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]

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

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]

A BETROTHAL by Lanford Wilson

A BETROTHAL brings you into the cutthroat world of iris breeding, where delicacy meets domination. Lanford Wilson’s classic brings us two competitors, two irises–and one ingenious chance to win. Performed by Lisa Emery (Broadway – Casa Valentina) and Frank Wood (Tony for Side-Man); directed by Bruce McCarty. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation moderated by our Producing Artistic Director, Claudia Catania. Recorded live at BRIC Arts Media House in Downtown Brooklyn. Original music by Tom Kochan. And thank you, Tanya Berezin!

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [36 Minutes 36 Seconds]

24 YEARS by Leslie Ayvazian

In 24 Years by Leslie Ayvazian (Nine Armenians), a couple celebrates their 24th anniversary. Champagne in hand, and huge cast on leg (from an overly enthusiastic soccer mishap), this immobilized husband still manages to stay one step ahead of his exasperated wife and to declare his vows again. Leslie’s play features Jessica Hecht (catch her this summer at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House directed by PoA vet Rebecca Taichman! July 19-29) and Dominic Fumusa (Edie Falco’s ex on “Nurse Jackie”). 24 Years is directed by novelist/ playwright/ filmmaker/ director Peter Hedges (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Baby Anger, About a Boy, Dan in Real Life). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation moderated by our Producing Artistic Director, Claudia Catania. And happy anniversaries!

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [17 Minutes]

Hector Cafferata 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). This piece features Stephen Lang portraying Private First Class, 1st Marine Division, Korea, Hector Cafferata, and is based on his own words. Hector Cafferata is a portrait from Stephen Lang’s one-man show, Beyond Glory, adapted from the book by Larry Smith of the same title. Stay tuned for a conversation between Mr. Lang and Playing on Air’s producer and 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! [ 22 Minutes 16 Seconds]