Heather E. Cunningham & Sara Thigpen of “On the Verge”

Retro Productions presents Eric Overmyer's ON THE VERGE at The Gene Frankel Theater, directed by Sara ThigpenListen in as Retro Productions Artistic Director Heather E. Cunningham, who also plays Fanny in the cast, along with director Sara Thigpen, discuss looking at the past through the lens of theatre and theatre through the lens of history, enthusiasm to jump in and play, suggestions vs. specificity, getting back to the live space post-COVID, and how it seems like everything comes back around again, in their production of Eric Overmyer’s On the Verge.

“…I love what it says about America, what it says about our history. The language is beautiful…”

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Heather E. Cunningham, Chris Harcum, Robert Franklin Neill, Desmond Dutcher, & Shay Gines of “Mary, Mary”

Retro Productions presents MARY, MARY by Jean Kerr, directed by Shay GinesListen in as Retro Productions Artistic Director Heather E. Cunningham, who plays the eponymous Mary of Mary, Mary, along with fellow performers Chris Harcum, Robert Franklin Neill, & Desmond Dutcher, and director Shay Gines, discuss digging into a zippy comedy, gender roles in retro shows, leaving naive nationalism, playing the outdated references, the complicated lenses through which we see plays from the past, transitions, “playing for keeps,” and why plays about relationships will never go away.

“…when I set out to choose a play, I narrowed it down: ‘mid-century, female playwright, comedy’…”
“…I was very drawn to this character. She’s the smartest person in the play…she has flaws, she’s insecure, she’s a beautiful, robust, witty woman. I felt like she was so full, and rich in character…”

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Heather E. Cunningham, Gina Femia, Chad Anthony Miller, & Ben Schnickel of “We Are a Masterpiece”

Retro Productions presents WE ARE A MASTERPIECE, written by Gina Femia, directed by DeLisa M. WhiteListen in as Retro Productions Producing Artistic Director (and “Joan” in the show) Heather E. Cunningham, along with fellow performers Chad Anthony Miller & Ben Schnickel and playwright Gina Femia of We Are a Masterpiece, discuss multiple lenses, levity in the midst of suffering, what makes a play “aggressively contemporary” (and where that fits into the “retro” of Retro Productions), “the cyclical nature of prejudice,” healing through art, universality through specificity, what we’re capable of, and making the choice of love.

“…there’s always hope. Hope is always the way through tragedy, and despair. Yes, this is a very sad story, and yes, you will cry, and we cry. But there are beautiful things that happen when people, in the face of adversity, step up to the plate and do what’s best for their fellow human beings…”

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Heather E. Cunningham, Sara Thigpen, Christopher Borg, and Shay Gines of “And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little”

Retro Productions presents AND MISS REARDON DRINKS A LITTLE, written by Paul Zindel, directed by Shay GinesListen in as And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little director Shay Gines, performers Sara Thigpen and Christopher Borg, along with returning guest, Retro Productions Artistic Director and “Miss Reardon” herself, Heather E. Cunningham, discuss absence, finding yourself right in the middle of incredible social change, loving (and fearing) vintage props, finding characters from 50 years ago, teasing your play with wonderful photos (see above), who’s left behind, getting to the right time to produce that play you’ve always wanted to produce, sexual repression in a time of sexual freedom, and how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“…it’s sort of a subtle thing, but so many of the characters make references to the fact that this outside world is encroaching on their lives…everybody’s afraid, we don’t know how to conduct ourselves so we can’t blame ourselves for not having a footing in this ever-changing landscape…”

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DeLisa M. White, Heather E. Cunningham, Ryan Pater, and Rebecca Gray Davis of “Good Boys and True”

Retro Productions presents Good Boys and True, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, directed by DeLisa M. WhiteRetro Productions is back with another revival of a 20th Century play, directly in line with their mission “to broaden our own understanding of the world we live in.” Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Good Boys and True may be set in 1988, but the issues of class, privilege, sexuality, and violence feel uncomfortably current.

Listen in as director DeLisa M. White and Producing Artistic Director of Retro Productions and actor Heather E. Cunningham, as well as fellow actors Ryan Pater and Rebecca Gray Davis, discuss high school flashbacks, the importance of punctuation, laughter from struck nerves, what happens when your mom’s in the audience, pulling from personal experience, and how this “retro” play resonates into the past, our present, and, sadly, probably into the future.

“One of the lines in the play is, ‘Everything is broken.’ That’s what happens…when you hear that headline in the news, the tentacles and roots of that problem expand far beyond what you see in the news, or even in the situation if you’re in it…”

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