Melissa Ritz Brings 'BOMBSHELL OF RHYTHM' to SoHo Playhouse thru 8/30

On the heels of receiving the coveted "Pick of the Fringe" award for her one-woman show, Melissa Ritz brings Bombshell of Rhythm: The Life & Secrets of Ina Ray Hutton to NYC's SoHo Playhouse, now through August 30th.

Previously presented in Las Vegas, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago, the show tells the true story of a young tap dancer from the South Side of Chicago who finds success and heartbreak on the stages of Broadway and beyond, in a world where she had to deny her roots in order to achieve her dreams.

The play's main character, Ina Ray Hutton, was the first female bandleader to conduct both an all-girl big band and several male big bands. She was also the first woman to have her own TV show on KTLA, later to be picked up for national airing on NBC. Hutton is long rumored to have been purposefully passing for Caucasian in order to bypass hurdles in the entertainment industry that would have come about if her African-American heritage had been discovered. Ritz first stumbled across Hutton in 2011 on YouTube, while she was looking for audition material. A black and white video of Hutton from 1936 surfaced, and after watching the dazzlingly electrifying performance, Ritz's years of obsessive research began. Although Hutton had tremendous success in her 30-year career, Ritz went far beyond a traditional Google search by turning to news archives, genealogy records, and interviews with those who worked with Hutton and many of her relatives.

Ritz immediately knew that she must bring Hutton's life to the modern stage. Ritz created Bombshell of Rhythm as a tribute to Hutton's legacy:

"I think it's important to honor the work of women in music and entertainment at a time when it was still a male-dominated community. Ina's story - as well as the stories of her 'girl musicians' - is slowly fading to time, but it's historically and educationally significant. Ina Ray Hutton and the Melodears were a sensational outfit, and were also profiting tens of thousands of dollars a night just after the Great Depression. What started out as a novelty act quickly became one of the hottest tickets in the country for almost 5 years."

Ritz moved to New York in 2013 and became involved with director, Julie Kline at the United Solo Theater Festival, where Ritz earned the Best Emerging Actress award. Kline developed the original narrative-style script into a fully conceptualized show with multiple characters such as Irving Mills, June Hutton and Alex Hyde, all executed flawlessly by Ritz. They enlisted Barry Best to bring 17 big band classics into the production such as "Five O'Clock Whistle," "MacNamara's Band," "Knock Me a Kiss," and "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet."

Like Hutton, Ritz performed for the military in real life. While Hutton toured with the USO as a civilian, Ritz toured 20 countries while on active duty, with Tops in Blue, the entertainment division of the Air Force. After 8 satisfying years, being decorated for her tours of service, including Istanbul, Staff Sergeant Ritz was honorably discharged and went on to receive a BA in Dance and MFA in Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

A surviving dancer from one of Hutton's all-girl band shows was thrilled at Ritz's portrayal of Hutton: "[I] was charmed by Melissa's depiction of her in this show--she had all the right moves. I loved her version of the male characters in the show also--very entertaining and informative for younger people who may not know about one of the stars of my generation." - Flip Manne

Bombshell of Rhythm: The Life & Secrets of Ina Ray Hutton began previews on July 29th. Performances will run every Saturday in August at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Tickets ($45) are available at 212-691-1555 or online at www.sohoplayhouse.com. Based on Hutton and Ritz' connections to the military, anyone active duty or veteran of the armed forces with a valid military ID can receive 50% off their ticket with code: USMIL.

Performances: $45 Sat, Aug 01, @ 8:00 PM Sun, Aug 02, @ 3:00 PM Sat, Aug 08, @ 8:00 PM Sun, Aug 09, @ 3:00 PM Sat, Aug 15, @ 8:00 PM Sun, Aug 16, @ 3:00 PM Sat, Aug 22, @ 8:00 PM Sun, Aug 23, @ 3:00 PM Sat, Aug 29, @ 8:00 PM Sun, Aug 30, @ 3:00 PM.

For more information, visit www.bombshellofrhythm.com or find the show on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JourneyOfABombshellInaRayHutton and Twitter: www.twitter.com/ritz_melissa.

As an Army 'brat', Melissa grew up all over the U.S. and in Germany. She joined the U.S. Air Force out of high school, where she analyzed body fluid in hospital laboratories in Texas, Ohio, Colorado, and Germany. She also worked at the Ataturk International Airport for the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the highlights of her time in the military was the year she spent traveling the globe as a vocalist and dancer with Tops in Blue, a division of Air Force Entertainment. This tour took her to over 20 countries and almost every state in the Union. After earning the rank of Staff Sergeant, she was honorably discharged and moved to Las Vegas, where she worked as a cocktail waitress at the South Point Casino. In the spring of 2009, she became a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, and taught in Las Vegas for 4 years. She also received a BA in Dance and MFA in Theatre Performance, both from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She relocated to NYC in 2013 to pursue her acting career, focusing on her one-woman show. When she's not sweatin' it out in the hot room, you can find her tapping at Steps dance studio.

SoHo Playhouse (Darren Lee Cole, Artistic Director) has been one of Off Broadway's primary venues for new plays for the past 70 years. Formerly "Vandam Playhouse" the theatre has been home to countless dreams and movements. Many actors, directors, choreographers, production designers, theatre managers, technicians, and producers all received their start at SoHo Playhouse. Several of America's leading writers have premiered their work at 15 Vandam Street including; Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, Tracy Letts, Charles Buch, Leroi Jones and Lanford Wilson. Award winning shows have included: "The Boys in the Band", "Killer Joe", "The Divine Sister", "Mindgame", "Krapp, 39", "Piaf", "Room Service", "Jamaica Farewell", "Belly of a Drunken Piano", "Bukowski From Beyond", "Simon Lovell's Strange & Unusual Hobbies", "The Emperor Jones", "Triassic Parq", "The Canterbury Tales Remixed", "The Other Josh Cohen" and "Bill W and Dr Bob". Mr. Cole has served as Artistic Director since 2004.