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]

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]

Gun Show by David Auburn (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

From David Auburn, Pulitzer and Tony winner for PROOF, comes a riveting, witty world-premiere commission for Playing on Air: GUN SHOW. In the aftershock of a national tragedy, a congenial double-date morphs into a battle of the sexes. As tempers blaze, two couples must reconsider the possibility of safety in a divided nation. Along with Emmy winners Bobby Cannavale (“Will & Grace,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Martha Plimpton (triple Tony nominee, “The Real O’Neals,” “The Good Wife”), the star cast features Eisa Davis, David Furr, and Lucy DeVito. Gun Show was directed by Wendy Goldberg and performed in front of a live audience at Playwrights Horizons in New York City. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team.

Gun Show was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of The Gilchrist Foundation and Phyllis and Joel Ehrlich.

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! [31 Minutes 56 Seconds]

NIGHT VISION by Dominique Morisseau

Content Warning: Violence

“I don’t want you hunting anyone. What if you become the prey?”

On a night walk in Brooklyn, pregnant Ayanna and her husband Ezra witness a sudden, violent attack. But when they call the police, doubts arise. Did they get a good look at the attacker’s face? What color was his sweatshirt? And — why do their memories differ so drastically? 

 Originally commissioned as part of New Black Fest’s “Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege,” NIGHT VISION launches Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Projects, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations). Directed by Stori Ayers (Chautauqua Theater Company, "The Last O.G.”), NIGHT VISION stars OBIE winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, Elevator Repair Service, PoA’s Hate Baby) and Eden Marryshow (“Jessica Jones,” Broadway’s Ink) and features music by guest composer Jimmy Keys.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 41 Seconds]

WOKE by Leland Frankel

In Leland Frankel's modern comedy WOKE, an aspiring Pakistani-American rapper named Sunny crashes into Rebecca, a misguided activist, and the cop pursuing her across Queens.  As Rebecca and Sunny are forced to reckon with race, privilege, and art, WOKE questions whose job it is to change the world - and who gets to. 

Recorded live at Playwrights Horizons and directed by Mimi O'Donnell (Labyrinth Theater, Gimlet Media), WOKE features Craig muMs Grant ("She's Gotta Have It," HBO’s “Oz”), Tracee Chimo (Bad Jews, “Orange is the New Black,” "People of Earth"), and Debargo Sanyal (Venus, Pearl Theatre's Vanity Fair). After the play, stay tuned for an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation with the artists and host Claudia Catania.

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

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]

Gun Show by David Auburn

From David Auburn, Pulitzer and Tony winner for PROOF, comes a riveting, witty world-premiere commission for Playing on Air: GUN SHOW. In the aftershock of a national tragedy, a congenial double-date morphs into a battle of the sexes. As tempers blaze, two couples must reconsider the possibility of safety in a divided nation. Along with Emmy winners Bobby Cannavale (“Will & Grace,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Martha Plimpton (triple Tony nominee, “The Real O’Neals,” “The Good Wife”), the star cast features Eisa Davis, David Furr, and Lucy DeVito. Gun Show was directed by Wendy Goldberg and performed in front of a live audience at Playwrights Horizons in New York City. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team.

Gun Show was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of The Gilchrist Foundation and Phyllis and Joel Ehrlich.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [31 Minutes 56 Seconds]

WAKING UP by Cori Thomas

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, please listen to Waking Up, an insightful short by Cori Thomas. It juxtaposes the experiences of an American urbanite’s and an African villager’s struggle with breast cancer. Although the details from diagnosis to ultimate triumph are vastly different, their stories underscore the universality of the human spirit. It features Lynnette Freeman and Amy Staats. A conversation between the play’s director, host Claudia Catania, and playwright Cori Thomas follows the play.

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 12 Seconds]

VERNON BAKER AND DANIEL INOUYE from Beyond Glory by Stephen Lang

"As starkly moving as taps at dusk" says the Washington Post about BEYOND GLORY, a powerful tribute to military valor written and performed by stage and screen star Stephen Lang (Colonel Quaritch in Avatar).

First Lieutenant Vernon Baker and Captain Daniel Inouye (who later became the long-serving US Senator from Hawaii) both experienced racism in the armed forces during WWII and recount that as well as the incidents that earned them the Medal of Honor many years later. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with Stephen Lang and Producing 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! [ 23 Minutes 13 Seconds]