Bombshell of Rhythm: The Life & Secrets of Ina Ray Hutton

Previously presented in Las Vegas, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago, this dramatic one-woman biographical theater piece by Melissa Ritz (including 17 hits from the Swing era), tells the true heart-wrenching story of Ina Ray Hutton, an underrated and often overlooked female pioneer in the Big Band era, who struggled to climb the entertainment ladder under the scrutiny of both male chauvinism and racism. Hutton is long rumored to have been purposefully passing for Caucasian in order to bypass hurdles that would have come about if her African-American heritage had been discovered. Ritz undertook years of intense research of Hutton’s 30-year career to create Bombshell of Rhythm, including news archives, genealogy records, and interviews with those who worked with Hutton and many of her relatives.