A DEPARTURE by Andy Reynolds
When a conservative father and his young gay son (stage legend Len Cariou and ”Ugly Betty’s” Michael Urie) reconnect in the most unlikely of places - an airport terminal - they find that love can transcend a family's baggage. This witty, heartfelt short by Andy Reynolds is directed by Broadway’s Michael Wilson. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the playwright, director, and cast for a behind the scenes interview.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [28 Minutes 11 Seconds]
CELL by Cassandra Medley
A family goes to battle over home and homeland security.
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 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]
If We're Using A Surrogate, How Come I'm The One With Morning Sickness? by Marco Pennette
Presents are wrapped, carols are playing - and the department store Santa is asking some awkward questions. In the comedy IF WE’RE USING A SURROGATE, HOW COME I’M THE ONE WITH MORNING SICKNESS? by Marco Pennette (“Ugly Betty” and “Desperate Housewives”), a gay dad rants and reminisces about having a baby. Performed by Oscar-winning screenwriter and actor Celeste Lecesne (co-founder of The Trevor Project), the episode includes a behind-the-scenes artist interview moderated by our host and the play’s 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! [13 Minutes 37 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]
A MAN OF HIS TIME by Kate T. Billingsley
In A Man of His Time by Kate T. Billingsley, a descendant of Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney (who handed down the disastrous 1857 Dred Scott decision) invites a descendant of Dred Scott to meet him at a highway diner halfway between Virginia and Vermont. Scott shows up.
It stars Sam Waterston (The Killing Fields, “Law and Order,” “The Newsroom,” “Grace and Frankie”) as the contemporary Taney and the acclaimed stage star John Douglas Thompson (TONY nomination for Jitney, Satchmo at the Waldorf, Othello) as the contemporary Scott. Estelle Parsons (Oscar win for Bonnie and Clyde, “Roseanne,” August, Osage County) directs. It is written by Kate T. Billingsley and recorded and co-presented at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio. 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! [ 32 Minutes 06 Seconds]
GOODBYE, HOWARD by Romulus Linney
In GOODBYE, HOWARD, a rich comedy by Romulus Linney, three North Carolinian sisters in a total tizzy about their esteemed 85-year-old kid brother's imminent death try to avoid an embarrassment worse than death. Three virtuosos: Lois Smith (two-time Obie Winner and two-time Oscar nominee), Frances Sternhagen (two-time Tony winner), and Dana Ivey (five-time Tony nominee) play Howard's three adoring sisters. They are joined by T. Cat Ford, Jacob Callie Moore, and Scott Sowers.
Romulus Linney is one of America's great playwrights and a master of the short form. He conjures up a particular time and place in this confection of a play. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with actors Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen, and Scott Sowers moderated by the play’s director, host Claudia Catania.
THE MIRACLE OF CHANUKAH by Sheri Wilner
In Sheri Wilner’s THE MIRACLE OF CHANUKAH, directed by host Claudia Catania, a holiday guest’s personal miracle throws a family for a loop. Featuring Zach Appelman, Peter Friedman, Emmy Award winner Judy Gold, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Lisa Joyce. Stay tuned after the performance for Catania’s conversation with the playwright and cast.
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 36 Seconds]
WEST OF STUPID by Cusi Cram
In WEST OF STUPID by Cusi Cram, a teacher vacationing with her son falls for Rome and won’t go home. Featuring Alfredo Narciso, and Tony Award winner J. Smith-Cameron. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the playwright, 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! [19 Minutes 56 Seconds]
SOMETHING I'LL TELL YOU TUESDAY by John Guare
It’s spring in Hell’s Kitchen in Something I’ll Tell You Tuesday by Tony winner John Guare (Six Degrees of Separation) and family members don't seem to be facing the real crisis at hand. It features theater luminaries Lois Smith (Grapes of Wrath), Peter Maloney (Requiem for a Dream), Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed), Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park), and as the nosy neighbor, Carol Kane ("Taxi," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"). Directed by Tony winner Doug Hughes (Doubt, Outside Mulligar). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by our 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! [34 Minutes 01 Seconds]
NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz
This week's podcast, Napoleon in Exile by Daniel Reitz, is about a single mother and her young adult son who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). It features Will Dagger and Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”) and is directed by Marsha Mason (The Good-bye Girl and Chapter Two). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between the artists and founding 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! [ 37 Minutes 59 Seconds]