JOURNEY OF A BOMBSHELL Set for Stage 72's Triad Theater, 2/15

Straight from its sold-out run as part of the United Solo Theater Festival, the award- winning Journey of a Bombshell: The Ina Ray Hutton Story takes center stage on the upper Westside. Playwright and leading lady Melissa Ritz brings years of research to this one-woman piece, which earned her the Best Emerging Actress 2014 Award at the festival.

Ina Ray Hutton was the first female conductor in the All-Girl genre of the Big Band era. She was renowned in her day, and even hosted a national, eponymous television program, but her personal life was even more compelling, with family secrets and twists and turns that piqued Ritz's interest. Ritz first came across the blond conductor-dancer-singer on YouTube while searching for another song, and was riveted. After watching several videos, She thought, "Why have I never heard of this woman?"

"She was so entertaining and dynamic," Ritz said, "And she had a career...that spanned over 30 years, but her story was slowly fading away to time."

This set Ritz on a two-year immersion into all things Hutton, which included gleaning personal and press information, interviewing surviving family members, recreating 14 of Hutton's original charts, hiring a 13-piece band to record the music, and learning to tap dance. Ritz honed the mountain of material she had gathered into a cohesive stage play with the assistance of director Julie Kline. The show incorporates visual projections, music and Ritz portraying a dozen characters.

Ritz relates to more than the performer aspect of Hutton's story. Having enlisted in the Air Force straight out of high school, she was fortunate enough to be selected for the military branch's elite performance troupe, Tops In Blue, and entertained audiences all across the country and across the world. With her military background, Ritz related to Hutton's blazing a career for herself in a man's world, and her love of '30s and '40s music clinched the deal. She began investigating, and Journey of a Bombshell: The Ina Ray Hutton Story was born.

Date and Time: Sunday, February 15th at 9:00pm
Location: 158 West 72nd St. (above Seven's Turkish Grill)
Tickets are $20 (plus a two-drink minimum) and can be purchased through www.BrownPaperTickets.com or using cash at the door.
For more information, see www.JourneyOfABombshell.com.