The Hello Girls
Bijou is an Independent Theatre Company with a mission to produce shows with great roles for women. The Hello Girls is a welcome return of Bijou to the Hobart scene after an extended post-COVID hiatus. The story plays out in WW1 France and follows the story of five telephonists of the US Signal Corps branch of the American Expeditionary Corps.
The Playhouse Theatre has limitations. Previously a chapel, it has served for nearly 100 years as a theatre. It is small and only has one fly line. It is not ideal for musicals when opening the pit necessarily results in the sacrifice of seating. What the Playhouse does have, however, is a new lighting system.
This new lighting was deployed to excellent effect over Melanie Ransley’s set. All the action down stage centres on several moveable pieces which constituted the telephone exchanges at which the women of the first female military telephony unit work. Fluid rotation of these versatile and practical items never impeded sight lines. The actors manipulate these with confidence and verisimilitude.
Up stage, over several levels of wooden construction, was the static piece which evokes the front lines. This simple design with the majesty and poignancy of Golgotha, was the backdrop for every changing mood played out on the cyclorama. The greater landscape of the WW1 was ever-present.
The Hello Girls is a well written musical which manages to eschew many standard plotting devices to focus more on ideas and character development. The opening song (“Answer the Call”) urges the audience to “join” with patriotic fervour. This invitation to vicariously participate in the journey of the next two hours has the stirring ardour one associates with monumental anthems such as “Do you hear the people sing?”. This is no trivial story.
The characters of Grace Banks, Suzanne Prevot, Bertha Hunt, Helen Hill and Louise Le Breton are introduced through the song “Connected”, a multi-layered piece that establishes the standard of harmonies that are consistently delivered throughout the show. The Call to Adventure is delayed as the women undergo a bureaucratic selection process. “We aren’t in the army yet” has a quirky Brechtian feel in which the choreography of Mandy Lowrie is first showcased. Lowrie makes the best use of the small space as the women are prodded and assessed but the selectors.
The song “Hello Girls” feels like a Hollywood production number, but the score is eclectic. “Cryptic triptych” is another polyphonic piece in various styles. There are poignant ballads, the charming and disarming waltz of “Quinze Minutes” and stirring choral anthems (“Making History”). The music is simply wonderful. Joel Robert’s guitar is a feature, and Iestyn Parry (keyboard 2) utilises various sampled sounds to evoke moods or genres. Andrew Castles is an excellent percussionist who contributes significantly to evoke military drumming. The ensemble is excellent and well balanced under the expert direction of Petr Divis, who conducts from the keyboard. Divis would also have drilled the vocalists in the harmonies which are often suggestive of the tight syncopations of Andrew’s Sister era. Sound engineering by Greg Cracknell supports the balance of the whole in which every word and note is clear.
Emily Dean, as Grace Banker is indubitably the star. She is vocally delightful with a strong stage presence. Shannae Shead has a very pleasing timbre that is easy on the ear. She is charmingly naïve as Helen Hill. Ella Wescombe is strong in the feisty character role of Suzanne Prevot. Tiny, Eli Horne is a powerhouse of French invective in the one moment in which a German soldier is humanised. Nicole Simms-Farrow, so often the leading lady, provides motherly warmth as Bertha Hunt. All of these women are excellent as soloists and in ensemble numbers. Every performance is nuanced and believable.
Whilst the five male performers are not negligible in their contribution to the whole, Will Pridmore as Joseph Riser, takes a significant part. His character is strong and well developed. He is an able foil to Grace Banks in comedic and dramatic moments. War stories are so frequently the stories of men doing important men-type things, so let is suffice to say that Jeff Keogh, David Thomson, Justin Turner, and Gus Viney are part of the machine of war and as such, share part of the history of the Hello Girls. In various roles, they support the central story.
The final stirring song of the show is entitled “Making History”. The women of the US Signal Corps made history as the first female telephonists in the army. So, also has director, Karen Kluss, with this impressive production.
Anne Blythe-Cooper
Photographer: Matt Osborne, Oi Studios
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