Retro Productions is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

based Off-Off-Broadway theater company. Their mission is to produce works of " Retro Theater," mainly straight plays that take place in the 20th century. The company is composed of twenty-two members who are actors, designers, directors, and stage managers, and is led by artistic director Heather E. Cunningham, an actress and producer. whose performance as Rose Walker in the Retro production ''An Appeal to the Woman of the House'' by Christie Perfetti Williams won her a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role.

History

The company was formed in 2005 under the name River Heights Productions, after the hometown of Nancy Drew. Under this name the company produced two plays: ''Catholic School Girls'' by Casey Kurtti, in March 2005, at chashama and the New York City Premiere of ''Mrs. California'' by Doris Baizley, in March 2006, at the 78th Street Theatre Lab. Following the production of ''Mrs. California'', River Heights Productions was dissolved and the company was renamed Retro Productions. After the reformation of Retro Productions, they took up residence at the

Spoon Theater Nicu's Spoon is an inclusion-oriented off-off-Broadway theater company in New York City. The company works with actors regardless of age, ability, gender, color or ethnicity and seeks to challenge stereotypes and expectations. Nicu's Spoon was the ...

, producing two shows per year at the 38th street space in Manhattan. The Spoon Theater closed in 2011, and since then the company have become "gypsies" - moving from venue to venue based on the needs of the show, though, since 2015, primarily use the

Gene Frankel Theatre Eugene V. Frankel (December 23, 1919 – April 20, 2005) was an American actor, theater director, and acting teacher especially notable in the founding of the off-Broadway scene. Frankel served in the Army during World War II in entertainment and ...

on Bond Street.

Premieres and other significant productions

* Produced the first major

revival in over fifty years of the 1950s sex comedy The Tender Trap by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith. * New York premiere of ''Holy Days'' by Sally Nemeth. * World Premiere of ''Women and War'' by Jack Hilton Cunningham. * Production of '' The Runner Stumbles'' by Milan Stitt moved off-Broadway. * World Premiere of ''An Appeal to the Woman of the House'' by Christie Perfetti Williams.

Productions and awards

Retro Productions has been nominated for a total of 21 New York Innovative Theatre Awards since the company was founded, winning two. In 2014 Retro was nominated for three awards: Outstanding Premiere Production, Outstanding Full Length Script (Christie Perfetti Williams) and Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role (Heather E. Cunningham - who won this honor) for An Appeal to the Woman of the House. In 2012 Casandera MJ Lollar was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for playing Sister Rita in The Runner Stumbles. In 2011 they received four nominations: Outstanding Production of

Benefactors Benefactor may refer to: * ''Benefactor'' (album), a 1982 album by Romeo Void * Benefactor (law) for a person whose actions benefit another or a person that gives back to others * Benefication (metallurgy) In the mining Mining is the ext ...

by Michael Frayn as well as Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for Kristen Vaughan (who won that honor that year) and Heather E. Cunningham, and Outstanding Ensemble. The fourth nomination was for the Set Design for Dear Ruth, designed by Jeff Stander. Six nominations were given in honor of their May 2010 production of The Desk Set by William Marchant. Included were nominations for Outstanding Set Design (Rebecca Cunningham), Outstanding Costume Design (Viviane Galloway), Outstanding Sound Design (Jeanne Travis), Innovative Design (Heather E. Cunningham and Casandera M.J. Lollar for Properties Design), and Outstanding Leading Actress (Kristen Vaughan). In 2008, five nominations were awarded for their production of Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth. They included nominations for Outstanding Leading Actress (Lauren Kelston), Outstanding Leading Actress (Kristen Vaughan), Outstanding Lighting Design (Kerrie Lovercheck), Outstanding Set Design (Jack and Rebecca Cunningham), and Outstanding Sound Design (Amy Altadonna). Their sixth nomination that year was for Outstanding Costume Design (Rebecca Cunningham) for their production of What I Did Last Summer by

A.R. Gurney Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. He is known for works including '' The Dining Room'' (1982), '' Sweet Sue'' (1986/7), and '' ...

.2008 New York Innovative Theatre Awards Nominees and Recipients: http://www.nyitawards.com/anr/2008honorees.asp In 2007 Heather E. Cunningham's portrayal of Cheryl in Still Life: A Documentary by Emily Mann was named a 2007 Back Stage Performance to Remember.

List of productions

* ''Catholic School Girls'' by

Casey Kurtti Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica *Casey Station *Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontario * ...

(as River Heights Productions), March 2005 * ''Mrs. California'' by

Doris Baizley Doris may refer to: People Given name * Doris (mythology) of Greek mythology, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys * Doris, fictional character in the Canadian television series '' Caillou'' and the mother of the titular character *Doris (singer) (bo ...

(as River Heights Productions), March 2006 * '' Still Life: A Documentary'' by Emily Mann, March 2007 * '' What I Did Last Summer'' by

, November 2007 * ''Mill Fire'' by Sally Nemeth, May 2008 * '' The Tender Trap'' by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith, November 2008 * ''

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? ''When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?'' is a play by Mark Medoff. The setting is Foster's Diner, a New Mexico rest stop that lost most of its clientele when a new highway bypass opened. Employees include restless cook Stephen (nicknamed " Red Ry ...

'' by Mark Medoff, May 2009 * ''Holy Days'' by Sally Nemeth, November 2009 * ''Women and War'' by Jack Hilton Cunningham, May 2010 * ''The Desk Set'' by William Marchant, May 2010 * ''

'' by Michael Frayn, November 2010 * '' Dear Ruth'' by Norman Krasna, May 2011 * '' The Runner Stumbles'' by Milan Stitt, November 2011 and May 2012 * '' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' by Peter Nichols, May 2013 * '' The Baltimore Waltz'' by Paula Vogel, November 2013 * ''An Appeal to the Woman of the House'' by Christie Perfetti Williams, May 2014 * '' The Butter and Egg Man'' by George S. Kaufmann, May 2015 * ''

Good Boys and True In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, p ...

'' by Roberto Aguirre-Secasa, November–December 2015 * '' And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little'' by Paul Zindel, May 2017

References

{{reflist

External links

Retro Productions Official Web Site

Heather E. Cunningham's Official Web Site
2005 establishments in New York City Off-Off-Broadway Theatre companies in New York City Entertainment companies established in 2005