PENDLETON — Secrets, suffragettes and time travel come together in “The Petticoat Rebellion,” a play debuting this month in Pendleton at Blue Mountain Community College.

“The Petticoat Rebellion” tells the story of a real historic event through the eyes of a modern-day, time-traveling family. In 1916, four years before the 19th amendment, a group of women in Umatilla were fed up with how men were running the town and decided to do something about it.

The women ran a secret election campaign and not only voted but voted women into every open position in the municipal election. The story made national news at the time but has now faded from public awareness. The play is attempting to revive that story.

At the head of the 1916 election coup was Laura Stockton Starcher, who became one of the first female mayors in the country. In “The Petticoat Rebellion,” Amy Velho plays Laura.

“She is a complex woman who is dealing with a lot of drama in her own life as she tries to make life better in Umatilla,” Velho said. “There’s a lot of fun scenes, a lot of fun things to laugh about and to learn.”

Although Velho acted extensively in high school and college, this play marks a return to the stage.

“I loved acting, I love drama, and I’ve been wanting to get back into it for a long time, but I never had the guts to do it,” she said with a laugh. “It’s been fun, so, hopefully, it will be fun to watch.”

“The Petticoat Rebellion” features a cast of 20 portraying a mix of real-life and fictional characters. Velho and many of the other actors said they first heard about the historic roots of “The Petticoat Rebellion” when they chose to audition.

“I think it’s an awesome story that I didn’t know about and I bet a lot of people didn’t know about,” Lyndsay Reynolds said. “We just got our first woman elected as Pendleton’s mayor, and I think that’s awesome timing coinciding with this show.”

Reynolds plays Grace Williams, the matriarch of the time-traveling family that also includes her rakish brother, Conor, and her two daughters, Beth and Lucy.

Brielle Bonzani plays Beth.

“She is an outgoing crazy kid who loves finding new adventures. She loves her uncle and her little sister but gets really annoyed at her little sister quite often,” Bonzani said.

Andi Jones plays Beth’s sister, Lucy, and disagreed.

“She is awesome and definitely not annoying,” Jones said.

Although both Bonzani and Jones have been in multiple CCT productions, this is Bonzani’s first lead role.

“It’s nerve wracking and exciting. It’s cool to be on stage and realize you have a lot more behind your character. I think the pressure evens out with the excitement, so it becomes really fun,” she said.

Chris Dennett plays Speck Starcher. At the beginning of the play, Speck Starcher is the mayor of Umatilla, and by the end he has been replaced by his wife.

“People should come see this show because like everywhere in America, a lot of interesting stuff happened here,” Dennett said.

“I think it would be awesome to be able to see this debut play written by one of our community members about our community,” Velho said. “Come see the show.”

“The Petticoat Rebellion” is presented by College Community Theatre. Shows are at 7 p.m. June 14 and 2 p.m. June 15 and June 16. It continues for a second weekend with shows at 7 p.m. June 21 and 2 p.m. June 22 and June 23.

The production will open with a pay-what-you-can- night on Thursday, June 13.

Tickets are available at www.collegecommunitytheatre.com