OPEN ARMS by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
In Open Arms by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, an impending 50th birthday party sets off calamity over coffee and Kindles. Open Arms is directed by Tony Award winner John Rando and features Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed - TONY, Airline Highway - TONY nomination), and Bill Irwin (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - TONY). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between our Artistic Director, Claudia Catania, the playwright, director, and cast.
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! [20 Minutes 51 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!
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]
G.O.A.T. by Ngozi Anyanwu
Jay, Bonita, and Row have gathered on the rooftop to burn the sage and drink the sacred Gatorade. To pray to the goddess Nike, and the power of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. To summon victory for their beloved champion: Serena Williams, the Greatest Of All Time.
Directed by Whitney White (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and featuring original music by Jeremy Lloyd (Marian Hill, clear eyes), G.O.A.T. is an electric celebration of Black Girl Magic, on and off the court. Denise Manning (Daddy, PoA's Wild and Precious Life), Obie winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA's Hate Baby), and playwright/performer Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen) star - and Drama Desk nominee Bobby Moreno cameos - in the final episode of Playing on Air’s Spring 2020 season. After the episode, stay tuned for host Claudia Catania’s conversation with the artists, about ritual, their multi-hyphenate talents, and the G.O.A.T. herself, Serena Williams.
G.O.A.T was nominated for a 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Audio Theater Production.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [22 Minutes 18 Seconds]
CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph
CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Guards at the Taj) is Part Two of a thriller that begins with last week’s episode, Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS. Listen to Part One here.
Special Agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar just want to assure you that nothing horrible has happened at the KLWP News Hour. You may have heard rumors about a band of Kabuki-masked killers. You may have heard whispers about a mysterious vigilante group. Ignore them — no matter what you think you saw.
Oscar nominee Amy Ryan ("The Office," PoA’s Fifth Planet) and Eden Marryshow (Broadway's Ink, PoA’s Night Vision) join Jeremy Shamos, Eisa Davis, and director Mark Brokaw from last week’s FAKE NEWS. After the show, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about what gives them hope and how they think this story really ends.
CLEAN SLATE by Pulitzer finalist and Obie winner Rajiv Joseph is a world premiere through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 41 Seconds]
FAKE NEWS by Doug Wright
Content Warning: Violence
Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind radio’s KLWP News Hour — but today, they’ve become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they’re under attack.
Mark Brokaw (Broadway’s How I Learned to Drive, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella) directs Obie winner Eisa Davis (Passing Strange, PoA’s Gun Show), Tony nominees Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park, PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA’s Human Resources), and Tony winner Katie Finneran (Noises Off, PoA’s La Traviata) in FAKE NEWS by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, PoA’s Wildwood Park). After the episode, host Claudia Catania talks with the artists about writing plays specifically for audio and how these genius actors were able to play around with different accents and impressions on such short notice.
Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS is Part One of a two-part thriller that continues next week with Rajiv Joseph’s CLEAN SLATE. Both pieces are world premieres through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [23 Minutes 15 Seconds]
HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter
In Cary Gitter’s romantic comedy HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE, it's 1933, and a young Jewish immigrant returns to his Polish hometown in search of a wife. He sets his sights on Chava, a savvy, sarcastic shopgirl in a local hat store.
The New York Times calls the play "a gorgeous high note...a Jewish screwball romance set in Poland in 1933. Unlikely, yes, but also uproarious and beautifully cast, with tone-perfect direction by Colette Robert."
The sparkling cast features Eli Gelb (Indignation, The Squid and the Whale) and Lucy DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Girls,” Hulu’s “DeadBeat”). After the play, host Claudia Catania moderates a conversation with the artists.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [18 Minutes 18 Seconds]
THE PHILADELPHIA by David Ives
From David Ives (Venus in Fur, The Metromaniacs) comes a madcap satire of Brotherly Love and cosmic misunderstandings. Mark thought he woke up in New York City this morning, so why isn't there a cab, a copy of the Times, or a cold beer in sight? You can't always get what you want, and in this clash of the cities, you might only be able to get the complete opposite - plus a cheesesteak. Directed by Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown, Jerry Springer - The Opera,) The Philadelphia features Carson Elrod (Peter & the Starcatcher, The Liar), Jenn Harris (Silence! The Musical), and Matthew Saldivar (Saint Joan, JUNK). Stay tuned after the play for a behind-the-scenes conversation with host Claudia Catania and the artists.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [15 Minutes 04 Seconds]
ATTENTION by Holly Walter Kerby
In Holly Walter Kerby’s Attention, Amber (Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger) is bummed out that her boyfriend has visited his family without her. She takes solace in playing The Sims computer game. When her boyfriend David (Tony nominee Steven Boyer) calls to ask her the big question, he finds her hopelessly in the loving clutches of The Sims! Directed by Michael Barakiva. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by founding Artistic Director Claudia Catania.
Download on iTunes, Podbay,Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 17 Minutes 55 Seconds ]
BOUNCE WITH ME! WE'RE BEING HEATED! by Christopher Sullivan
Take radars, magnetrons, and dielectric heating; add two teenagers; mix and get lots of heat in this funny short about a teenage first date. Bounce With Me! We're Being Heated! by Christopher Sullivan features Lucy DeVito and Christopher Sullivan in a performance role. Directed by John Giampietro. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by founding Artistic Director Claudia Catania.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 25 Minutes 54 Seconds]