Sonoma Community Center was packed last weekend for the final performances of the musical The Hello Girls, presented by Sonoma Arts Live.
According to Jaime Love, Artistic Director, it’s “about the first female U.S. military unit…groundbreakers who operated switchboards translating vital communications during World War I.” Serving as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corp., these bi-lingual women ironically did not even have the right to vote until two years after the war ended in 1920.
Based on the book by Cara Reichel and Peter Mills (music and lyrics also by Mills), the story comes to life with Maeve Smith’s fine direction and outstanding music direction by Aja Gianola-Norris.
The show is a real winner thanks to spectacular choreography by Jonathen Blue and lovely live music performed by members of the cast along with Elaine Herrick (bass/cello) and Erica Dori/Elizabeth Dreyer Robertson (percussion).
The ensemble cast is multi-talented. They act, sing, dance and some play musical instruments—all with great energy and range. Tina Traboulsi shines in her role as Louise (she also plays clarinet and guitar). Mike Pavone is commanding as General Pershing and Jonathen Blue stands out with his powerful singing voice and strong acting as “Doughboy” Lt. Wassen.
Rounding out the fine cast is Caroline Shen (Bertha/piano), Emily Evans (Helen/violin), Sarah Lundstrom (Suzanne), Jenny Veilleux (Grace), Drew Bolander (Lt. Riser), Skyler King (Masterson) and Phi Tran (Morris). The actors’ dialects were spot on thanks to John Rustan (Dialect and Language Coach).
The set is simple so the costumes (Jaime Love/Maeve Smith), sound design (Tom Luekens) and lighting (Frank Sarubbi) add much to the overall mood. Kudos to the rest of the creative team and entire cast for creating a memorable show!
Coming up next at Sonoma Arts Live is Lend Me A Tenor,May 31-June 16 followed by The Prom, July 12-28.
