Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays

Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam, “Fear the Walking Dead,” PoA’s Poof!), Tony nominee Condola Rashad (Saint Joan, “Billions”), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Little Fires Everywhere”) star in Cassandra Medley’s CELL. When a jaded supervisor at an immigrant detention center finds jobs there for her sister and niece, family tensions erupt into a battle over home and homeland security.

Directed by Diverse City Theater Company founder Victor Lirio, CELL by Cassandra Medley (Relativity, Coming Up for Air) “deftly explores the dirty antidemocratic secret of institutionalized racism” (New York Times). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration journalist Julia Preston, Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld, and playwright Medley to move beyond headlines and explore the real lives that inspired CELL.

From David Auburn (Pulitzer and Tony winner for PROOF) comes a riveting, witty world-premiere commission for Playing on Air: GUN SHOW. In the aftershock of a national tragedy, a congenial double-date morphs into a battle of the sexes. As tempers blaze, two couples must reconsider the possibility of safety in a divided nation. 

Along with Emmy winners Bobby Cannavale (“Will & Grace,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Martha Plimpton (triple Tony nominee, “The Real O’Neals,” “The Good Wife”), the star cast features Eisa Davis, David Furr, and Lucy DeVito! Gun Show was directed by Wendy Goldberg and performed in front of a live audience at Playwrights Horizons in New York City. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team. Gun Show was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of The Gilchrist Foundation and Phyllis and Joel Ehrlich.

In this holiday dazzler written, directed and produced by Arian Moayed, Santa keeps a closer eye on the naughty and nice lists than we think, especially during "unprecedented times." But maybe Mrs. Claus, the hardworking team at the North Pole, and one melancholy little girl might keep the man in the red suit from singing the blues.

THE MAN IN RED, our first musical, features music by Butch Phelps and performances by Brian Cox, Jayne Houdyshell, Phylicia Rashad, Brandon Dirden, Javier Muñoz, Lily Santiago, Cecilia Suárez, Sue Jean Kim, Brendan Donaldson, Rodney Gardiner, and Lauren Sharpe.

In the cool, otherworldly confines of a Zoom room, a controversial president's ethereal daughter and hands-on son-in-law surf the choppy waters of chiseled memories, personal responsibility...and elementary school.

JARED AND IVANKA’S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AT MAURICE J. FELDMAN JEWISH DAY SCHOOL, our third James Stevenson Commission for Short Comedic Plays, was written by playwright and screenwriter Jonathan Spector (Eureka Day, This Much I Know, The Flats) and directed by Daniel Aukin. It stars Paul Sparks (“Physical,” “Sweetbitter,” “House of Cards”), Cindy Cheung (“13 Reasons Why,” “New Amsterdam”), Tracee Chimo Pallero (“People of Earth,” “Difficult People,” “Genius”), and Thomas Jay Ryan (West Side Story, The Crucible, The Little Foxes, Henry Fool). 

On the precipice of making a world changing medical breakthrough, Amal visits an old lover and they contend with the uncertain future through the light of a shared, tumultuous past.

JACOB AND AMAL, our second Wordsmith Duo play this season supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by Dipika Guha (Blown Youth, “Sneaky Pete,” “Black Monday”) and directed by Jo Bonney (Cost of Living, Father Comes Home from the War, Anna in the Tropics). It stars Rita Wolf (What Happened? The Michaels Abroad, Homeboy/Kabul) and Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney, American Psycho, Fences), and features music by composer Dan Moses Schreier (A Soldier’s Play, Carmen Jones, American Psycho). Graphic design is by Harrison Gale.

Amal would like to spend the night hiding from, well, everything. But when her bestie has other ideas - ideas that include a world renowned research university, high heels, and lowered expectations - she agrees to a not-so-scientific exercise that could take her, well, anywhere. All right. Just this once.

THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT, a Wordsmith Duo play supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by playwright Mfoniso Udofia (Sojourners, “13 Reasons Why,” “Little America”) and directed by Logan Vaughn. It features actors Adepero Oduye (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Pariah), Alex Ubokudom (Seeds of Abraham, Macbeth, Adult Ed), and Kalyne Coleman (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Black Odyssey, Julius Caesar). Original music by composer Jimmy Keys (Skeleton Crew, Night Visions, Revelations). Graphic design is by Harrison Gale.

After his hit NUDITY RIDER, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE.

Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. She can’t get a decent gin & tonic, her daughter is spending Thanksgiving in another state, and her crazed waiter has cast her in a festive audio play. It might just be time to flip the table – and the script.

With direction by Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Paradise Blue, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine), THANKSGIVING FOR ONE unites actor-writer Linklater (“Legion,” “The Big Short,” The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park) with Emmy winner Jean Smart (HBO’s “Watchmen”, “Fargo,” “Frasier”). After the play, join host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic chat with the artists.

The proud owner of a gun shop in a small American city has a peculiar visitor one day - a celebrity of sorts who wants to buy a weapon but can't say exactly why.

