Trinity Hall’s QCC is proud to present the new American musical “The Hello Girls”, a powerful story that celebrates the experiences of groundbreaking women from the past. The show, with music and lyrics by Peter C. Mills and a book by Cara Reichel, centers on the real-life first female soldiers in the United States who served as telephone operators in France during World War I. These women, known as the Hello Girls, established clear lines of communication between frontlines and headquarters, showing incredible courage while facing an ongoing battle in the fight for equality.
Director and theater teacher Ellen Phillips expressed her excitement about the production, noting the importance of telling such a significant story. “I am particularly excited for this production because it is based on true characters in history. Much like ‘These Shining Lives’, it has been really fulfilling for myself and for the students to know they are representing strong women and telling a story that holds so much importance in history,” Phillips said. “The music is beautiful and the cast is really leaning into the complicated harmonies. I can't wait to share this with our community. It's going to be fantastic!”
Kate Schweikert ‘26 not only plays a leading role on stage, but also serves as choreographer and is responsible for bringing the show to the attention of Mrs. Phillips. “Once I read the female-centered inspiring and important story and listened to the incredible soundtrack, I immediately fell in love and knew this was the perfect show for Trinity Hall,” Schweikert shares.
She acknowledges the hard work being put forth between the cast and crew throughout the rehearsal process and explains their shared motivation. “We are driven by this incredible story and how excited we are to bring it to the stage. This show is a true story of the incredible actions of the female telephone operators fighting both in WWI and for their rights and recognition during and after the war. It is an honor to be telling this story, with the bonus of getting to sing and dance with all the amazing members of the QCC!”
Fellow cast member Reese Evans ‘26 portrays Louise LeBreton, the youngest of the main girls who was a college student and telephone operator when she excitedly signed up to join the army. Evans shares her castmate’s sentiments for the storyline and is excited for audiences to take in their performances, as she states, “We are not only putting on this show for entertainment, but to teach our community about the unsung heroes of the first World War who didn’t get their credit until years after it was over. It is such an inspiring show for women everywhere to keep your values at the forefront of your life and to fight for what you believe in.”
The sets team, lead by Scarlett Ferranti ‘25, Sophia Latourette ‘25 and Ava Santamaria ‘26, has been working behind the scenes to astound audiences with their creative work. “I am most excited for the audience to see the switchboards we are making,” said Ferranti. “They have gone through a couple rounds of iterations and our final design is going to look incredible on stage.”
LaTourette added, “Everyone in the arts department is excited to see the set be brought to life by our wonderful Crowning Crew. We’re working hard to put together a set perfect for ‘The Hello Girls’ and we can’t wait to see how our actors use the set to bring the story to life.” The Trinity Hall community will have to come to performances for themselves to see these plans and several months’ work come to fruition on stage.
In keeping with the historical context, costume designers Maggie Havens ‘26 and Lucy Kennedy ‘25, along with their team, have meticulously researched the fashion of the period, particularly around 1918, to create authentic costumes. Kennedy explained, “We can tell a lot about how people would dress by looking at the economic and social state during that time. Since it was wartime, we know that people wouldn't dress in very bright fancy colors or very detailed dresses. We got a lot of our inspiration from looking at pictures from the time and looking at previous productions of ‘The Hello Girls’.” Havens and Kennedy have also recently put in the time to teach an excited new group of underclasswomen how to hold a needle, cut out patterns and take part in skills that the girls can use for the rest of their lives. The student leaders are proud of their crew for their dedication and hard work, which will surely shine on stage.
The QCC looks forward to bringing this empowering story to life on stage. Audiences should expect to see a moving and timely reminder of the resilience, strength and courage of women who changed the course of history. Performances will take place on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. at Brookdale Community College Performing Arts Center. Ticket reservations for all performances are available here.