JEZELLE THE GAZELLE by Dominique Morisseau

JEZELLE THE GAZELLE continues Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations).

Jezelle is ready to prove that she’s the best runner on her block: young, fierce, and definitely faster than any boy. But is she fast enough to outrun grief and claim her greatness? Starring Mirirai Sithole (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, “Black Mirror”), JEZELLE THE GAZELLE  by Dominique Morisseau is directed by Goldie E. Patrick (Detroit Public Theatre, Kennedy Center). 

This clear-eyed coming of age story — originally created for the 10 x 10 Festival at American Theater Company — was recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center in November 2019. Stay tuned after the performance for an onstage conversation between the artists and host Claudia Catania.

Playing on Air is honored to help middle schoolers across the country learn the power of great theater! We are proud to freely share short, engaging plays, made by America’s best theater artists, that are appropriate for younger students everywhere. JEZELLE THE GAZELLE is one of several recommended episodes for middle school classrooms, chosen for teachers, by teachers! A middle school curriculum [PDF], created by Dan Rubins, is available for use in onsite and virtual classrooms.

If you’re an educator interested in additional resources, please reach out via Information for Educators or email us at: education@playingonair.org.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [26 Minutes 7 Seconds]

WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE by Patricia Cotter

There's a lot of money to be made at this funeral. 

Friends and flames have gathered to celebrate and remember the WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE of the charismatic, outrageous Sheila (Tony & Emmy winner Debra Monk)  — but the dearly departed still has one more trick up her sleeve. 

WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE by Emmy winner Patricia Cotter (PoA's Rules of Comedy, The Daughters) features an ensemble cast of Playing on Air favorites — Monk, Scott Adsit, Lucy DeVito, Denise Manning, Lisa Emery, and Jeff Biehl — original music by folk-rock duo Misner & Smith, produced and recorded by John Kilgore, arranged and performed by Charlie Rosen. Associate Producer Michele O’Brien directs. Stay tuned after the episode, as host Claudia Catania chats with the artists about celebrating life and how they’d like to be remembered.

Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [23 Minutes 36 Seconds]

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]

Hate the Loser Inside by Jon Kern

In Jon Kern's short comedy Hate the Loser Inside, a college football coach is tackling a local television commercial and fumbling more than his team ever did - until he finally scores. Kern has written for "The Simpsons" and “Son of Zorn, and his plays include Modern Terrorism, or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them.  Director R.J. Tolan heads EST's Youngblood program and co-directed the off-Broadway revival of Godspell. 

The cast features off-Broadway and regional favorite Brad Bellamy (Dallas Theater Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Theater Center), seen onscreen in “30 Rock" and “Law & Order: SVU.” Graeme Gillis, the co-Artistic Director of Youngblood, is a member of The Actor’s Studio and Ensemble Studio Theater.  After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the whole 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! [19 Minutes 01 Seconds]