TYPHOID MARY by Mike Lew
It’s 1915 and another typhoid fever outbreak, this one in a bustling hospital run by an officious Supervisor (Cindy Cheung), has once again led dogged sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the hospital’s newest cook, “Typhoid” Mary Mallon (Catherine Curtin). It’s been years since Soper reluctantly released her from a forced quarantine on an inhospitable island. Can Mary finally wash her hands of him for good?
Playwright Mike Lew’s history-inspired comedy, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with Executive Director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists. (Running time: 32 minutes, 32 seconds)
MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY by Rehana Lew Mirza
It’s 1907 and a typhoid fever outbreak among New York City’s elite families has led zealous sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the home of the haughty Mr. Winthrop (Michael Chernus) and a face-off with Winthrop’s proud, though not very hygienic cook, “Typhoid” Mary Mallon (Catherine Curtin).
Playwright Rehana Lew Mirza’s history-inspired comedy, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with Executive Director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists. (Running Time: 33 minutes, 30 seconds)
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]
DUMMY DIALOGUE by David Ives
Norman and Max may be dummies, but they’re no fools. Offstage, ventriloquist dummies are the same as anyone else — smack-talking their bosses, worrying about being behind the times — but beneath their hard wooden exteriors lurk sensitive, philosophical, funny souls.
A world premiere by a master of the short form, David Ives (The School for Lies, Venus in Fur), DUMMY DIALOGUE stars Richard Kind (A Serious Man, “The Goldbergs”) and Tony winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda the Musical). It is directed by celebrated Tony winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur).
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [30 Minutes 19 Seconds]
HAPPY by Alan Zweibel
In Happy by Alan Zweibel (“SNL,” Curb Your Enthusiasm,” 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal) a baseball fan (Scott Adsit of “30 Rock” and “Veep”) makes a pilgrimage to the home of a former baseball star who is now a janitor in Delray Beach, Florida (Frankie Faison of “The Wire”) and asks him to sign a very special ball. After a fair amount of humor and misunderstanding, the power of baseball to bond fathers, sons and men emerges. Directed by Fred Berner (Executive Producer/Director, "Law & Order"). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by Host 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! [33 Minutes 30 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]
TASHA WALKS by Kim Merrill
In the comic TASHA WALKS by Kim Merrill, a young man (Steven Boyer, Tony nominee for Hand to God) returns dejected from his bomb of a vacation with his fiancee who has called the wedding off, to find his neighbor (4 time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason) has lost his fiancee’s cherished cat. Directed by Brian Mertes and recorded live at BRIC Arts Media House in Downtown Brooklyn. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by Host 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! [16 Minutes 32 Seconds]
AT THE WATER’S EDGE, WET by Jonathan Bernstein
The curtain is up. The play is in progress. We hear two stage managers. Calling the show. A man and a woman. At The Water’s Edge, Wet is written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein, whose plays and musicals have been produced throughout the country. His cast today includes Callie Thorne (“Necessary Roughness,” “Rescue Me,” “The Wire,”) and Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park, Birdman, Noises Off). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by our 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! [19 Minutes 58 Seconds]
Mother's Day Special: REPORT ON MOTHERHOOD by Beth Henley
When a granddaughter interviews her great-grandma on motherhood, she gets more than she bargained for. Way more. In this short play from Beth Henley (Pulitzer Prize for Crimes of the Heart), the illustrious Lois Smith (Lady Bird, Marjorie Prime, “True Blood,” The Nice Guys) plays great-grandmother to her real life granddaughter, Eliana Saxe-Smith. stay tuned after the performance for a conversation moderated by our Producing Artistic Director, Claudia Catania.
For a grammar school assignment, a granddaughter interviews her great-grandma on motherhood. She gets more than she bargained for. Way more. The illustrious Lois Smith (Lady Bird, Marjorie Prime, “True Blood,” The Nice Guys) plays great-grandmother to her real life granddaughter, Eliana Saxe-Smith. Written by the inimitable Beth Henley (Pulitzer Prize for Crimes of the Heart), stay tuned after the REPORT ON MOTHERHOOD performance for a conversation moderated by the play’s director, host 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! [11 Minutes 48 Seconds]
BITE THE HAND by Ara Watson
It’s post-WWII in the Ozarks and a young woman is leaving her “lady of the night” job for an offer of marriage when a former client shows up with some jaw-dropping news. Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (A Doll’s House, Part 2), Emmy-winner Margo Martindale (“The Good Wife”, Justified) and Broadway’s Liv Rooth (Venus in Fur) star in Bite the Hand, Ara Watson’s potent classic, directed by Tony-winner Doug Hughes (Doubt). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation moderated by our 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! [31 Minutes 40 Seconds]