HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter
In Cary Gitter’s romantic comedy HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE, it's 1933, and a young Jewish immigrant returns to his Polish hometown in search of a wife. He sets his sights on Chava, a savvy, sarcastic shopgirl in a local hat store.
The New York Times calls the play "a gorgeous high note...a Jewish screwball romance set in Poland in 1933. Unlikely, yes, but also uproarious and beautifully cast, with tone-perfect direction by Colette Robert."
The sparkling cast features Eli Gelb (Indignation, The Squid and the Whale) and Lucy DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Girls,” Hulu’s “DeadBeat”). After the play, host Claudia Catania moderates a conversation with the artists.
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 18 Seconds]
EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson
From brilliant New Yorker cartoonist, illustrator, and children's book author James Stevenson comes this darkly hilarious reimagining of iconic animated characters - now over the hill and waiting out their golden years at a seedy retirement community in Los Angeles.
Directed by Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The Last Night of Ballyhoo), EVENING AT ANAHEIM features Richard Kind (The Producers, "Spin City"), Karen Ziemba (Tony winner for Contact), Emily Bergl ("Gilmore Girls," Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Brandon Uranowitz (Falsettos), Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher), Peter Maloney (Requiem for a Dream), and Tom Alan Robbins (The Lion King).
EVENING AT ANAHEIM was co-presented with Playwrights Horizons and recorded live 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! [35 Minutes 58 Seconds]
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]
WILDWOOD PARK by Doug Wright
While touring a prospective buyer through a mansion for sale, a wary real-estate agent is ensnared by the house’s haunting past.
Denis O’Hare (“American Horror Story”, Tony winner for Take Me Out), and Kristine Nielsen (Tony nominee for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) star in thriller Wildwood Park by Doug Wright (Pulitzer Prize & Tony winner for I Am My Own Wife). Directed by PoA regular, veteran director Michael Wilson.
Watch your step. Look at those hardwood floors. Don’t lose your mind.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [48 Minutes 42 Seconds]
Inside Voice by Kate Robin
Playground tantrums. Modern angst. Hungarian dance festivals. In Kate Robin's Inside Voice, dive into the secret lives of parents. Directed by Rebecca Taichman (Tony Award winner for Broadway's Indecent, Lincoln Center Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theater, McCarter Theater), the cast features Patch Darragh (Broadway's Our Town, "Weeds," "The Path," Sully) and the playwright herself ("One Mississippi," "The Affair," "Six Feet Under"). After the play, the artists and host Claudia Catania discuss showrunners, women on TV, and the role of fear in theater.
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 41 Seconds]
Dear Kenneth Blake by Jacquelyn Reingold
When she hears his story on a daytime talk show, a Cambodian refugee (Jodi Long) starts to exchange letters with a homeless man (Matthew Cowles). From Jacquelyn Reingold ("The Good Fight," "Smash," "Grace and Frankie") comes an unlikely, soulful romance. After the play, directed by host Claudia Catania, join Reingold and Catania for a candid conversation about the play, the business of TV, and writing from the news.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [20 Minutes 28 Seconds]
THE PHILADELPHIA by David Ives
From David Ives (Venus in Fur, The Metromaniacs) comes a madcap satire of Brotherly Love and cosmic misunderstandings. Mark thought he woke up in New York City this morning, so why isn't there a cab, a copy of the Times, or a cold beer in sight? You can't always get what you want, and in this clash of the cities, you might only be able to get the complete opposite - plus a cheesesteak. Directed by Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown, Jerry Springer - The Opera,) The Philadelphia features Carson Elrod (Peter & the Starcatcher, The Liar), Jenn Harris (Silence! The Musical), and Matthew Saldivar (Saint Joan, JUNK). Stay tuned after the play for a behind-the-scenes conversation with host Claudia Catania and the artists.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [15 Minutes 04 Seconds]
Gun Show by David Auburn
From David Auburn, Pulitzer and Tony winner for PROOF, comes a riveting, witty world-premiere commission for Playing on Air: GUN SHOW. In the aftershock of a national tragedy, a congenial double-date morphs into a battle of the sexes. As tempers blaze, two couples must reconsider the possibility of safety in a divided nation. Along with Emmy winners Bobby Cannavale (“Will & Grace,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and Martha Plimpton (triple Tony nominee, “The Real O’Neals,” “The Good Wife”), the star cast features Eisa Davis, David Furr, and Lucy DeVito. Gun Show was directed by Wendy Goldberg and performed in front of a live audience at Playwrights Horizons in New York City. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire creative team.
Gun Show was commissioned by Playing on Air with the support of The Gilchrist Foundation and Phyllis and Joel Ehrlich.
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 56 Seconds]
Winter Games by Rachel Bonds
As stray cats prowl and dough rises, two sardonic twenty-somethings flirt with dreams of Olympic glory - or maybe just escape from the small town bakery where they work. Penned by Rachel Bonds, a recipient of the prestigious Tow Foundation Playwriting Residency grant, it features Louisa Krause (lead of STARZ’s “The Girlfriend Experience,” Annie Baker’s The Flick) and Blake DeLong (We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Public’s Illyria). Winter Games is directed by Portia Krieger. After the play, host Claudia Catania talks shop with the entire 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! [15 Minutes 26 Seconds]