BETTYE AND THE JOCKETTES SPINNING RECORDS AT THE HOLIDAY INN is Coming to the Gene Frankel Theatre

Travel back to the atomic age in Christie Perfetti Williams new play Bettye and the Jockettes Spinning Records at the Holiday Inn. The World Premiere runs May 3 - 18 at the Gene Frankel Theatre in NoHo. Opening night is scheduled for Friday, May 3 at 8pm.

The new comedy takes place at the 1950's radio station "WHER - 1000 Beautiful Watts." The production was inspired in part by the book "The Next Elvis: Searching for Stardom at Sun Records," by Barbara Barnes Sims. Sara Thigpen who was awarded the 2019 New York Innovative Theatre Award (NYITA) for Outstanding Director, directs. As always, Retro will put their own unique touch on the production to make it a retro extravaganza. And wait! What? Elvis might even show up?

This production marks Retro's second collaboration with playwright Christie Perfetti Williams who previously wrote An Appeal to the Woman of the House (nominated for a NYITA for Outstanding Original Full-length Script) which Retro produced in 2014. Retro's Artistic Director Heather E. Cunningham shared how the production came to be, "During the pandemic Christie mentioned she would like to write another play for Retro to which I replied, "What would you like to write about?" Christie thought we could all use a comedy and I AGREED. Then she took it further, saying a romantic comedy in a workplace setting where there were a lot of women."

"I asked her if she had heard of WHER, the first radio station to feature women disc jockeys. She hadn't - so we went giddily down the research rabbit hole and ended up in Memphis in 1956! I had heard of WHER because a friend of my father's had written a book called "The Next Elvis: Searching For Stardom at Sun Records," about her time working at Sun with Sam Phillips, who owned WHER. I was fascinated by the idea of this station and I was thrilled that it also resonated with Christie. Once we had the time and place set, Christie ran with it and created a world filled with vibrant, rich, and complex women characters who were trailblazers. I couldn't be more thrilled to share the finished product. It's an amazing ride!"

A little history on WHER - WHER-Memphis was "America's first all-girl radio station", created by sound legend/record producer Sam Phillips who produced recordings with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, among others. The station was co-owned by Kemmons Wilson who founded the Holiday Inn hotel chain. He offered space in a Holiday Inn which served as the station's first offices. The station went on the air in 1955 and was run exclusively by women. They sold the advertising, produced commercials, directed, created and engineered programming, ran the station's control boards, interviewed local celebrities, reported the news, and played popular records.

About Bettye and the Jockettes Spinning Records at the Holiday Inn

It's July 3, 1956 and the jockettes of WHER, America's first all-girl radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, are having one hell of a day; the copywriter has run off to elope, they have just found out that the Elvis Presley is coming to the station to be interviewed on-air, and their star DJ Bettye has shown up... in pants. When Elvis' record promoter arrives and is none other than Bettye's former flame Benjamin, sarcastic zingers fly, sisterhoods are forged, and secrets are exposed.

The cast features Tracey Beltrano (Chucky/Syfy Network), Heather E. Cunningham (White on White/Hoi Polloi - NYTimes Critics Pick), Joe Mathers (First Flight New Play Festival/Boomerang Theatre), Marie Elena O'Brien (Rose By Any Other Name/Chain Theatre), Alisha Spielmann (This Stretch of Montpelier/The Fire This Time Festival), Matthew Tarricone (American Sports Story/FX), and Morgan NADIA WILLIAMS (She Kills Monsters/Stella Adler Studio).

The creative team includes choreography by Ricardo Rust, set design by Lauren Barber, costume design by Viviane Galloway, lighting design by Ndanu Mutisya, sound design by Robert A.K. Gonyo, and properties design by Heather E. Cunningham. Stage Management by Jodi Witherell. Produced by Retro Productions under the direction of Artistic Director Heather E. Cunningham, Montserrat Mendez of the MozzleStead Company serves as associate producer.

Performances run May 3 - 18, with shows running Thursday - Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm, with additional performances on Monday, May 6 at 8pm, and Wednesday, May 15 at 8pm. Running time: 90 minutes. The Gene Frankel Theatre is located at 24 Bond Street (Between Lafayette & Bowery), New York, NY 10012. Subways: 6 to Bleecker Street, B/D/F/M to Broadway/Lafayette. Tickets are $25 for students/seniors, $30 for general admission are available at www.retroproductions.org/buy-tickets.html.

BIOGRAPHIES

Christie Perfetti Williams (Playwright) is an NYIT-nominated and award-winning playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She's the founding producing artistic director of NYC-based Carnival Girls Productions, celebrating 20 years of creating and producing art by and about women. Over 30 productions of her work have been performed internationally. She's a volunteer with resettled refugees, a political activist, a PTO parent, churchgoer, and Taekwon-Do enthusiast. Occasionally, she reads a palm. Born and raised in Oswego, NY and a graduate of Wells College, Christie lives on the Jersey Shore with her partner and husband, Greg, their three children, Luke, Eve, Ruby, sponsor son, Mir, and rescue pup, Memphis. www.christieperfettiwilliams.com

Sara Thigpen (Director) 2019 NYIT Award for Outstanding Director. Selected NY credits: On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning, The Man Who Came to Dinner (Retro Productions); The Tempest, Richard III, Twelfth Night (Boomerang Theatre Company); The Byung Sisters' American Vaudeville Tryout (Ars Nova); Chasing the River (PlayZoomers); Nudists in Love (FringeNYC); BFA Acting/Directing University of North Carolina at Greensboro. www.sarathigpen.com

Montserrat Mendez (Associate Producer, The MozzleStead Company) is an East Coast-based writer/director from Rincon, Puerto Rico, has garnered acclaim in NYC's indie theatre scene. His sequel to the Importance of Being Earnest - Thoroughly Stupid Things, was called a "Comic Masterwork" and won the Best Playwriting Award at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. Montserrat has directed for various theatre companies in NYC and been recognized by the Nicholl Fellowship and the Athena List as a screenwriter. For more information about his work visit www.montserratmendez.com or www.mozzlestead.com

Heather E. Cunningham (Artistic Director/Playing the role of Bettye) 2014 NYIT Award Outstanding Actress for premiere of An Appeal to the Woman of the House by Christie Perfetti Williams. Selected credits: Off-Broadway: Mrs. Shandig, The Runner Stumbles (Bleecker Co.); Indie Theatre: Unmentionables (Nylon Fusion - premiere), The Listeners (The Brick - premiere), and selected Retro Productions: Mary, Mary (NYIT Award nominated Lead Actress); Benefactors (NYIT Award nominated Lead Actress & Ensemble); Still Life (2007 BackStage Performance to Remember). Retro Productions Founder and Producing Artistic Director. Produced 20+ productions which have been nominated for 30+ awards including the winner of the Caffe Cino Fellowship Award in 2017 for Outstanding Continuous Work Off-Off Broadway. B.F.A, Denison University. www.heathercunningham.net

Since its inception in 2005, Retro Productions has been Nominated for 34 New York Innovative Theater Awards including the 2017 recipient of the Caffe Cino Fellowship Award. Retro's mission is to present works of retro theater, plays that take place in the recent past. The company focuses on telling good theatrical stories which have an historical perspective - with an emphasis on the 20th century - in order to broaden our own understanding of the world we live in. www.retroproductions.org

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