LOCKED AND LOADED. CAN I HELP YOU?, a world premiere from celebrated playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur, The Heir Apparent, White Christmas) is directed by Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur, White Christmas)) and features Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons,” Monty Python’s Spamalot, “Brockmire”) and Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Spring Awakening, “Mindhunter”), music by Dan Moses Schreier (A Soldier’s Play, Carmen Jones, American Psycho), and a special guest musical appearance by Adam Kantor (The Band’s Visit, Next to Normal, Fiddler on the Roof, Rent). Graphic design is by Harrison Gale.

Airstreams, Winnebagos, Chevys, the blood brothers of RV circuit, take us from the shackles of modernity to the freedom of the road! Two couples who might not otherwise cross paths befriend each other in a Texas RV Park, and declare their mutual independence.

THE WAYFARER’S CODE, another world premiere James Stevenson Commission, is written by playwright Brittany Allen and features Frankie Faison (“The Wire,” Fences), Caitlin O'Connell (The Crucible, The Heiress), Robin de Jesús (The Boys in the Band, In the Heights), and Calvin Leon Smith (“The Underground Railroad,” “The Deuce”). THE WAYFARER’S CODE is directed by Marchánt Davis (Ain’t No’ Mo’, The Great Society) and features music by composer Tom Kochan (Almost, Maine, The Elephant Man). Graphic design is by Harrison Gale. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the playwright, director, and cast for a behind the scenes interview.

An aspiring writer (Isaac Oliver) who dreams of learning the secrets of the human heart summons an ancient demon (Vera Beren). Good thing he’s got tech support (Jay O. Sanders).

TECH DEMONS, a world premiere James Stevenson Commission by Sarah Gancher, is directed by Marc Bruni (Broadway’s Beautiful: The Carole King Story) and also features Vera Beren and music by composer Dan Moses Schreier. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the playwright, director, and cast for a behind the scenes interview.

Husband-wife team Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller play former Yiddish theater stars who steal the show at a memorial service in the THE BURIAL SOCIETY, a comic play by Susan Sandler. Also featuring George Morfogen* (“Oz”) and David Margulies (Ghostbusters). Directed by Playing on Air Producing Artistic Director Claudia Catania.

Playing on Air is honored to share the work of this all-star cast, the members of whom have passed away since BURIAL SOCIETY’s recording in 2011.

Playing on Air presents Waking Up, an insightful short by Cori Thomas. It juxtaposes the experiences of an American urbanite’s and an African villager’s struggle with breast cancer. Although the details from diagnosis to ultimate triumph are vastly different, their stories underscore the universality of the human spirit.

This play features Lynnette Freeman and Amy Staats. Conversation between host, Claudia Catania, and playwright, Cori Thomas, follows the play.

When a conservative father and his young gay son (stage legend Len Cariou and ”Ugly Betty’s” Michael Urie) reconnect in the most unlikely of places - an airport terminal - they find that love can transcend a family's baggage. This witty, heartfelt short by Andy Reynolds is directed by Broadway’s Michael Wilson.

After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the playwright, director, and cast for a behind the scenes interview.

In PLAYING GOD, a divine comedy from SNL's Alan Zweibel (Playing on Air's HAPPY), a self-involved OB-GYN (Scott Adsit of 30 Rock) creates chaos for his pregnant patient (Emily Bergl). Over the objections of a heavenly assistant (Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm), God himself (Bill Buell) challenges the doctor to an outrageous squash match for his faith.

Following the play, director Fred Berner and host Claudia Catania join the cast and playwright to talk about their roots in comedy.

Single mom Suzanne needs an actor for a discreet personal favor. It should be simple. But when she casts Mike, she grossly underestimates the lengths an out-of-work actor will go to to make an impact. 

Written by Avery Deutsch and a winner of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays, THE DONOR stars Sakina Jaffrey (Timeless) and Hamish Linklater (The Big Short, “Legion”). It is directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Bernhardt/Hamlet).

In Alvin and Mia’s neighborhood, property owners flip houses or parcel them out for AirBnBs. No one’s investing in the community. So they’re thrilled by the arrival of a new homeowner — a tech entrepreneur who’s rich, ambitious, charismatic, and strangely pale. And he’s an excellent drinking companion. Scotch, anyone?

A comedy about bloodsuckers of all kinds, OWNER OCCUPY stars David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks), David Furr (Noises Off), and Kalyne Coleman (Lessons in Survival). It’s written by Jonathan Spector (Eureka Day), and directed by Taibi Magar (Capsule).

Mahalia, a Black trans woman, returns to her hometown of Minneapolis during the tumultuous summer of 2020. Against a backdrop of fire and protest, she and her father tentatively rekindle a long-dormant bond.

REVELATIONS is written by JuCoby Johnson (How It’s Gon’ Be) and directed by Goldie E. Patrick (Paradise Blue). It stars Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), John Douglas Thompson (Public Theater’s Julius Caesar), and Lynnette R. Freeman (Ensemble Studio Theatre).

A tale of old age, murder and gingernut biscuits.

CAMBERWELL HOUSE, a darkly comic one-woman play by Amelia Roper ("The Great"), stars five-time Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The School for Scandal, “Sex and the City”).

Norman and Max may be dummies, but they’re no fools. Offstage, ventriloquist dummies are the same as anyone else — smack-talking their bosses, worrying about being behind the times — but beneath their hard wooden exteriors lurk sensitive, philosophical, funny souls. A world premiere by a master of the short form, David Ives (The School for Lies, Venus in Fur), DUMMY DIALOGUE stars Richard Kind (A Serious Man, “The Goldbergs”) and Tony winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda the Musical). It is directed by celebrated Tony winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur).

