Christopher Lee, David Carl, & Philip Cruise of “Fat Cat Killers”

SparkPlug Productions in association with Thin Duke Productions and The Gene Frankel Theatre present FAT CAT KILLERS, written by Adam Szymkowicz, directed by Andrew BlockListen in as the cast of this timely production of Fat Cat KillersChristopher Lee (co-producer), David Carl, & Philip Cruise (co-producer)—discuss bumbling buddies, coincidental Caribbean encounters, the brilliance & great works of playwright Adam Szymkowicz, finding “more murdery” stuff, status shifts, continuous character discovery, and just how two lonely cogs in the corporate wheel could get in way over their heads.

“…as soon as we read the play, we were like, ‘we have to do it.’ […] And we don’t promote Luigi, and I don’t think the play does—but I think the play really addresses American exceptionalism…”

Continue reading

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…”

Continue reading

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…”

Continue reading