September, 2024
BETTYE AND THE JOCKETTES SPINNING RECORDS
AT THE HOLIDAY INN by Christie Perfetti Williams
Directed by Sara Thigpen
at the Gene Frankel Theatre
24 Bond Street, New York City
Stage Manager: Jodi M. Witherell
Choreographer: Ricardo Rust
Set Designer: Lauren Barber
Costume Designer: Vivane Galloway
Sound Designer: Robert A.K. Gonyo
Lighting Designer: Ndanu Mutisya
Properties Designer: Heather Cunningham
Poster Design and Marketing Artwork by Montserrat Mendez
Press Representative: Alton PR and Production
Associate Producer: Montserrat Mendez, The MozzleStead Company
Featuring: Tracey Beltrano*, Heather E. Cunningham*, Joe Mathers, Marie Elena O'Brien*, Alisha Spielmann*, Matthew Tarricone, Morgan Nadia Williams
*Appeared courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
"The accomplished cast provides legitimately laugh-out-loud moments as well as generates some genuine pathos from their characters' entangled pasts and futures.. the performances keep the audience laughing with and rooting for these characters from the first moment to the last. Who needs the (future) King when you have the Jockettes?" -- Thinking Theater NYC
"An entertaining return to the era of Elvis...All the actors inhabit vivid characters with skill...Cunningham in the eponymous role holds the play together with a combination of warmth and strength...Sara Thigpen’s direction allows them and Perfetti Williams’ words to glow and reveal details of plot and character in natural, conversational rhythms...Viviane Galloway’s period-perfect costumes.” -- Theater Scene
"Go see this play...Playwright Christie Perfetti Williams amazes with yet another work...Fans of Retro Productions know they have quite a knack for fresh dramatization...Sara Thigpen, who has directed for Retro Productions in the past, shows us the great joy found in a time when so many things were new. Viviane Galloway’s costumes delight with loud colors and energized horn-rim glasses. By rocking the color pink, Lauren Barber’s set radiates strength and safety. Robert A.K. Gonyo’s sound design makes me feel like I am inside a radio station." -- Theatre Is Easy
"The cast were fantastic: Lauren Barber’s set and Viviane Galloway’s costumes really put us back to a 1956 radio station." -- Hi! Drama
"The charming Bettye and the Jockettes Spinning Records at the Holiday Inn is a fictional story about an all-female radio station sprinkled with bits of actual history...An extremely well-chosen cast exquisitely portrays the delightfully quirky array of characters that inhabit the play...The show is full of lovely nostalgia and generous doses of humor. It is also heartwarming and full of great family vibes. All in all, it's pure joy.” -- Says She Says Mom Blog