Sometimes you lose your keys, sometimes you lose your temper, and sometimes you lose the most unexpected of things. When Marcy and her difficult boyfriend come for a visit, what we know about ourselves can change in the blink of an eye...

REAL AMERICAN DINNER PARTY is written by Jen Silverman (Witch, novel We Play Ourselves) and directed by Tony winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown). It features April Matthis (Toni Stone), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Marys Seacole), Sean Carvajal (King Lear on Broadway), and Matthew Rauch (The Wolf of Wall Street). After the performance, host Claudia Catania discusses family dynamics with the artistic team. 

Why support this play? 

You love watching simmering family tensions boil over into absurdity, and you’re willing to expand your horizons when it comes to the definition of a ‘happy ending.’ 

When runaway snow tubes send a dad and his grown daughter flying off a cliff, they’re left hanging on for dear life -- and testing the limits of a punchline. This winning comedy, recipient of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays, cheerfully prods family bonds between parents and their grown children.

Written by Mallory Jane Weiss and directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God), I THINK IT’S WORTH POINTING OUT…  is a world premiere starring real-life father and daughter Danny DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”) and Lucy DeVito (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” ). It was first performed live at Playing on Air’s 2020 Digital Holiday Benefit.

“A gorgeous high note...a Jewish screwball romance… uproarious and beautifully cast, with tone-perfect direction by Colette Robert." — The New York Times 

It's 1933, and a young Jewish immigrant has returned to his Polish hometown in search of a wife. On a snowy afternoon, he sets his sights on Chava, a savvy, sarcastic shopgirl in a local hat store.  

Directed by Colette Robert (STEW, Behind the Sheet), HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter (EST’s Youngblood, The Sabbath Girl) features a sparkling cast: Eli Gelb (Skintight, Indignation) and Lucy DeVito (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” PoA’s Gun Show). After the play, host Claudia Catania moderates a conversation with the artists.

“I felt I really had given birth ... rebirth ... to Napoleon.”

“So wait. Am I Napoleon? Or do I need to look for a job?”

Everyday life is a battlefield for single mother Evelyn and her adult son Corey, who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). But underneath their sparring over Minecraft and job applications, a game-changing crisis is bubbling.

Directed by Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason (“Grace and Frankie,” The Goodbye Girl), NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz (New Dramatists, Ensemble Studio Theatre) is a moving, unexpectedly funny portrait of a family on the brink. Emmy nominee Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle,” Good People) and Will Dagger (HBO’s “I Know This Much Is True,” PoA’s The Press Conference) star as mother and son. After the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss writing for actors and bringing theater chops to the world of sitcom TV.

Nobody comes to the campus health clinic looking for love. But as he waits for the nurse to call him in, Robby (Vandit Bhatt) finds himself drawn to Angie (Nitya Vidyasagar), a disenchanted writer with problems of her own. Can two strangers find unexpected poetry in each other? And do they even want to? 

SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury (My Name is Yusuf, Ma-Yi Writers Lab) features Bhatt (“Quantico,” Indian Ink, “New Amsterdam”) and Vidyasagar (“Sesame Street,” The Glorious Ones) in a rom-com for cynics. Playwright Naveen Bahar Choudhury joins host Claudia Catania for a post-performance conversation.

In the wake of the 1989 Romanian Revolution, a dictator’s beloved pet must answer for the crimes of his owner. What’s the cost of staying loyal to the hand that feeds you — especially if that hand belongs to a tyrant? 

Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Happy Talk, PoA’s The Blizzard) and Golden Globe winner Ed Asner (Elf, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” PoA’s New York Story) open the 2021 Winter Mini-Season with a sly satire: THE FINAL INTERROGATION OF CEAUȘESCU’S DOG by Tony winner Warren Leight (“In Treatment”, Side Man, “Law & Order: SVU”). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins Asner and the playwright for a behind-the-mic interview. 

Throughout February, Playing on Air returns with four episodes from our back catalog starting Sunday, February 7th.

The year is 2030. On the snowy outskirts of DC, an underground musician (Tony winner Julie White) and her pragmatic teenage daughter (Erin Wilhelmi) battle the forces, seen and unseen, that threaten their survival.  

Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Colt Coeur, PoA’s 52nd to Bowery…), Bird is a world-premiere recording and, in partnership with the Axe-Houghton Foundation, a Wordsmith Duo commission.

After their previous run as mother and daughter in Broadway’s A Doll’s House, Part 2, White (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, “Alpha House”) and Wilhelmi (To Kill A Mockingbird, The Crucible) reunite in this final episode of the 2020 Fall Season. After the play, they join Bonds, Campbell-Holt, and host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic interview.

THIRD GRADE continues Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations).

Elementary school teacher Kai is dedicated to helping her students thrive. But when one of her third-graders is brutally bullied, Kai must unexpectedly go to battle with the boy’s father over how best to protect his son.

