The next show at The Phoenix Theatre Company features a pit stop on a road trip for both food and fuel—the rock-a-billy fun of Pump Boys and Dinettes delights valley audiences from July 21 through August 22.
Pump Boys, and Dinettes tells the stories of four gas station workers on North Carolina’s Highway 57 and two waitresses at the next-door diner, sisters Rhetta and Prudie Cupp. This show treats audiences to a Grand Ole Opry-style evening of country western songs. Additionally, actors perform the music live with guitars, piano, bass, and even kitchen utensils, pots, and pans.
“This show feels like stepping back into your comfy theatre shoes, which is so needed after the year we’ve all had,” says director D. Scott Withers. “Pump Boys and Dinettes is charming, sentimental, warm, and fun. The music is toe-tapping, and the characters are relatable and full of life.”
With book, lyrics, and music by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann, Pump Boys, and Dinettes premiered Off-Broadway at the Chelsea West Side Arts Theatre in July 1981. It then opened on Broadway on Feb. 4, 1982, where it played for 573 performances and received Best Musical for both the Tony Award® and the Drama Desk Award.
With songs like “Farmer Tan” and “The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine!”, the music in Pump Boys and Dinettes gives a colorful glimpse into each character’s life, revealing the most important things in life: friendships, fishing, dating, grandma’s cooking, and drinking.
The cast for Pump Boys and Dinettes at The Phoenix Theatre Company features Nick Moulton as Jackson, Cassie Chilton as Rhetta Cupp, Emily Mulligan-Ferry as Prudie Cupp, Cody Craven as Jim, Alex Crossland as Eddie, and Alan Plado as L.M.
“In the end, this show celebrates the value of friendship and life’s simple pleasures,” continues Withers. “The performers are immensely talented, and I have no doubt audiences will leave the theatre in awe.”
This performance marks the third show produced indoors at The Phoenix Theatre Company since the start of the global pandemic. The Theatre no longer requires vaccinated audience members to wear a mask. Audience members are again welcome to bring drinks from the ArtBar into the theatre. Phoenix Theatre Company encourages masks for guests who are not vaccinated and those who feel more comfortable masked. Socially distanced seating is not enforced. Phoenix Theatre Company continually updates safety protocols to ensure patron and staff comfort and well-being.
Tickets for Pump Boys and Dinettes are on sale now. To purchase, call (602) 254-2151 or visit Phoenix Theatre.
