Anita suffers from depression. Although she finds it difficult to stabilize the chemical imbalances in her brain, she manages to be the one female among her group of friends who is most secure with herself.
Native of Frederick, Maryland Justine Hall successfully plays Anita’s character and is effective in bringing her temperament to new heights. In Girls Night: The Musical, an off-Broadway premiere of the UK play bearing the same name, Hall blends comedy with weighty subject matters to create a distinctive tone in this humorous production.
Earlier this year, Entertainment Events Productions presented Girls Night to the United States. The musical captures the essence of female bonding through satirical scenes and vivid staging. In musical five women in their 30s and 40s are followed as they relive their younger years and share their deepest secrets all while singing classic female anthems— including Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Patti Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade.”
Girls Night writer Louise Roche and director Jack Randle infuse hilarity with heartache in this “laugh out loud” show by exploring women’s issues like marriage and mental illness. “We talk about things all women can identify with,” said Hall. “No matter where you come from or your age, all women can relate.”
Hall began her career at an early age— first as a singer at the Weinburg Center for the Arts in Frederick, then as an actress at the now-defunct Harlequin Dinner Theatre in Rockville, MD. She attended Frederick High School, where she acclimatized to professional acting and singing, and landed her first professional job as Betsey in Big River. Later she played Michelle in Dream Girls.
When Hall moved to New York three years ago, she came across an audition for Girls Night and decided to try out for the role. Hall remembers feeling a sense of happiness when she received the phone call to play as a lead character. “I was really excited. I had no idea that attending the audition for the play would bring me off-Broadway, which is the biggest thing,” said Hall. “I was just happy I would be working as an actress and a singer.”
She also admits taking the role has allowed her to appreciate the entertainment business. “You learn how to be an artist. It’s given me the chance to see how it has to be to survive as an actor,” she said.
Hall’s most substantial incentive for playing Anita is the extreme amount of fun she has when she performs, which she says bounces off into the audience.
“The best part of the musical is the audience’s interaction, says Hall. “They party along right with us.”
Since its first run in 2003, Girls Night has received exceptional reviews and has been compared to hit shows like “Sex and the City” and “Desperate Housewives.”
Girls Night: The Musical will be at The Lyric Opera House on November 5, 2009.
Native of Frederick, Maryland Justine Hall successfully plays Anita’s character and is effective in bringing her temperament to new heights. In Girls Night: The Musical, an off-Broadway premiere of the UK play bearing the same name, Hall blends comedy with weighty subject matters to create a distinctive tone in this humorous production. 
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