Review: THE HELLO GIRLS at FMCT / The Hjemkomst Center

This musical, which had its premiere in New York in 2018, is based on the true story of “America's first female Soldiers”. In this wonderful and important story, we learn how General Pershing decided to recruit women switchboard operators to assist with the effort during World War I.

Anytime I go into a show that I know little to nothing about, I am always a bit nervous. Luckily this show exceeded all expectations.

This show features a small, but extremely talented cast with many familiar faces on stage. Director Daniel Damico, who always does a wonderful job on stage, is quickly making a name for himself as one of the top local directors in the F-M area.

I asked Daniel what he liked about this show and he said “This show is interesting for many reasons: it's about World War I, it's based on a true story, and it's an empowering story about the first women to be in the US Army and how crucial these women were to winning the war. And the music is wonderful. It's been a rewarding experience.”

The music is absolutely beautiful and I have to give a huge shout-out to Music Director Katie Damico.

As for the cast... Wow, just wow. So much talent on the stage from every member of the cast.

Samara McDermid as Grace was nothing short of amazing. She has such great stage presence and her acting ability matches her vocal ability perfectly. She has a few powerful scenes with Riser (Clayton Perala) that actually gave me chills. A few of her vocal standouts were on “Connected”, “We Aren't in the Army”, “So Good So Far”, “Making History” and one of my favorites of the show “Twenty”.

Shelby Cochran as Suzanne is a local performer that I love seeing on stage. I believe my first time seeing here was the 2018 FMCT production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Shelby is extremely talented and has some hilarious scenes with Matterson (Matthew Mortenson). We are treated to her beautiful vocals throughout the show and some of my favorites were on “Connected”, “We Aren't in the Army”, “Suzanne's Letter” and “Switchboard Lessons” performed wonderfully with Matterson (Matthew Mortenson).

Rounding out the other Hello Girls we have Abigail Vogeler as Helen, Kathryn Szombatfalvy as Bertha and Kate Aarness as Louise. These three ladies are all amazing actresses but the vocals are on another level. Combine the five ladies and their vocals all blend so beautifully. The audience is treated on so many songs like “We Aren't in the Army”, “Quinze Minutes”, “Answer the Call”, “Making History” and a audience favorite “Cryptic Triptych”. Each and every song was sung perfectly. I would love to hear these super talented women do an a cappella song together just to hear that blend.

Clayton Perala as Riser puts in another great performance. I am starting to think that Clayton could pull off any role. He has some wonderful scenes with Grace (Samara). He gets to show off his vocals on a few songs like “Marching Orders” and The Lost Battalion”.

Rounding out the rest of the male half of the cast we have Cord Redding as Wessen. Cord is a great actor and I am glad to see him in more shows at FMCT! Matthew Mortenson as Matterson, Matthew is a newcomer to FMTC, but hopefully will become a regular. His scenes with Shelby were all so good. Cody Rowe as Dempsey. Cody as the German Prisoner, that scene was so good. and Keith Schweigert as Pershing, Keith is a veteran and a true professional. Each and every one of these gentlemen have some great standout moments and they all lend their vocals on favorite songs like “Answer the Call”, “See You on the Other Side”, “Hello Girls”, “The Front” and “Making History”.

Like I mentioned earlier, there is so much talent on this stage. I could not recommend this show more. You still have a few chances to catch it and I hear it's also going on the road for a few more performances.

***Photo Credit to Perry Rust

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