Tennessee by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

In Tennessee by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Outside Mullingar), a small-town, wannabe musician seeks an escape plan from the town's resident psychic. The audio play stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (our audio production of Misadventure, Dune, Beautiful Boy, Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and Shanley's Prodigal Son on Broadway) and Caitlin FitzGerald (“Succession,” “Masters of Sex," It's Complicated). 

Stay tuned after the play for a behind-the-scenes conversation with playwright/director John Patrick Shanley, Caitlin FitzGerald, Timothée Chalamet, and founder and consulting director Claudia Catania. Tennessee was recorded and co-presented in front of a live audience at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or just stream below! [24 Minutes 18 Seconds]

BANSHEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck, Outside Mullingar) wrote and directed this short play about a banshee, a fantastical Irish spirit, who pays an ailing teacher a visit and makes him an otherworldly proposal. The mystical comedy features Geraldine Hughes (THE MANDELA EFFECT, TWO CROWS APART, Jerusalem, Gran Torino) and Aidan Quinn (“Elementary,” Michael Collins, Desperately Seeking Susan). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between the playwright, actors, and founder and consulting director Claudia Catania that includes a few delightfully surprising responses.

Download on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 25 Minutes 46 Seconds]

NIGHT VISION by Dominique Morisseau

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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 41 Seconds]

RULES OF COMEDY by Patricia Cotter (Re-Release)

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

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 41 Seconds]

COUNTING IN SHA'AB by Emma Goldman-Sherman

"Life as usual and then the sky falls in."

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. 

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 40 Seconds]

THE WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING VIOLET by Max Baker

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) star, with direction 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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 17 Seconds] 

3:59 AM: A DRAG RACE FOR TWO ACTORS by Marco Ramirez

It's summer in the city, and Laz and Hector are both on the run from something they can't quite name. Maybe the sudden need for speed has something to do with Laz's sister, who took off two weeks ago, or with Hector's wife, who just called from the hospital. Featuring Bobby Moreno ("Homeland," Lazarus, PoA's Acorn) and Sean Carvajal (Broadway's King Lear, Jesus Hopped the A Train), Marco Ramirez's 3:59am: a drag race for two actors paints a blazing, late-night portrait of two young men tearing up the open road - and themselves.

After the play, host Claudia Catania joins director Christian Parker (New Neighborhood, Chair of Graduate Theatre at Columbia) and the cast for a behind-the-mic interview.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 38 Seconds]

NEW YORK STORY by Mike Reiss

"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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [31 Minutes 27 Seconds]

TWO DADS by David Auburn

Content warning: this play deals with themes of domestic violence.

"You can’t really influence them. You can maybe adjust the trajectory a little bit, you can try to guide, but after a certain point? No."

Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale ("Will & Grace," Broadway's The Lifespan of a Fact, PoA's Gun Show) and Tony nominee Peter Gallagher ("Grace and Frankie," "The O.C.") star in a live recording of TWO DADS by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Auburn (Proof, PoA's An Upset), When two fathers meet at a resort and start swapping stories from the front lines of parenting, their poolside banter takes an unexpected, heartbreaking turn. In turns bitingly funny & disquieting, TWO DADS is directed by Claudia Weill (Girlfriends, PoA's Hate Baby). After the play, the artists join host Claudia Catania for an onstage conversation.  

TWO DADS was recorded live at BRIC House in Brooklyn, New York.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 24 Seconds]

TWO CROWS APART by Max Baker

Unwanted house guests. A murder of crows. Is something brewing in the raw, early morning? 

In TWO CROWS APART, Ciarán Hinds (Mance Rayder in "Game of Thrones,"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Geraldine Hughes (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jerusalem, Playing on Air's The Mandela Effect) paint a virtuosic, unfiltered portrait of marriage. After the play, director and playwright Max Baker (Broadway's 1984, The Mandela Effect) and the cast join host Claudia Catania for a discussion of haters, lovers, and animal instincts. 

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 12 Seconds]