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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
MILTON BRADLEY by Peter Sagal
In MILTON BRADLEY, a flummoxed Rabbi has to eulogize a mother whose son has only terrible things to say about her. Peter Sagal’s play (Host of NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!) features Bob Balaban (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gosford Park) and Michael Stuhlbarg ("Boardwalk Empire", A Serious Man). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between MILTON BRADLEY’s director, host Claudia Catania, and playwright Peter Sagal.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 21 Minutes 28 Seconds]