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]

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]

NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz (Re-Release)

“I felt I really had given birth ... rebirth ... to Napoleon.”

“So wait. Am I Napoleon? Or do I need to look for a job?”

Everyday life is a battlefield for single mother Evelyn and her adult son Corey, who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). But underneath their sparring over Minecraft and job applications, a game-changing crisis is bubbling.

Directed by Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason (“Grace and Frankie,” The Goodbye Girl), NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz (New Dramatists, Ensemble Studio Theatre) is a moving, unexpectedly funny portrait of a family on the brink. Emmy nominee Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle,” Good People) and Will Dagger (HBO’s “I Know This Much Is True,” PoA’s The Press Conference) star as mother and son. After the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss writing for actors and bringing theater chops to the world of sitcom TV.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [39 Minutes 23 Seconds]

MISADVENTURE by Donald Margulies (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...)

The police picked up teenage Ethan (Timothée Chalamet) for drunkenly wandering down the highway. Now, he's facing the real reckoning for his Misadventure: the wrath of his big sister (Zoe Kazan).

Playwright and director Donald Margulies is a Pulitzer Prize winner for Dinner with Friends and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Sight Unseen and Collected Stories.  

Best known for her leading role in The Big Sick, Zoe Kazan has also played on Broadway and off in A Behanding in Spokane and Angels in America, among others. Her film credits include It’s Complicated, happythankyoumoreplease, and Ruby Sparks. 

Timothée Chalamet has received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Call Me By Your Name.  Other screen credits include Little Women, Lady Bird, and Beautiful Boy. He won acclaim on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s Prodigal Son. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [12 Minutes 11 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]

LA TRAVIATA by Lisa D'Amour

Debra Monk, Johanna Day, Katie Finneran, and Zach Appelman star in the world-premiere audio production of LA TRAVIATA by Lisa D’Amour (Pulitzer Prize finalist for Detroit, Airline Highway). 

Outside of New Orleans, three sisters have gathered to celebrate Mother's Day and lament the scandalous fate of their poor, wayward nephew. But beneath their breezy porch gossip, there are family secrets of operatic proportions waiting to be uncovered. Tony & Emmy winner Monk ("Mozart in the Jungle," "NYPD Blue"), OBIE winner Day (Sweat, Proof), double Tony winner Finneran (Noises Off & Promises, Promises), and Appelman ("Sleepy Hollow," War Horse) are directed by Michael Wilson (Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful, PoA's An Upset).

After the episode, join the artists & host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic discussion about Southern storytellers and family dynamics.

LA TRAVIATA was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of the Pearson Family Foundation.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [28 Minutes 48 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]

HATE BABY by Gracie Gardner

Content advisory: this episode contains themes that may not be appropriate for younger listeners. 

Sigrid has a new little bundle of joy, and she's worried that he might be... evil. Today, she's tagging out: this baby is her neighbor Darla's problem now. Just in time for Mother's Day, Gracie Gardner's HATE BABY, the winner of Playing on Air's 2018 James Stevenson Prize for Comedic Short Plays, delves into the often-gross, ever-changing world of new parenthood. HATE BABY features Emily Bergl (Broadway's The Ferryman, PoA's Evening at Anaheim), OBIE winner April Matthis (Elevator Repair Service, PoA's Wanting North), and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA's An Upset). After the play, the artists join host Claudia Catania and director Claudia Weill for an onstage interview. 

HATE BABY was recorded live at the 52nd Street Project in New York City.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [19 Minutes 37 Seconds]

MILTON BRADLEY by Peter Sagal

How do you eulogize a woman who everybody hated? 

In Peter Sagal's MILTON BRADLEY, Rabbi Schoenberg (Michael Stuhlbarg), faced with this dilemma, turns to a metaphor: the game of Life (the board game, that is). 

Featuring Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water) and Bob Balaban (Gosford Park, Christopher Guest & Wes Anderson ensemble regular), MILTON BRADLEY is a darkly funny exploration of where we're all headed one day. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with playwright Peter Sagal (of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! fame) and the play’s director, host Claudia Catania.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 51 Seconds]