J. Alphonse Nicholson (Starz’s “P-Valley”, A Soldier’s Play) stars alongside playwright-performer Morisseau. Directed by Stori Ayers ("The Last O.G.," Chautauqua Theater Company), THIRD GRADE is a searing look at the impossible choices that parents and public school educators are making to protect America’s kids. Later in the episode, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss their own third grade experiences and the need to ”go deep.”

Ah, the holiday season! The wine is flowing. In-laws are gossiping in the kitchen. And the Thompson family is indulging in their most bizarre Thanksgiving ritual: the Turkey Trot. Mischievous and tender, THE THOMPSONS by Andrew Massey (EST’s Youngblood) is a comedy about the wacky families we love, break, and remake.

Arin Arbus (TFANA, Broadway’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) directs an all-star cast of PoA regulars: William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place,” PoA’s 2B Or Not 2B), Sue Jean Kim (Office Hour, PoA’s 52nd to Bowery…), April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA’s G.O.A.T.), and Amy Ryan (“The Office,” PoA’s Clean Slate). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the cast, director, and playwright to discuss Thanksgiving traditions and family dynamics.

After his hit Nudity Rider, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE. Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. She can’t get a decent gin & tonic, her daughter is spending Thanksgiving in another state, and her crazed waiter has cast her in a festive audio play. It might just be time to flip the table – and the script.

With direction by Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Paradise Blue, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine), THANKSGIVING FOR ONE unites actor-writer Linklater (“Legion,” "The Big Short," The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park) with Emmy winner Jean Smart (HBO's “Watchmen”, “Fargo,” “Frasier”). After the play, join host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic chat with the artists. 

At a laundromat in Istanbul, a chatty seamstress (Carol Kane) and a guarded, young academic (Melis Aker) discover that they're linked, and haunted, by the myth of the same man.

Written by, starring, and featuring original music by Melis Aker (Kilroys List, Ars Nova Play Group), SCRAPS AND THINGS also marks the PoA return of legendary Oscar nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and is directed by Neil Pepe, Artistic Director of the Atlantic Theater Company. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the artistic team to discuss personal legacies and how artists divulge their deepest secrets through their work.

SCRAPS AND THINGS was originally commissioned by Atlantic Theater Company as part of their 2018 Middle Eastern MixFest. 

On a sweltering afternoon in 1864, two Civil War widows meet in a graveyard. Mirabelle is trying to paint a pineapple; Annaleigh needs to make sure that her husband hasn’t turned into a vampire. Together, the women begin to imagine the futures that might await them beyond corsets, lockets, and bullets. 

HOW TO BE A WIDOW by Emmy nominee Tori Keenan-Zelt (Kilroys List, Bay Area Playwrights Festival) features Mary Bacon (Lost Girls, Coal Country) and Naomi Lorrain (“Orange is the New Black,” Behind the Sheet). Lucie Tiberghien (Molière in the Park) directs. After the play, Tiberghien joins the cast, the playwright, and host Claudia Catania to discuss how the rules of womanhood and widowhood have — and haven’t — changed from the Civil War to today.

JEZELLE THE GAZELLE continues Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations).

Jezelle is ready to prove that she’s the best runner on her block: young, fierce, and definitely faster than any boy. But is she fast enough to outrun grief and claim her greatness? Starring Mirirai Sithole (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, “Black Mirror”), JEZELLE THE GAZELLE  by Dominique Morisseau is directed by Goldie E. Patrick (Detroit Public Theatre, Kennedy Center). 

This clear-eyed coming of age story — originally created for the 10 x 10 Festival at American Theater Company — was recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center in November 2019. Stay tuned after the performance for an onstage conversation between the artists and host Claudia Catania.

“Back when I was a kid my mother took me to see a fortune teller for my 12th birthday…She said that when I am in my 20’s I will reach two paths. Two paths J. And I don’t know which one to pick.” 

In the parking lot behind a Houston strip club, a young dancer considers a proposal from an octogenarian billionaire. Before the world devours her story, she has to choose it. 

Written and directed by OBIE winner Lucas Hnath (Broadway’s Hillary and Clinton, A Doll’s House, Part 2), THE COURTSHIP OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH features Quincy Tyler Bernstine (“Power,” Marys Seacole) and David Patrick Kelly (“Twin Peaks,” Thérèse Raquin). After the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss theater in the age of Quarantine, directing your own plays, and the double-edged sword of celebrity.

THE COURTSHIP OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH was first produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of The Tens, presented by the Professional Training Company. 

In the middle of the desert, two vultures find their lunch interrupted by a man of faith. Now, they have a bone to pick with Saint Francis of Assisi. 

Full of miraculous and mischievous wit, ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS by David Ives (Venus in Fur, PoA’s The Blizzard) features Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher, PoA’s Evening at Anaheim), Julie Halston (Tootsie, PoA’s Relative Strangers), Matthew Saldivar (Bernhardt/Hamlet, PoA’s The Philadelphia), an appearance by the legendary Lois Smith, and a surprise cameo from the playwright. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with Tony Award-winning director John Rando (Urinetown, PoA’s The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage), the cast, and host Claudia Catania.

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Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam, “Fear the Walking Dead,” PoA’s Poof!), Tony nominee Condola Rashad (Saint Joan, “Billions”), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Little Fires Everywhere”) star in Cassandra Medley’s CELL. When a jaded supervisor at an immigrant detention center finds jobs there for her sister and niece, family tensions erupt into a battle over home and homeland security.

