ensemble actors play their parts with specific Hello Girls in mind even though the script doesn’t name them.

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