THE RUNNER STUMBLES to Conclude Off-Broadway 5/20

Milan Stitt's drama THE RUNNER STUMBLES, presented by Retro Productions and The Bleecker Company, in association with The Arclight Theatre at The Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street) concludes its limited Off-Broadway run on Sunday, May 20. Peter Zinn, who helmed Retro Productions' revivals Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS and Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS, directs.

Part courtroom drama, part whodunit, THE RUNNER STUMBLES is based on the true story of a nun's mysterious murder in a remote parish in northern Michigan in 1911 and the charge that her superior, Father Rivard, is her murderer. The action alternates among interrogations, testimony and scenes from the past to reveal that Father Rivard (Christopher Patrick Mullen), who had been banished to the small, up-country parish, fell in love with Sister Rita (Casandera M.J. Lollar); and when circumstances forced her to move into the rectory with him, his anguish became unbearable. Their relationship, inevitably, spelled tragedy, but not until the explosive and surprising climax of the play is the full extent of their sacrifice made clear.

Retro Productions' revival of THE RUNNER STUMBLES, which opened its limited run May 3, moved to Off-Broadway following an acclaimed Off-Off Broadway run in November 2011. The New York Times praised the revival as "quite an absorbing show...a shrewd mystery with a surprising amount of humor. Mullen is a first-rate actor. Lollar is also a multifaceted and forceful presence." TheaterMania.com called it "a welcome addition to the current theatrical landscape." In Back Stage, THE RUNNER STUMBLES was called a "smacking good play… credit Peter Zinn's lucid, subtle direction, and some splendid performances…. A play this good has no business being forgotten, and this Retro Productions effort does more than honorably by it. A Back Stage Critic's Pick."

The Off-Broadway ensemble includes Becky Byers, Nat Cassidy, Heather E. Cunningham, Casandera M.J. Lollar, Joe Mathers, Christopher Patrick Mullen, Alisha Spielmann, Ric Sechrest, and Richard Waddingham.

The production has set design by Jack and Rebecca Cunningham; costume design by Viviane Galloway and Kathryn Rohe; lighting design by Jacqueline Reid; sound design and original music by Jeanne Travis; and fight choreography and special effects by Joe Mathers. Production Stage Manager is Ricardo Rust.

In 1976, Milan Stitt's THE RUNNER STUMBLES, directed by Austin Pendleton, premiered on Broadway and ran for nearly 400 performances, with the New York Times calling it "a love story about an impossible love… this is no dusty court room record, but a play about people who are entrapped by their own and one another's obsessions." A film version, released in 1979, was directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, starring Dick Van Dyke and Kathleen Quinlan.

Director Peter Zinn returns to Retro Productions, having previously helmed their productions of Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS (NYITA nomination for Outstanding Production of a Play), Jack Hilton Cunningham's WOMEN AND WAR, and Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS, He wrote and directed the Off-Broadway hit RUMSPRINGA. He has written the book for the rock musical SMILE, currently being workshopped in NYC.

Retro Productions began producing "retro theatre" in 2005. Previous productions include Norman Krasna's DEAR RUTH; Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS; Jack Hilton Cunningham's WOMEN AND WAR; William Marchant's THE DESK SET; Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS and MILL FIRE; Mark Medoff's WHEN YOU COMIN' BACK, RED RYDER?; Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith's THE TENDER TRAP; A.R. Gurney's WHAT I DID LAST SUMMER; Emily Mann's STILL LIFE; Doris Baizley's MRS. CALIFORNIA; and Casey Kurtti's CATHOLIC SCHOOL GIRLS. Retro Productions has garnered 17 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations, with Kristen Vaughan winning an Outstanding Actress New York Innovative Theatre Award for her work in BENEFACTORS.

The Bleecker Company, initially housed at the 45 Bleecker Street Theatre, presents staged readings, playwright symposiums, and workshops of new plays through its New Play Development Series with the goal of fostering more world premieres onto the Off-Broadway stage. Recent work includes the Off-Broadway run of Elizabeth Stearns' HILLBILLY WOMEN, directed by Sondra Lee, at the Arclight Theatre.

Off-Broadway performances of THE RUNNER STUMBLES run through May 20: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm at the Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street, between Broadway and Columbus Avenue). Tickets are $37 ($30 Seniors). $20 Student Rush tickets at the box office, based on availability. For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.theatermania.com.