March 2005
(as River Heights Productions)
CATHOLIC SCHOOL GIRLS by Casey Kurtti
Directed by Felicia Lipchik
Chashama
217 East 42nd Street New York, NY

Stage Manager:  Amanda Schultz
Set and Costume Designer:  Heather Cunningham
Sound Designer:  Kimberly Greene
Property Designer: Elizabeth Burke
Photographer:  Paul Gell

Starring: Elizabeth Burke, Blaine Cook, Heather E. Cunningham,
and Kimberly Greene.

"Catholic School Girls invites you to join the growing pains of four girls attending Grade School in the 1960s...  The play has great insight into the tumultuous and confusing times that were the 1960s told through the eyes of the young girls...  There's Colleen, an outspoken troublemaker, played with a vibrant energy by Elizabeth Burke. Ms. Burke brings a smooth banter and likeability to a character that could easily turn bratty... Heather E. Cunningham was a knock out as the timid misfit Maria Theresa Russo. Maria struggles with being one in a houseful of siblings, picked on by the nuns and her classmates and it all comes to a quiet and touching boiling point in a stirring monologue. Heather's quiet performance is not easily forgotten...  [Blaine M. Cook] ... as the feeble minded Sister Mary Agnes that was too sweet to rap on retirement's door. This character had all sorts of delightful tics and physical jokes that showed Ms. Cook's natural talents...  Probably the most fascinating and true to life character is Elizabeth McHugh played by Kimberly Greene... Kimberly's performance was tender and heartbreaking. Her poignant monologue as a 12 year old ending her relationship with God is easily the best moment of the play...  Watching this play brought alive stories my mother had told me about attending Catholic School, and indeed how these experiences formed the generation that came before me.  If this was RHP's goal, they certainly obtained it." -  Akia Squitieri, Theatrescene.net

"I was ecstatic when I saw the production of Catholic School Girls by Retro Productions. I don't usually attend productions of the play - however I was intrigued from the moment I saw the alluring, sexy poster. This innovative crew knows how to market and produce! In the middle of 42nd street all the angst and grace of 60's Catholic School Girls were on display via this intelligent, talented company of young actors. A play, I thought I knew so well was full of moments of delightful surprise." - Casey Kurtti, playwright, Catholic School Girls