Tennessee by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

In Tennessee by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Outside Mullingar), a small-town, wannabe musician seeks an escape plan from the town's resident psychic. The audio play stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (our audio production of Misadventure, Dune, Beautiful Boy, Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and Shanley's Prodigal Son on Broadway) and Caitlin FitzGerald (“Succession,” “Masters of Sex," It's Complicated). 

Stay tuned after the play for a behind-the-scenes conversation with playwright/director John Patrick Shanley, Caitlin FitzGerald, Timothée Chalamet, and founder and consulting director Claudia Catania. Tennessee was recorded and co-presented in front of a live audience at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or just stream below! [24 Minutes 18 Seconds]

BANSHEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck, Outside Mullingar) wrote and directed this short play about a banshee, a fantastical Irish spirit, who pays an ailing teacher a visit and makes him an otherworldly proposal. The mystical comedy features Geraldine Hughes (THE MANDELA EFFECT, TWO CROWS APART, Jerusalem, Gran Torino) and Aidan Quinn (“Elementary,” Michael Collins, Desperately Seeking Susan). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between the playwright, actors, and founder and consulting director Claudia Catania that includes a few delightfully surprising responses.

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! [ 25 Minutes 46 Seconds]

YOU BELONG TO ME by Daniel Reitz (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

This week's summer re-release features Daniel Reitz's (NAPOLEON IN EXILE) affecting one-act YOU BELONG TO ME, featuring Amy Ryan (Oscar nominated for Gone, Baby, Gone, "The Office," "Only Murders in the Building," and a five-time Playing On Air MVP) and Michael Stuhlbarg (a recent Emmy nominee for "Dopesick," "The Staircase," "Boardwalk Empire," A Serious Man, and four-time Playing On Air veteran), as former lovers--who've gone very separate ways in the intervening years--having a chance meeting on the subway. Stay tuned after the performance for a spirited conversation between Reitz and the play’s director, Playing on Air founder and consulting director Claudia Catania.

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! [ 17 Minutes 58 Seconds]

AT THE WATER'S EDGE, WET by Jonathan Bernstein (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

The curtain is up. The show is in progress. But for two stage managers calling the cues behind the scenes, the night's most dazzling romance isn't playing out onstage. Written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein (PoA's RULES OF COMEDY & A VERY VERY SHORT PLAY) , AT THE WATER’S EDGE, WET stars Callie Thorne (“Necessary Roughness,” “Rescue Me,” “The Wire”) and Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos (Broadway's Clybourne Park, "Better Call Saul," PoA's HEDGEHOG YEARS).  Stay tuned after the performance for an in-studio conversation with the artists, moderated by founder and consulting director Claudia Catania.

Download on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [20 Minutes 13 Seconds]

THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT by Mfoniso Udofia

Amal would like to spend the night hiding from, well, everything. But when her bestie has other ideas - ideas that include a world renowned research university, high heels, and lowered expectations - she agrees to a not-so-scientific exercise that could take her, well, anywhere. All right. Just this once.

THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT, a Wordsmith Duo play supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by playwright Mfoniso Udofia (Sojourners, “13 Reasons Why,” “Little America”) and directed by Logan Vaughn. It features actors Adepero Oduye (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Pariah), Alex Ubokudom (Seeds of Abraham, Macbeth, Adult Ed), and Kalyne Coleman (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Black Odyssey, Julius Caesar). Original music by composer Jimmy Keys (Skeleton Crew, Night Visions, Revelations). Graphic design is by Harrison Gale.

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

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]

SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury (Re-Release)

Nobody comes to the campus health clinic looking for love. But as he waits for the nurse to call him in, Robby (Vandit Bhatt) finds himself drawn to Angie (Nitya Vidyasagar), a disenchanted writer with problems of her own. Can two strangers find unexpected poetry in each other? And do they even want to? 

SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury (My Name is Yusuf, Ma-Yi Writers Lab) features Bhatt (“Quantico,” Indian Ink, “New Amsterdam”) and Vidyasagar (“Sesame Street,” The Glorious Ones) in a rom-com for cynics. Playwright Naveen Bahar Choudhury joins the play’s director, host Claudia Catania, for a post-performance conversation.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [15 Minutes 36 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]

JUNE WEDDINGS by Barbara Hammond

One summer morning, in a cool and dusty bar, two strangers seek refuge from the past. RJ is a single father, on a break from his only son’s wedding. The mysterious Sonja is patient and sympathetic, but may have her own priorities. Two strangers meeting is an old story, but the possibility of a true connection always feels new.

Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny,” Broadway’s The Rose Tattoo) stars with Michael C. Hall (“Dexter,” Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Alfredo Narciso (Broadway’s Time and the Conways, PoA’s The Blizzard) in JUNE WEDDINGS by Barbara Hammond (Terra Firma). Directed by Jenn Thompson (Abundance, Lost in Yonkers). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about romance, parenting, and people-watching in New York City.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [33 Minutes 9 Seconds]