Hello Hollywood, Hello! An exhibit from Reno’s iconic casino show opens on September 30
The Nevada Historical Society has partnered with local producer Karen Burns to present an exhibit of the Hello Hollywood, Hello! show to commemorate its’ 45th Anniversary with costumes, photographs, select sketches, and memorabilia. The exhibit: When Hollywood Came to Reno. MGM’s Hello Hollywood, Hello! A Tribute to the Magic World of Movies! will be in the museum’s changing gallery from Sept. 30 through Jan. 27, 2024. An informal opening reception will be held on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
When Donn Arden’s Hello Hollywood, Hello! debuted on the MGM Grand’s Ziegfeld Stage June 2, 1978; the show was billed as “The Biggest Show in the World, performing on the Biggest Stage in the World, appearing in the Biggest Little City in the World – Reno, Nevada.” The show ran continuously for eleven years — for a total of 6,941 performances — closing April 21, 1989.
The show employed one hundred-forty-two performers, four specialty acts, fifty-four wardrobe staff, an eighteen-member orchestra, sixty stage crew, and over one-hundred showroom-hotel-casino staff. Currently named the Grand Sierra Resort Theatre, the stage, which is over an acre in size, still houses an airplane, modeled off a DC 8 airplane built in Las Vegas in 1977 by the members of IATSE 720 Union.
This exhibit will display a small percentage of the nearly fourteen hundred costumes designed by world-famous designers Bill Campbell and Pete Menefee, highlighting a few of the most celebrated MGMMovie Musicals: The Wizard of Oz, Annie Get Your Gun, Showboat, Kiss Me Kate, Bandwagon, The Great Ziegfeld and more. The exhibit will also have items borrowed from the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas and University of Nevada Las Vegas – Special Collections and Archives.
“The influence of Hello Hollywood, Hello!, along with 100s of other shows that were performed in Reno,Sparks and Lake Tahoe, is still felt today in the performing arts industry, since some of these amazingly talented and gifted; dancers, singers, choreographers, musicians, costume designers, stagehands, actors, stayed in this area,” said Karen Burns. “That is just one of the reasons why we have such a thriving arts community today.” Karen Burns was a dancer in the show and the owner of Karen Burns Productions LLC which holds one of the largest private collections of vintage stage show costumes from the world-famous MGM Grand show.
The Nevada Historical Society is located at 1650 North Virginia Street, on the University of Nevada – Reno campus, located north of the Fleischmann Planetarium. Free parking is available with temporary parking passes available in the museum. Admission is $6 for adults and free for members and children ages 17 and younger.
About the Nevada Historical Society
Founded in 1904, the Nevada Historical Society is Nevada’s oldest cultural institution. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and educate the public about our shared history through exhibitions, artifacts, books, photographs, and manuscript materials relating to the state of Nevada, the Great Basin, and the West. The Nevada Historical Society also houses a research library and produces the Nevada Historical Society Q, Nevada’s oldest academic publication. For more information visit https://www.nvhistoricalsociety.org/
