CELL by Cassandra Medley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

Starring Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam, Caroline, or Change), Tony nominee Condola Rashad (Saint Joan, Ruined, “Billions”), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Rookie Blue"), CELL tells the riveting story of three African American women working at an immigrant detention center. When a jaded guard arranges jobs for her sister and her niece Gwen, the family erupts into a battle over home and homeland security. As Gwen races to save a detained child, CELL paints a searing picture of the secrets we keep in order to survive.

This powerful piece by Cassandra Medley, directed by Victor Lirio, “deftly explores the dirty antidemocratic secret of institutionalized racism” (New York Times). After the play, Medley joins Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration journalist Julia Preston, Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld, and host Claudia Catania to move beyond headlines and explore the real lives that inspired CELL. 

Cell was supported in part by Cheryl Wiesenfeld Productions.

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! [52 Minutes 53 Seconds]

Gun Show by David Auburn (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

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.

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! [31 Minutes 56 Seconds]

THANKSGIVING FOR ONE by Hamish Linklater (Re-Release)

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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [30 Minutes 4 Seconds]

PLAYING GOD by Alan Zweibel (Re-Release)

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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below!

REVELATIONS by JuCoby Johnson

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).

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [25 Minutes 23 Seconds]

HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter (Re-Release)

“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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [19 Minutes 19 Seconds]

THIRD GRADE by Dominique Morisseau

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.”

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [30 Minutes 52 Seconds]

THANKSGIVING FOR ONE by Hamish Linklater

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.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [30 Minutes 4 Seconds]

JEZELLE THE GAZELLE by Dominique Morisseau

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.

Playing on Air is honored to help middle schoolers across the country learn the power of great theater! We are proud to freely share short, engaging plays, made by America’s best theater artists, that are appropriate for younger students everywhere. JEZELLE THE GAZELLE is one of several recommended episodes for middle school classrooms, chosen for teachers, by teachers! A middle school curriculum [PDF], created by Dan Rubins, is available for use in onsite and virtual classrooms.

If you’re an educator interested in additional resources, please reach out via Information for Educators or email us at: education@playingonair.org.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [26 Minutes 7 Seconds]

THE COURTSHIP OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH by Lucas Hnath

“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.  

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [27 Minutes 56 Seconds]