Syracuse Stage’s ‘The Hello Girls’ tells modern story from 1918 throwback setting
"The Hello Girls" provided audience members with new knowledge about women in war. It chronicles female soldiers from volunteering for the army to the war's final battle. Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor
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When Cara Reichel watched a documentary on the history of women in the military, one story stood out to her: the Hello Girls. She knew it would make for the perfect musical.
In 2018, this vision came to life when she and Peter Mills, co-writer, composer and lyricist, premiered their show off-Broadway.
“Once we discovered this story, we were just really inspired by it,” Reichel said. “Every time people learned about this story, there was so much encouragement and support. So many people rallied to support this story.”
Now, “The Hello Girls” is playing at Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex through Sept. 28. The musical tells the story of the Hello Girls — who served as telephone operators in the United States military during World War I — and their fight to prove they belong on the front lines.
The show blends the chaos of war with the stories of these women. They’re sometimes known as America’s first female soldiers, having been the first women to be officially deployed to a combat zone.
The musical follows the girls from when they volunteer and are interviewed to join the army, to when the war is won. Throughout this journey, the show reveals more about the girls’ lives as they form strong friendships, highlighting what it was like to be a woman in combat during WWI.
Music is an important part of the show because it helps to represent the mood of each scene, said Christine O’Grady, the show’s musical stager. This is especially true for “The Duration,” one of the songs in Act 2. The song plays as the girls and soldiers fight their final battle in the show.
“It’s a very complicated sequence, there’s a lot of activity, and there’s these moments that stop,” O’Grady said. “The lyric of that song is all about that we’re not going to stop, we get up again, do it again. We’re in the fight, still in the fight, stick with the fight.”
“The Hello Girls” is not as widely popular as some other musicals. But some audience members said this made them even more excited to see the show.
Pauline Kirk, a Syracuse local, frequents Syracuse Stage, and said “The Hello Girls” was one of the best shows she’s seen at the venue. She said she appreciated how informative the show was regarding the women in war.
“It was nice to hear a story about the war that I had never heard before,” Kirk said.
Julie Poling didn’t know anything about the Hello Girls before watching the musical. She said the show “brought their story to life” and she was impressed by the actors’ ability to portray the history.
The opening number of “The Hello Girls” asks audience members “Will you answer the call?” The show blends music with the chaos of war. Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor
After the Hello Girls arrived home from the war, they weren’t recognized as U.S. veterans until 1977. Prior productions of the show, like their off-Broadway run, built up awareness for the Hello Girls. They then received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2024. Reichel said she felt proud to have helped honor them.
“We were just one small piece,” Reichel said. “But it was cool to feel like the show and the story that we were telling was actively informing people and bringing the story up front so that then they could get this recognition.”
O’Grady and Reichel said they want people to leave the show feeling inspired. Instead of simply transporting viewers to 1918, Reichel said they wanted the characters to feel like a group of women living in the present day, looking back at the story.
“I hope that people can see the reflection of all the contemporary struggles that are still going on and apply the feelings and situations that they’ve observed from this story,” Reichel said.
O’Grady said she’s proud of the teamwork the show promotes. “The Hello Girls” recognizes that having the women in the army made the military more successful, and that the women were more successful when they worked together.
The opening number looks to the audience and asks them “Will you answer the call?” This question is what Reichel wants audiences to focus on after seeing the show.
“I would like people to look around the world they’re in and feel inspired and activated to participate in making the change in what is happening in the world now,” Reichel said.
