VIDEO: Ellie Fishman, Chanel Karimkhani, Andrew Mayer & More From THE HELLO GIRLS Perform in the FIRST COLORS Ceremony

The United States World War I Centennial Commission, in cooperation with the Doughboy Foundation, the National Park Service and the American Battle Monuments Commission, sponsored the FIRST COLORS Ceremony, a major event to celebrate the inaugural raising of the American flag over the nation's soon to open World War I Memorial. The live-broadcast event featured a special performance by the Off Broadway cast of THE HELLO GIRLS and took place in Washington, DC on Friday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. EDT / 7:00 a.m. PDT.

Watch the video from the ceremony below!

Hosted by award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, the 90-minute program paid tribute to America's role in WWI and highlight our national unity with military fanfare, guest appearances by notable participants from across the country and musical performances including a special excerpt from the Off Broadway musical THE HELLO GIRLS.

The WWI FIRST COLORS Ceremony performance reunited members of the original Off-Broadway cast of THE HELLO GIRLS: Ellie Fishman (Finding Neverland, Miss Saigon National Tour, Goodspeed's The Music Man), Chanel Karimkhani (Bach and Bleach, The Goree All Girl String Band), Andrew Mayer (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, I Spy A Spy), Matthew McGloin (Bastard Jones, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Ben Moss (Oratorio For Living Things at Ars Nova, Broadway: Head Over Heels, Amélie, Deaf West's Spring Awakening), Lili Thomas (We're Gonna Die@2ST, Only Human), Skyler Volpe (Sing Street at NYTW / Broadway, Barrington Stage West Side Story), and Cathryn Wake (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, The Other Josh Cohen). Original drummer Elena Bonomo (Broadway's Six, A Strange Loop) is joined by bass player and vocalist Nygel D. Robinson.

An ensemble of actor-musicians chronicles the story of America's first women soldiers in THE HELLO GIRLS. From New York to Paris, from ragtime to jazz, and featuring a critically-acclaimed score by Peter Mills, and book by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, the musical tells the story of the groundbreaking women who served as the first soldiers in the U.S. Army, during World War I. These intrepid heroines served as bilingual telephone operators on the front lines, helping turn the tide of World War I. They then returned home to fight a decades-long battle for equality and recognition, paving the way for future generations.

NYC's critically-acclaimed Prospect Theater Company premiered THE HELLO GIRLS Off-Broadway at 59E59 in November of 2018. The musical was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Music), four Outer Critics Circle Awards (including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score and Outstanding Book Of A Musical, and nominations for Outstanding New Musical from the Drama League Awards and Best New Musical from the Off Broadway Alliance Awards. THE HELLO GIRLS was later featured in ASCAP's Musical Theater Week at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC (October 2019) and most recently featured in a Prospect IGNITE Series concert at Symphony Space (February 2020). THE HELLO GIRLS Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording is available at www.BroadwayRecords.com and everywhere music is sold.

The FIRST COLORS Ceremony was an emotionally powerful, live-broadcast program that commemorated the generation of Americans who fought, with our allies, in the trenches and on the home front to bring an end to one of the most consequential wars in history. The FIRST COLORS Ceremony is available for public viewing at https://firstcolors.worldwar1centennial.org/.

Photo credit: Richard Termine

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