Stage Review: The Hello Girls (Taproot Theatre)
Stage Review - The Hello Girls
Presented By: Taproot Theatre, Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: Saturday, July 29, 2023
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
History is an amazing thing. It’s how we learn about our ancestors, how we connect the dots to see how we have all collectively arrived at our current location in space and time, and, perhaps more importantly, it’s how we learn from our mistakes. There are plenty of things that we dig up that aren’t pleasant to learn, things that are hard to hear, and things that are sometimes embarrassing and shameful, but every once in a while a nugget is uncovered that gives us hope and makes us feel good about ourselves and our humanity. One such story is that of The Hello Girls, the common name for the group of American female switchboard operators, deployed to the European theater in World War I, and who helped the allies achieve victory through their ability to fill a role that was essential at the time. America was late coming into World War I, and it didn’t have any real history of global military dominance yet, but what it did have, especially coming out of the turn of the century, and the industrial revolution, was a good deal of technology and a work ethic second to none. The Hello Girls, officially the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit, were prime examples of this. As the war progressed in Europe and there was a need for switchboard operators to accurately and quickly receive and route calls, and due to a shortage of men for these positions and a lack of experience, meaning that when they did this particular job, they weren’t altogether quick, General Pershing called for the best, and the best happened to be female. The women could not only receive and route calls quickly and efficiently, they also had an aptitude to understand and use the complex and changing sets of codewords being used for communications between the field and command. It’s a story of determination and grit, perseverance and commitment, and it’s also the subject of a brand new musical, onstage now through August 19 at Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage in Seattle.
The musical, written by Peter Mills (book, music, lyrics) and Cara Reichel (book), and directed by Karen Lund at Taproot, follows the girls from recruitment, through enlistment, active duty, and finally to recognition, which took much longer than it should have. It’s a relatively new show, having debuted in 2018, and the Taproot production represents its regional premiere. Stylistically, it feels a bit like other shows that have come before, there are some definite Come From Away vibes, but the story itself is fresh, and it’s produced and performed very well.
The stage, upon entry to the Jewell Mainstage theatre, looks a bit like a barn, with some benches in front of the large door area on the stage floor. Emanating from the edifice are wires, ostensibly the communications medium for the girls to communicate over. Once the show starts, the stage transforms largely without changing. Within that barn is housed the live musicians under the direction of Music Director Michael Nutting. It’s a real treat to have live musicians in a show like this, it makes the musical numbers pop more than they would with recorded tracks, it gives the show a liveliness. The front of the stage itself typically has nothing more than those benches I mentioned above, or some tables, becoming a switchboard room, a military barracks, a briefing room, and even the front lines in battle. Mark Lund’s scenic design proves worthy of praise, simple yet flexible, allowing the actors to provide setting through the portrayals of their characters. I’ve said before, a set should not overshadow the performances onstage, rather it should support them and provide just enough to give context to a scene. The Hello Girls set is the epitome of that idea. Benches, tables, headsets, all tools for the actors to use in order to tell this story, and they tell this story very well.
The tale itself focuses on four women, Suzanne Prevot (Rebecca Cort), Helen Hill (Lauren Engstrom), Bertha Hunt (Jessica Ziegelbauer), and Louise Lebreton (played Sunday by Keola Kapulani Holt), under the leadership of Grace Banker (Cassi Q Kohl). Grace, an instructor and leader in the civilian world of the switchboard operator, is a natural fit to lead these girls, and Cassi is the perfect actor to lead this show. Her ability to capture every aspect of Grace is impeccable. Cassi’s got such a wonderful nuance of expression, it’s crystal clear when Grace is hopeful, when she’s frustrated or angry, or when she’s happy, just by a slight change in her face. She’s an excellent singer to boot, as are all of the actors in The Hello Girls, but Cassi is spotlighted more than the others, and has a command of the stage that makes the scenes she leads burst with energy. The other girls are wonderful as well, and as an ensemble they all work very well together, clearly prepared and confident in their roles and their interactions. Louise Lebreton is French, which happens to come in handy when the group travels to Paris, and Keola plays this role with an impeccable accent and solid posture. While Louise is the only one who is French, one of the requirements for working on this military project was to speak the language, so each of the actors is required to speak at least a little French throughout. Credit to dialect coach Marianna de Fazio, each actor is able to slide in and out of French with a great deal of ease.
General Pershing (Jeff Church) initiated the buildup of this group, but it’s Joseph Riser who is responsible for it, and it is to him that Grace reports up to. Rico Lastrapes is Riser here and this is a wonderfully transformative role. Riser begins aghast at the idea of women being enlisted to serve in the military. He gradually grows to accept and appreciate the switchboard operators, however, and even begins to value (dare I say care for?) them. It’s a role that requires Rico to be feel all of these changing feelings toward the girls and it’s something he excels at. Jeff Church’s Pershing isn’t on the stage as much as the other leads in The Hello Girls, but his command of the role and the stage when he is on it is on par with Pershing’s command of his troops.
The cast is filled out by Casey Raiha, Jeremy Steckler, and Fune Tautala, each doing double or triple duty on supporting roles, mostly as soldiers in the war. Each is very good in support of this story, which sometimes goes beyond just the strict telling of The Hello Girls. There’s a strong undertone of female empowerment here, especially in the conflict between Grace Banker and Joseph Riser. It takes a lot for Grace and her group to prove that, yes, women can do things just as good as, and sometimes better than, men. It also is something that Riser gradually has to come to grips with. There’s also a piece where the ladies come across a German soldier, one of the roles played by Casey Raiha, again imbued with an excellent accent. The lesson here is that even though countries or governments are at war, it doesn’t mean that the people need to be at war with each other. These ideas are presented well, they’re there, surely, but the show is not preachy in any way.
There is a lot that makes Hello Girls work. First off, it’s a feel-good story, it all starts there. It’s wonderfully performed as well, and it’s songs, while not anything groundbreaking musically are catch and inspiring. Powerful songs that close out each act, “Lives on the Line” and “Making History” feature the entire ensemble. They’re done in a way, again similar to Come From Away and other shows, that combines music with dialogue, and what that does here is helps to build up the emotion of the pieces. The ensemble, through is excellent, harmonies are on point, and each song is delivered with excellence.
The Hello Girls is also presented technically very well. I especially find the lighting design to be crucial to the telling of this and giving it the emotional impact it intends. Ahren Buhmann uses light to portray the difference between indoors and out, the front lines of battle and camp, and to provide focus on the stage to draw the audience’s attention to where the story is being told. It also portrays the mood, contrasting brightness and dark when needed. Nanette Acosta’s costumes are exquisite. Each uniform is consistent, appropriate for its time, and functional, they all look natural on these actors. This is a small stage, and at times carries a lot of actors on at any one time. There’s an excellent choreography of movement here, something that is consistent with shows I’ve seen at Taproot and on full display here. There’s no dancing per se, but there’s a lot of people moving in different directions, and Katy Tabb’s design here makes full use of the stage without it feeling congested at all. Well done.
The Hello Girls is a musical treat, a unique telling of an historical event with an importance that has always been understated. There’s nothing understated about this production, though, this ensemble is excellent, as is the design and execution of every technical aspect. The Hello Girls will distract you with its excellent storytelling so much that you’ll won’t even realize until after you leave that you actually learned something.
The Hello Girls is onstage at Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage and has been extended through August 19. For more information and tickets, visit https://taproottheatre.org/.
Photo credit: John Ulman
