Playing on Air 9/3/22 Playing on Air 9/3/22

EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson (Special Release)

From brilliant New Yorker cartoonist, illustrator, and children's book author James Stevenson comes this darkly hilarious reimagining of iconic animated characters - now over the hill and waiting out their golden years at a seedy retirement community in Los Angeles.

Directed by Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The Last Night of Ballyhoo), EVENING AT ANAHEIM features Richard Kind (The Producers, "Spin City"), Karen Ziemba (Tony winner for Contact), Emily Bergl ("Gilmore Girls," Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Brandon Uranowitz (Falsettos), Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher), Peter Maloney (Requiem for a Dream), and Tom Alan Robbins (The Lion King). Stay tuned after the play for a high spirited conversation with the cast, director, and Playing on Air founder and consulting director Claudia Catania.

EVENING AT ANAHEIM was co-presented with Playwrights Horizons and recorded live in New York City.

This episode was given a special release in honor of James Stevenson.

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream below! [35 Minutes 58 Seconds]

Playing on Air 8/13/22 Playing on Air 8/13/22

BITE THE HAND by Ara Watson (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

In this week's summer re-release, we're doing a bit of time travel. It’s a balmy night in the post-WWII Ozarks, and a young woman is leaving behind her life as a "lady of the evening" for an offer of marriage. Then a client shows up with some jaw-dropping news.

Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (A Doll’s House, Part 2, Adaptation, American Beauty), Emmy-winner Margo Martindale (“The Good Wife”, "The Americans," "Justified") and Broadway’s Liv Rooth (SURE THING, To Kill a Mockingbird, Venus in Fur) star in BITE THE HAND, Ara Watson’s (A Different Moon) potent classic, directed by Tony Award-winner Doug Hughes (SOMETHING I'LL TELL YOU TUESDAY, Doubt). Stay tuned after the performance for an animated conversation with Watson and the cast moderated by Playing On Air founder and consulting director Claudia Catania.

Listen on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [31 Minutes 40 Seconds]

Playing on Air 9/19/21 Playing on Air 9/19/21

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!

Playing on Air 2/28/21 Playing on Air 2/28/21

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]

Playing on Air 9/22/19 Playing on Air 9/22/19

THERE YOU ARE by Leslie Ayvazian

"Have you spoken of it?"
“No. No one."

After 31 years apart, two widows meet by chance at a concert and consider the whirlwind romance that they didn't dare to pursue - until now. Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, Netflix's "Tales of the City) and Tony nominee Maria Tucci (The Slap, Broadway's The Rose Tattoo) star in Leslie Ayvazian's THERE YOU ARE. After the play, Ayvazian and host Claudia Catania, the play’s director, discuss music onstage, desire, and the playwright's craft.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [12 Minutes 30 Seconds]

Playing on Air 4/28/19 Playing on Air 4/28/19

AN UPSET by David Auburn

Content advisory: this episode contains explicit language and sexual references.

When a cocky, jaded tennis star (David Harbour) loses a pivotal match to an inexperienced Romanian player (Steven Boyer), the two men lock into an unlikely battle for dominance on and off the court. Over the course of three encounters on the Grand Slam circuit, AN UPSET by David Auburn (Tony & Pulitzer winner for Proof) peers irreverently, and explosively, behind the locker room door.

After the play, Tony nominees Harbour ("Stranger Things," Hellboy, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Boyer (Hand to God, "Trial & Error") join director Michael Wilson (PoA's Wildwood Park, Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful) and host Claudia Catania for an exclusive talk-back about working with your idols and what it means to be an amateur.

AN UPSET 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! [29 Minutes 02 Seconds]

Playing on Air 9/9/18 Playing on Air 9/9/18

LAST NIGHT IN THE GARDEN I SAW YOU by John Patrick Shanley

"If I gave you my heart, that would be the knife."

With one hop of the fence, a star-crossed lover (Emmy nominee Rupert Friend) storms back into the life of the married woman (Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Michelle Williams) he deserted. Hovering on the brink, will they bite into the forbidden fruit - or dare each other to walk away for good?

Starring Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea, My Week with Marilyn, The Greatest Showman, Blue Valentine) and Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice, "Homeland," The Young Victoria), LAST NIGHT IN THE GARDEN I SAW YOU is written and directed by Pulitzer Prize & Tony winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Prodigal Son, Moonstruck). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to discuss rapid-fire theater, risk, and the battlefield of love.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [29 Minutes 13 Seconds]

Playing on Air 7/29/18 Playing on Air 7/29/18

HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter

How My Grandparents Fell in Love 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]

Playing on Air 7/15/18 Playing on Air 7/15/18

EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson

EVENING AT ANAHEIM was co-presented with Playwrights Horizons and recorded live 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! [35 Minutes 58 Seconds]

Playing on Air 4/29/18 Playing on Air 4/29/18

Dear Kenneth Blake by Jacquelyn Reingold

When she hears his story on a daytime talk show, a Cambodian refugee (Jodi Long) starts to exchange letters with a homeless man (Matthew Cowles). From Jacquelyn Reingold ("The Good Fight," "Smash," "Grace and Frankie") comes an unlikely, soulful romance. After the play, directed by host Claudia Catania, join Reingold and Catania for a candid conversation about the play, the business of TV, and writing from the news.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [20 Minutes 28 Seconds]