Directed by Diverse City Theater Company founder Victor Lirio, CELL by Cassandra Medley (Relativity, Coming Up for Air) “deftly explores the dirty antidemocratic secret of institutionalized racism” (New York Times). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration journalist Julia Preston, Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld, and playwright Medley to move beyond headlines and explore the real lives that inspired CELL.

Help us get to know you a bit better; go to playingonair.org/survey to fill out our listener survey. 

“This doesn’t seem like your kind of place -      Why? I dunno. You don’t look like you eat a lot of crappy deli meat.”

Through a haze of gin, mediocre roast beef, and horrible apartment parties, a grieving New Yorker finds herself drawn to a quirky, flirtatious friend-of-a-friend. Hurtling through time, ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds (PoA’s Winter Games, Goodnight Nobody) follows a journey back to love.

Ensemble Studio Theater’s Linsay Firman directs Sarah Sokolovic (“Big Little Lies,” PoA’s The Blizzard), Michael Esper (Lazarus, PoA’s Rules of Comedy), Sue Jean Kim (Office Hour, PoA’s 52nd to Bowery…), and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA’s If You Win). After the play, playwright Bonds joins host Claudia Catania to discuss her roots as a writer.

Help us get to know you a bit better; go to playingonair.org/survey to fill out our listener survey. 

Never underestimate the persistence of a Mets fan.

In HAPPY by Alan Zweibel (“SNL,” 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal), a baseball fan shows up at the home of his childhood hero, George "Happy" Halliday. Has the stranger come to pay his respects or to throw a curveball?

A comedy for anyone who’s ever wished for an extra inning, HAPPY stars Frankie Faison (“The Wire”) and Scott Adsit (“30 Rock,” PoA’s Wild and Precious Life), directed by Fred Berner. After the live recording, join the artists and host Claudia Catania for an onstage interview.

Help us get to know you a bit better; go to playingonair.org/survey to fill out our listener survey. 

Hi Playing on Air listeners! We hope you're all safe and well. If you're willing to give us around 10 minutes of your time, we'd like to get to know you a bit better; it'll help us to program episodes of Playing on Air that you'll love. 

Go to playingonair.org/survey to fill out our listener survey. And, as a thank-you, you'll be treated to a message from a very special guest. 

Jay, Bonita, and Row have gathered on the rooftop to burn the sage and drink the sacred Gatorade. To pray to the goddess Nike, and the ghosts of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. To summon victory for their beloved champion: Serena Williams, the Greatest Of All Time. 

Directed by Whitney White (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and featuring original music by Jeremy Lloyd (Marian Hill, clear eyes), G.O.A.T. is an electric celebration of Black Girl Magic, on and off the court. Denise Manning (Daddy, PoA's Wild and Precious Life), Obie winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA's Hate Baby), and playwright/performer Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen) star - and Drama Desk nominee Bobby Moreno cameos -  in the final episode of Playing on Air’s Spring 2020 season. After the episode, stay tuned for host Claudia Catania’s conversation with the artists, about ritual, their multi-hyphenate talents, and the G.O.A.T. herself, Serena Williams.

Playing on Air is a non-profit, listener-supported production. To help support our fall season, visit https://playingonair.org/donate. Thank you for listening!

John Lithgow ("The Crown," "3rd Rock from the Sun," Hillary and Clinton) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA's An Upset) star in Emily Chadick Weiss's IF YOU WIN. On the eve of a local election, candidate Hal Wheelwright (Lithgow) receives an unexpected offer from his opponent's son (Boyer). Is this an act of political sabotage or a blessing in disguise? After the play, director Giovanna Sardelli (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Atlantic's Describe the Night) joins Chadick Weiss (Ensemble Studio Theatre, “The Share”) and the cast for a behind-the-scenes interview moderated by host Claudia Catania. Playing on Air is a non-profit, listener-supported production. To help support our fall season, visit https://playingonair.org/donate. Thank you for listening!

One summer morning, in a cool and dusty bar, two strangers seek refuge from the past. RJ is a single father, on a break from his only son’s wedding. The mysterious Sonja is patient and sympathetic, but may have her own priorities. Two strangers meeting is an old story, but the possibility of a true connection always feels new.

Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei ("My Cousin Vinny," Broadway’s The Rose Tattoo) stars with Michael C. Hall (“Dexter,” Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Alfredo Narciso (Broadway’s Time and the Conways, PoA’s The Blizzard) in JUNE WEDDINGS by Barbara Hammond (Terra Firma). Directed by Jenn Thompson (Abundance, Lost in Yonkers). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about romance, parenting, and people-watching in New York City.

Playing on Air is a non-profit, listener-supported production. To help support our fall season, visit https://playingonair.org/donate. Thank you for listening!

Playing on Air is proud to present the winner of our 2019 James Stevenson Prize: Jason Gray Platt’s HUMAN RESOURCES.

Tech start-up Diddly has a problem: their staff is whiter than a Coldplay concert in Vermont. Fortunately, Human Resources has a plan to “improve” Diddly’s corporate culture —at least in theory.

