REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On THE HELLO GIRLS

Friday 12th January 2024, 7:30pm, Hayes Theatre

THE HELLO GIRLS with Book, Music and Lyrics by Peter Mills and Book by Cara Reichel premiered off-Broadway in 2019 to many accolades. Albeit a briefer than expected run due to COVID.

Director Jason Langley along with Canberra’s Heart Strings Theatre bring their production to the Hayes theatre after a run at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre centre, in September 2023.

It follows the story of the first American woman soldiers who were instrumental in the victory of the first World War. The men running this WWII conflict realised they urgently needed to improve their switchboard communication skills.

Sometimes men get it right and they discovered that the best people for the job were the women who were already highly skilled in this profession.

But of course this went against their traditional beliefs of were woman sit in society. And we, the audience, discover yet another piece of important female history that has been forgotten and hidden.

When these women returned to their home, the Army in its deficient wisdom, ruled that they were not veterans and as such not entitled to the recognition and the rewards that their male counterparts received.

Langley has assembled a fine young cast with superb voices, Rhianna McCourt, Kira Leiva, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Nikola Gucciardo, Kaitlin Nihill, Joel Hutchings, Matthew Hearne, David Hooley, Lincoln Elliot, Zachary Selmes, Jessy Heath, Alexis van Maanen and James Frampton.

The ensemble is tight and harmonious in their rendition of THE HELLO GIRLS, their passion and enthusiasm is boundless. McCourt shines as Grace Banker, her voice sublime as she takes on the difficult journey that Banker faces and that represents the challenges that many women in history and even today still endure. Hooley delivers a compelling and commanding performance as Gen. John Pershing. Other gems of the night include Leiva’s consummate Suzanne Prevot, Maeda-Judge’s Bertha Hunt, Gucciardo’s Helen Hill and Nihill’s Louise Lebreton.

The entire cast bringing the work of Mills and Reichel to the Hayes stage with gusto. Many of the compositions are skilful and exemplary examples of musical theatre. The title song, The Hello Girls and the rendition by this cast was sublime.

Amy Orman’s choreography is also a highlight, clever, concise and inventive. A joy to watch. The representation of the troops at sea was simple, eloquent and effective.

Along with Tim Hope’s wonderful lighting we experienced some striking silhouettes and impressive visuals. Hope’s lights worked well with Monique Langford’s multi-levelled and stepped set. Her platformed stage successfully separated the various scenes, which is no mean feat on the smaller than average stage. The backdrop, reminiscent of telephone wires, came across to me, more like a scene from an 80’s MTV music video, especially with its bright neon lighting. This may have been fitting with the casual contemporary costumes of the cast that topped and tailed the performance and with the electric guitar sequence but these elements didn’t quite gel with a story set a century ago.

This work by Mills and Reichel is a curious one. The opening number “Will You Answer The Call” seems to challenge the audience to take on the old belief that we must go to war purely for patriotic reasons. I assume this is to put the audience on the same passionate journey that the characters are about to embark on. So that we are sympathetic with their thinking.

For an audience that has a misogynistic point of view, THE HELLO GIRLS would be a revelation, but for those who have an understanding and take the value of woman as a given, what comes to the fore is a story of war. The Book, in line with the history of the actual Hello Girls, emphasises the past and less popular attitudes to war as these facts are key to the women’s goals and intent.

There is a scene where an ‘enemy’ does give a humanitarian point of view but this seems token and this work relies on the approach to war of the early 20th century. It’s hard forget about war and the politics around its machinations in today’s climate. THE HELLO GIRLS is a tricky tale to tell.

It is marvellous to experience a story of how important woman have been in our history and to acknowledge that they have not received the recognition they deserve.

Get to the Hayes to see this enjoyable, loud, passionate, and important musical theatre production.

CBR Production - Jane Duong Photography

Tuesday – Saturday 7:30pm
Thursday & Saturday 2:00pm
Sunday 5:00pm

This production uses theatrical haze, loud sound effects, discussion & depictions of war and simulated guns. Recommended for 12+

Approx. 2 hours and 20 mins – including interval

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