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]

THE DONOR by Avery Deutsch

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).

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [27 Minutes 39 Seconds]

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]

I THINK IT’S WORTH POINTING OUT THAT I’VE BEEN VERY SERIOUS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE DISCUSSION OR, DAVE AND JULIA ARE STUCK IN A TREE by Mallory Jane Weiss

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.

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

BIRD by Rachel Bonds

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 Rachel Bonds, Campbell-Holt, and host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic interview.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [26 Minutes 32 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]