Playing on Air is thrilled to present a slate of remarkable new plays to brighten your summer.
Every Sunday from July 9 through August 27, we’re releasing a new episode of our Summer 2023 season, which includes new short contemporary plays by gifted playwrights like Cary Gitter, David Ives, Amanda Quaid, John Patrick Shanley, and Lloyd Suh. Artists including Debra Messing, and John Turturro join Playing on Air for the first time, along with long-time and returning friends such as Emily Bergl, Steven Boyer, Marchánt Davis, Susie Essman, and Jay O. Sanders.
Not long after celebrating our 10th anniversary, Playing on Air is delighted to produce and present an expansive, lovingly curated collection of world-class plays created in collaboration with a diverse selection of talented artists. Thanks for letting us be part of your summer, and your enduring home for quality audio theater.
(July 9) JFK Taxi by Aurin Squire
A jet-lagged Gen Z couple (Toney Goins and Kerry Warren) decides to take an old school taxicab home to Brooklyn instead of an Uber, and their kooky cabbie (Louis Mustillo) introduces them to a very different (under)side of New York City.
Playwright Aurin Squire’s otherworldly urban comedy boasts a energetic score by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a spirited conversation with host Claudia Catania, executive director Yvie Jones, director Marchánt Davis, and our talented trio of actors.
(July 16) Echo and Narcissus by Amanda Quaid
In ECHO AND NARCISSUS, playwright Amanda Quaid’s newfangled take on an infamous myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a young woman falls in love with a narcissist after a vengeful wife condemns her to a unique fate.
The sprightly production is directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, stars Sarah Manton, Christian Conn, and Mia Katigbak, and features a kinetic score by composer Tom Kochan. After the play, host Claudia Catania and executive director Yvie Jones dive into conversation with the playwright, director, and actors.
(July 23) The Army Dance by Cary Gitter
It's the summer of 1955, and a new U.S. Army private stationed far away from his hometown in New Jersey may have met his match, a very modern Southern belle, at a USO-style dance.
Emily Bergl directs a pitch perfect cast—Eli Gelb, Erin Wilhelmi, and Vance Barton—in Cary Gitter’s THE ARMY DANCE, which also boasts a nifty-fifties-style score by composer Tom Kochan. After the play, host Claudia Catania and executive director Yvie Jones moderate a lively and poignant conversation with the playwright, director, and actors.
(July 30) Happy Birthday, Mr. Abernathy by Lloyd Suh
In Lloyd Suh’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY, a shared story, formerly repressed, begins to bridge the racial and generational distance between a white American centenarian of the Greatest Generation (Len Cariou) and his Asian American great-grandson (Ken Leung). Stay tuned after the play, which features original music by composer Tom Kochan, for a poignant conversation between the playwright and Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania.
(August 6) I Don’t Know by James McLindon
An old school drill sergeant under fire from his very modern and diverse new recruits desperately longs for simpler times. Directed by John Giampietro, the short satire I DON’T KNOW features stage and screen favorite Jay O. Sanders as the Drill Sergeant and an ensemble cast of Broadway, off-Broadway, and TV regulars as his new recruits: Bobby Moreno, Sue Jean Kim, Jeff Biehl, and Brittany K. Allen. After the play, Producing Artistic Director Claudia Catania moderates a conversation with the creative team.
(August 13) Mary Mary Quite Contrary by Rehana Lew Mirza
It’s 1907 and a typhoid fever outbreak among New York City’s elite families has led zealous sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the home of the haughty Mr. Winthrop (Michael Chernus) and a face-off with Winthrop’s proud, though not very hygienic cook, “Typhoid” Mary Mallon (Catherine Curtin).
Playwright Rehana Lew Mirza’s history-inspired comedy, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with executive director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists.
(August 13) Typhoid Mary by Mike Lew
It’s 1915 and another typhoid fever outbreak, this one in a bustling hospital run by an officious Supervisor (Cindy Cheung) has once again led dogged sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the hospital’s newest cook, “Typhoid” Mary Mallon (Catherine Curtin). It’s been years since Soper reluctantly released her from a forced quarantine on an inhospitable island. Can Mary finally wash her hands of him for good?
Playwright Mike Lew’s history-inspired comedy, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with executive director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists.
(August 20) Second Sight by David Ives
A retired historian’s (Danny Burstein) minor surgery brings up major questions that his affable surgeon (Steven Boyer), bemused wife (Susie Essman) and brother (Lee Wilkof) can’t seem to answer. Can he find a happy medium? Or is he, with a little otherworldly help (Brittany K. Allen), just seeing things clearly for the first time?
SECOND SIGHT, a world premiere from renowned playwright David Ives, is directed by the playwright himself and features music by Dan Moses Schreier, musical direction and piano by Alan Johnson, and special guest vocals by Chloe Holgate, Hai-Ting Chinn, Gregory Purnhagen, and Barbara Rearick. Stay tuned after the play for an insightful conversation with Ives, the actors, Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania, and executive director Yvie Jones.
(August 27) Bonnet by John Patrick Shanley
In John Patrick Shanley’s marital (and sometimes martial) comedy of manners, Dan (John Turturro) has a few questions for his wife Ava (Debra Messing) when she appears at the breakfast table with a meaningful new accessory.
BONNET, written and directed by the Tony Award, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Shanley himself, was recorded live at Playing on Air’s 10th anniversary benefit celebration at 54 Below in December 2022. Stay tuned after the play for a lively conversation with Shanley, Turturro, and Messing.