A biting satire about virtue signaling and elephant milk, HUMAN RESOURCES features Tony winner Julie White (Airline Highway, A Doll’s House, Part 2) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Broadway’s Hand To God). Jade King Carroll (Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth, Proof of Love) directs the world premiere, recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the ensemble for a discussion about comedy, identity, and the absurd.

Playing on Air is a non-profit, listener-supported production. To help support our fall season, visit https://playingonair.org/donate. Thank you for listening!

CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Guards at the Taj) is Part Two of a thriller that begins with last week’s episode, Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS.

Special Agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar just want to assure you that nothing horrible has happened at the KLWP News Hour. You may have heard rumors about a band of Kabuki-masked killers. You may have heard whispers about a mysterious vigilante group.  Ignore them — no matter what you think you saw. 

Oscar nominee Amy Ryan ("The Office," PoA’s Fifth Planet) and Eden Marryshow (Broadway's Ink, PoA’s Night Vision) join Jeremy Shamos, Eisa Davis, and director Mark Brokaw from last week’s FAKE NEWS. After the show, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about what gives them hope and how they think this story really ends.

CLEAN SLATE by Pulitzer finalist and Obie winner Rajiv Joseph is a world premiere through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays. 

Content Warning: Violence

Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind radio’s KLWP News Hour — but today, they’ve become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they’re under attack. 

Mark Brokaw (Broadway’s How I Learned to Drive, Cinderella) directs Obie winner Eisa Davis (Passing Strange, PoA’s Gun Show), Tony nominees Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park, PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA’s Human Resources), and Tony winner Katie Finneran (Noises Off, PoA’s La Traviata) in FAKE NEWS by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, PoA’s Wildwood Park). After the episode, host Claudia Catania talks with the artists about writing plays specifically for audio and how these genius actors were able to play around with different accents and impressions on such short notice.

Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS is Part One of a two-part thriller that continues next week with Rajiv Joseph’s CLEAN SLATE. Both pieces are world premieres through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays.

Playing on Air is a non-profit, listener-supported production. To help support our fall season, visit https://playingonair.org/donate. Thank you for listening!

There's a lot of money to be made at this funeral. 

Friends and flames have gathered to celebrate and remember the WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE of the charismatic, outrageous Sheila (Tony & Emmy winner Debra Monk)  — but the dearly departed still has one more trick up her sleeve. 

WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE by Emmy winner Patricia Cotter (PoA's Rules of Comedy, The Daughters) features an ensemble cast of Playing on Air favorites — Monk, Scott Adsit, Lucy DeVito, Denise Manning, Lisa Emery, and Jeff Biehl — and original music by folk-rock duo Misner & Smith, produced and recorded by John Kilgore, arranged and performed by Charlie Rosen. Associate Producer Michele O’Brien directs. Stay tuned after the episode, as host Claudia Catania chats with the artists about celebrating life and how they’d like to be remembered.

Content Warning: Violence

“I don’t want you hunting anyone. What if you become the prey?”

On a night walk in Brooklyn, pregnant Ayanna and her husband Ezra witness a sudden, violent attack. But when they call the police, doubts arise. Did they get a good look at the attacker’s face? What color was his sweatshirt? And — why do their memories differ so drastically? 

Originally commissioned as part of New Black Fest’s “Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege,” NIGHT VISION launches Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Projects, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations). Directed by Stori Ayers (Chautauqua Theater Company, "The Last O.G.”), NIGHT VISION stars OBIE winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, Elevator Repair Service, PoA’s Hate Baby) and Eden Marryshow (“Jessica Jones,” Broadway’s Ink) and features music by guest composer Jimmy Keys.

Tony Shalhoub and Kristine Nielsen star in Amanda Quaid’s THE CLAM, the Second Place winner of Playing on Air’s 2019 James Stevenson Prize competition. 

After a lifetime of playing it safe , a wistful clam (Shalhoub) decides to come out of his shell with help from a therapist (Nielsen). His friends are disappearing without a trace, he’s lost touch with thousands of his children, and he’s desperate for a pearl to call his own. Alternately tongue-in-cheek and deeply identifiable, THE CLAM is a comedy for anyone who’s ever felt adrift in their search for happiness. 

Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway’s Bernhardt/Hamlet, Hand to God) directs Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” The Band’s Visit, “Monk”) and Tony nominee Nielsen (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Androninus, PoA’s Wildwood Park). The opening episode of PoA’s 2020 Spring Season, THE CLAM was recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center. 

Starting next Sunday and continuing every Sunday throughout April and May, we’ll be releasing a new short play. We feel extremely fortunate to be able to share our artists' beautiful work with you, even in these uncertain times.

We're announcing some exciting changes to Playing on Air's release calendar! Listen to find out more.

We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!  (Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)

Michael C. Hall ("Dexter," Hedwig and The Angry Inch), Martha Plimpton ("The Good Wife," PoA's Gun Show), and actor-playwright Hamish Linklater (The Big Short, "Legion") star in NUDITY RIDER, a world-premiere comedy by Linklater. The cameras are ready to roll on the set of a New Orleans basic cable show, but the high-strung leading man, Keith Saturday, has a problem: his most up-close-and-personal scene has been unexpectedly rescheduled for today. And he's been eating. A lot. Now, an incisive production assistant (Hall) and no-nonsense makeup artist (Plimpton) must battle the clock - and assuage Saturday's ego - to save the shoot. After the episode, host Claudia Catania joins the cast and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway's Hand to God, Bernhardt/Hamlet) for an in-studio interview about writing for radio and what it takes to be a successful actor. NUDITY RIDER is presented with the support of Fred Wistow.

