In these unprecedented times, Playing on Air is fortunate and excited to present a slate of incredible new plays.
Every Sunday throughout April and May, we’re releasing a new episode of our Spring 2020 season, which includes work by brilliant playwrights like Dominique Morisseau, Rajiv Joseph, and Doug Wright. Artists including John Lithgow, Marisa Tomei, Ngozi Anyanwu, and Tony Shalhoub join Playing on Air for the first time, along with long-time friends including Michael C. Hall, April Matthis, and Steven Boyer.
As always, Playing on Air aims to share the best of short theater, with all the challenge and connection it represents. No matter where you are, we hope to be a source of comfort and escape for you, for our artists, and for anyone imagining another world.
Sunday, April 5
THE CLAM, by Amanda Quaid
After a lifetime of playing it safe , a wistful clam (Tony Shalhoub) decides to come out of his shell. 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. With help from a therapist (Kristine Nielsen), can he finally open up?
Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway’s Bernhardt/Hamlet) directs Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” The Band’s Visit) and Tony nominee Nielsen (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus). Recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center, THE CLAM by Amanda Quaid is the Second Place winner of PoA’s 2019 James Stevenson Prize Competition.
Sunday, April 12
NIGHT VISION, by Dominique Morisseau
NIGHT VISION launches our yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations).
One night in Brooklyn, pregnant Ayanna and her husband Ezra witness a sudden, violent attack. But when they report it, they’re assailed by their own second guesses and differing memories.
Directed by Stori Ayers (Chautauqua Theater Company, "The Last O.G.”), NIGHT VISION stars Obie winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA’s Hate Baby) and Eden Marryshow (“Jessica Jones,” Broadway’s Ink), and features music by guest composer Jimmy Keys.
Sunday, April 19
WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE, by Patricia Cotter
There's a lot of money to be made at this funeral.
Friends and flames gather to celebrate and remember the life of charismatic, outrageous Sheila (Tony & Emmy winner Debra Monk) — but the dearly departed still has one more trick up her sleeve.
Written by Emmy winner Patricia Cotter (Rules of Comedy) WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE features an ensemble cast of PoA favorites — Monk, Scott Adsit, Lucy DeVito, Denise Manning, Lisa Emery, and Jeff Biehl — and original music by folk-rock duo Misner & Smith. Associate Producer Michele O’Brien directs.
In our mid-season, we are proud to present the 2020 Wordsmith Duo, a two-part thriller and world premiere commissioned with the support of the Axe-Houghton Foundation.
Sunday, April 26
FAKE NEWS, by Doug Wright
Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind KLWP News Hour — but today, they’ve become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live radio broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they’re under attack.
Mark Brokaw (Broadway’s How I Learned to Drive) directs Obie winners Eisa Davis (Passing Strange, PoA’s Gun Show) and 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).
Sunday, May 3
CLEAN SLATE, by Rajiv Joseph
Special Agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar just want to assure you that nothing horrible has happened at 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 (Ink, PoA’s Night Vision) join FAKE NEWS’ Jeremy Shamos, Eisa Davis, and director Mark Brokaw in CLEAN SLATE by Pulitzer finalist and Obie winner Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo).
Sunday, May 10
HUMAN RESOURCES, by Jason Gray Platt
The first place winner of our 2019 James Stevenson Prize.
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) directs the world premiere, recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center.
Sunday, May 17
JUNE WEDDINGS, by Barbara Hammond
One beautiful summer morning, in a cool and dusty bar, two strangers seek refuge from the past. RJ is a single father, in a break from his only son’s wedding. The mysterious Sonja is patient and sympathetic, but may have her own priorities.
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).
Sunday, May 24
IF YOU WIN, by Emily Chadick Weiss
On the eve of a local election, teacher and candidate Hal Wheelwright receives an unexpected offer from his opponent's son. Is this an act of political sabotage or a blessing in disguise?
Tony and Emmy award winner John Lithgow ("The Crown," Hillary and Clinton) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA's An Upset) star in this prescient work by Emily Chadick Weiss (Ensemble Studio Theatre, “The Share”), directed by Giovanna Sardelli (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Atlantic's Describe the Night).
Sunday, May 31
G.O.A.T. by Ngozi Anyanwu
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 power of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. To summon victory for their beloved champion: Serena Williams.
Playwright Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen) also stars in PoA’s final spring 2020 episode, with Denise Manning (Daddy, PoA's Wild and Precious Life) and Obie winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA's Hate Baby). G.O.A.T. was directed by Whitney White (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and features original music by Jeremy Lloyd (Marian Hill, clear eyes).
