The Hello Girls – Theater Review At Syracuse Stage

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY)

The Hello Girls.

Okay, let’s just get this out-it’s spectacular! In the interest of time and impact, I simply want to say, go see it. Now! You will thank me for it later!

Mic Drop!

Many stories have been told about American women serving our country in wartime, and I’m sure there are many more stories still to discover. The Hello Girls is the story of the women who were recruited to operate the switchboard for communications with Allies on the front, once the United States entered World War I in 1917. It wasn’t an easy task, and out of 7,600 women who volunteered only about 100 were selected. Men were just not as good as women at being switchboard operators. It took a female operator about 10 seconds to connect a call while it took men about 60 seconds. Because men were needed in the field and since they weren’t very good at it, it was only logical for women to do the job, even if there was bias and prejudice against women being in the Armed Forces. Oh, and they had to speak fluent French also.

Tackling this inspirational and historical story as a musical is bold and audacious and it lands perfectly.

I loved this show. Everything works. The cast is simply amazing, moored by chief of staff, Grace Banker played by charismatic Chessa Metz. Storm Lever, whom like Metz, has Broadway credits, plays feisty Suzanne Prevot, a native French girl who currently lives in the States. Sophia Anna O’Brien plays Louise Le Breton and Jamila Sabares-Klemm plays Berth Hunt. Completing the Hello Girls featured in the show is Alex Humphreys who plays Helen Hill.

By focusing on just a few of the actual Hello Girls, writers Peter Mills and Cara Reichel can go deeper into their characters and stories, and by doing this, they illuminate the bigger scope of the story in the context of history.

I love the score by Mills, every song serves the story perfectly, seems organic and different than the last. Reichel’s book is lively and keeps the story flowing. It never seems like the book is independent of the score and vice versa.

The rest of the cast is also great-especially impressive is Sam Simahk, as the empathetic Lt. who at first begrudges overseeing women, but who quickly becomes a stalwart ally. It doesn’t seem fair to single out anyone in the cast, though, as they are all terrific.

Kudos to director Cara Reichel (the book writer) and especially to the Scenic designer Milagros Ponce de Leon and lighting designer Dawn Chiang. All design and tech elements are perfect.

Theater is a community. Theater is hope. Theater tells stories that need to be told. Theater is inspirational, entertaining, educational and sometimes thrilling. The Hello Girls is all these things. It is simply perfection.

Go Now. Go Now.

→ Read the entire article on the WWNY website.
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