We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start! (Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)

Caroline can't find anything funny -- not her awkward love life, not her jaded standup coach Guy, and definitely not the punchlines she's been reading in 101 Dirty Jokes. 

Originally produced at the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville, Patricia Cotter's RULES OF COMEDY is a playful, wry look at the lives of comedians when they dare to go offstage and off script. Directed by Jonathan Bernstein, Cotter's short comedy stars Louisa Krause (The Flick, Billions, PoA's Winter Games) and Michael Esper (Trust, The Last Ship, PoA's Anniversary). After the play, stay tuned for an artist interview about the playwright's background in comedy, avoiding the pull towards bitterness, and toeing the line with your material. 

"Cotter's script is lush with the knowledge of standup comedy... this play is a scream" - Todd Zeigler, Broadway World Reviews

We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)

Two recovering addicts (Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo) have their Saturday night card game interrupted by a love-struck parole officer (Bobby Cannavale) with major boundary issues.

Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Good People), the madcap comedy CRAZY EIGHTS features Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman, “Boardwalk Empire,” PoA's Gun Show), Tony winner John Leguizamo (Latin History for Morons, Ghetto Klown, Moulin Rouge), Oscar nominee Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing, Fearless, "The View"), and Kevin Hogan ("Mr. Robot").  Stay tuned after the performance for an interview with David Lindsay-Abaire and the cast, moderated by Artistic Director Claudia Catania.

CRAZY EIGHTS was recorded live at BRIC House in Brooklyn, New York.

We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)

Loureen is at the end of her rope. And now, she's just turned her husband into a pile of ashes. As Lynn Nottage's funny and wrenching POOF! opens, Loureen (Audra McDonald) has inadvertently made her abusive husband (Keith Randolph Smith) disappear. Enter her friend and neighbor Florence (Tonya Pinkins) to help her pick up the pieces and begin to imagine a life post-Samuel. Directed by Seret Scott, POOF! features Tony Award winners Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill) and Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam; Caroline, or Change).

Following the play, the 2-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Sweat, Ruined) joins host Claudia Catania for a conversation about POOF!'s origins - and how she almost never became a playwright.

The police picked up teenage Ethan (Timothée Chalamet) for drunkenly wandering down the highway. Now, he's facing the real reckoning for his Misadventure: the wrath of his big sister (Zoe Kazan.)

Playwright and director Donald Margulies is a Pulitzer Prize winner for Dinner with Friends and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Sight Unseen and Collected Stories.   Best known for her leading role in The Big Sick, Zoe Kazan has also played on Broadway and off in A Behanding in Spokane and Angels in America, among others. Her film credits include It’s Complicated, happythankyoumoreplease, and Ruby Sparks.  Timothée Chalamet has received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Call Me By Your Name.  Other screen credits include Little Women, Lady Bird, and Beautiful Boy. He won acclaim on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s Prodigal Son. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team.

There's a crater in the middle of the street - again. After a deadly car bomb explodes in the Sha'ab neighborhood of Baghdad, grocery store owner Abu Omar and his neighbors attempt to clear the rubble and assess the damage. Is this the new normal?  

Directed by Obie winner Omar Metwally (Guards at the Taj, "The Affair"), Emma Goldman-Sherman's COUNTING IN SHA'AB asks who - and what - counts in a community where everyday life is disrupted every day. 

Featuring Ramsey Faragallah ("Madam Secretary," "Mozart in the Jungle") Rasha Zamamiri ("Ramy," NYTW's Aftermath), Peter Ganim ("Quantico," Broadway's Oslo), and Eden Zane (The Tempest, Project Olympus), the episode also includes a behind-the-scenes conversation with host Claudia Catania, the playwright, and the creative team. 

I know I’m not your therapist. I’m your brother.

In THE WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING VIOLET by Max Baker, two brothers struggle with three of life’s great fears: death, guilt, and the false sparkle of domestic bliss. Brandon Dirden (All the Way on Broadway) and Jason Dirden ("Greenleaf," Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun) are directed by Carrie Preston (“True Blood,” “The Good Wife”). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by host Claudia Catania. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at BRIC Arts Media in downtown Brooklyn. 

Debra Monk, Johanna Day, Katie Finneran, and Zach Appelman star in the world-premiere audio production of LA TRAVIATA by Lisa D’Amour (Pulitzer Prize finalist for Detroit, Airline Highway). 

Outside of New Orleans, three sisters have gathered to celebrate Mother's Day and lament the scandalous fate of their poor, wayward nephew. But beneath their breezy porch gossip, there are family secrets of operatic proportions waiting to be uncovered. Tony & Emmy winner Monk ("Mozart in the Jungle," "NYPD Blue"), OBIE winner Day (Sweat, Proof), double Tony winner Finneran (Noises Off & Promises, Promises), and Appelman ("Sleepy Hollow," War Horse) are directed by Michael Wilson (Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful, PoA's An Upset).

After the episode, join the artists & host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic discussion about Southern storytellers and family dynamics.

LA TRAVIATA was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of the Pearson Family Foundation.

What would you sacrifice for a lifelong pal? A kidney? Your safety? $900 -- for a very specific television?  From acclaimed wordsmith David Ives (Venus in Fur, PoA's The Blizzard), THE GOODNESS OF YOUR HEART asks what the limits of friendship really are. Directed by Tony winner John Rando (Broadway's On the Town, PoA's The Philadelphia), the cast features comedic favorites Arnie Burton (Broadway's Peter and the Starcatcher, PoA's The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage) and Rick Holmes (Broadway's Cabaret, "Fosse/Verdon"). After the play, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss morality, childishness, and the fruits of generosity. 

The curtain is up. The show is in progress. But for two stage managers calling the cues behind the scenes, the night's most dazzling romance isn't playing out onstage. Written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein (PoA's Rules of Comedy & A Very Very Short Play), AT THE WATER'S EDGE, WET stars Callie Thorne (“Necessary Roughness,” “Rescue Me,” “The Wire”) and Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos (Broadway's Clybourne Park, "Better Call Saul," PoA's Hedgehog Years).  Stay tuned after the performance for an in-studio conversation with the artists, moderated by host Claudia Catania.

"It's not luck, it's fate. You, me - a couple of old showbiz pros. At the same place, at the same time..."

When a slick comedian (Ed Asner) and leading lady (Elizabeth Ashley), now both in their seventies, meet by chance in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, the retired performers catch a glimmer of the magic they've been missing in their daily lives. 

Also featuring Daphne Rubin-Vega and Peter Jacobson and directed by Michael Wilson, "The Simpsons" writer Mike Reiss's NEW YORK STORY is a wryly funny answer to the question, "Whatever happened to that guy?" After the play, the cast joins host Claudia Catania to chat about Vaudevillians and the tenacity showbiz requires.

NEW YORK STORY was supported by Don and Linda Silpe.

Content advisory: this episode contains explicit language and sexual references.

When a cocky, jaded tennis star (David Harbour) loses a pivotal match to an inexperienced Romanian player (Steven Boyer), the two men lock into an unlikely battle for dominance on and off the court. Over the course of three encounters on the Grand Slam circuit, AN UPSET by David Auburn (Tony & Pulitzer winner for Proof) peers irreverently, and explosively, behind the locker room door.

After the play, Tony nominees Harbour ("Stranger Things," Hellboy, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Boyer (Hand to God, "Trial & Error") join director Michael Wilson (PoA's Wildwood Park, Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful) and host Claudia Catania for an exclusive talk-back about working with your idols and what it means to be an amateur.

AN UPSET was recorded live at the 52nd Street Project in New York City. 

What do you do when your former therapist starts talking to a cat that isn't there?

When Nate meets his longtime psychiatrist in the park, he realizes that she may be losing it. With tenderness and humor, Cusi Cram's THE HELPERS asks if we can reconnect with the life-altering figures who were never exactly our friends to begin with. THE HELPERS stars Tony & Emmy winner Jane Alexander (Warm Springs, The Great White Hope) and Peter Jacobson (Dr. Chris Taub on “House,” "The Americans"). After the episode, director Mimi O’Donnell (Executive Director, Scripted at Gimlet), Cram, and the cast join host Claudia Catania to discuss pet loyalty, funding for theater, and the art of costume design.

BEYOND GLORY  "allows the voices of servicemen to be heard without the filter of the conventions of drama or the prerogatives of deadline-driven journalism" (NY Times).

Since 2004, Tony-nominated actor Stephen Lang (The Speed of Darkness, Avatar) has traveled the nation - and the world - performing BEYOND GLORY, a gripping look into the lives of Medal of Honor-decorated veterans, both on and off the battlefield. A candid, vivid, and unsparing journey behind the front lines, CLARENCE SASSER tells the true story of a young Texan medic on a tour of duty in South Vietnam. 

After the play, Lang discusses his adaptation of BEYOND GLORY from Larry Smith's book of the same title, as well as his experiences performing the show for service members and veterans. 

Loureen is at the end of her rope. And now, she's just turned her husband into a pile of ashes. As Lynn Nottage's funny and wrenching POOF! opens, Loureen (Audra McDonald) has inadvertently made her abusive husband (Keith Randolph Smith) disappear. Enter her friend and neighbor Florence (Tonya Pinkins) to help her pick up the pieces and begin to imagine a life post-Samuel. Directed by Seret Scott, POOF! features Tony Award winners Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill) and Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam; Caroline, or Change). Following the play, the 2-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Sweat, Ruined) joins host Claudia Catania for a conversation about POOF!'s origins - and how she almost never became a playwright.

CARRY THE ZERO "gets the awkwardness of teenage hookup culture squeamishly right" (NY Times). 

Mark and Nicole just had sex for the first time, and now they're facing the long, embarrassing drive back to Nicole's house. Directed by John Giampietro, Christopher Sullivan's short play stars David Gelles (Graceland at LCT3, NBC's "Deception") and Arielle Goldman ("The Knick," "The Marvelous Ms. Maisel") in an intimate and brutally funny look back at sexual awakening in the age of instant messenger and indie rock. 

This episode contains adult themes that may not be suitable for some younger listeners.