CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph
CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Guards at the Taj) is Part Two of a thriller that begins with last week’s episode, Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS. Listen to Part One here.
Special Agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar just want to assure you that nothing horrible has happened at the KLWP News Hour. You may have heard rumors about a band of Kabuki-masked killers. You may have heard whispers about a mysterious vigilante group. Ignore them — no matter what you think you saw.
Oscar nominee Amy Ryan ("The Office," PoA’s Fifth Planet) and Eden Marryshow (Broadway's Ink, PoA’s Night Vision) join Jeremy Shamos, Eisa Davis, and director Mark Brokaw from last week’s FAKE NEWS. After the show, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about what gives them hope and how they think this story really ends.
CLEAN SLATE by Pulitzer finalist and Obie winner Rajiv Joseph is a world premiere through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 41 Seconds]
FAKE NEWS by Doug Wright
Content Warning: Violence
Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind radio’s KLWP News Hour — but today, they’ve become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they’re under attack.
Mark Brokaw (Broadway’s How I Learned to Drive, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella) directs Obie winner Eisa Davis (Passing Strange, PoA’s Gun Show), Tony nominees Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park, PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA’s Human Resources), and Tony winner Katie Finneran (Noises Off, PoA’s La Traviata) in FAKE NEWS by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, PoA’s Wildwood Park). After the episode, host Claudia Catania talks with the artists about writing plays specifically for audio and how these genius actors were able to play around with different accents and impressions on such short notice.
Doug Wright’s FAKE NEWS is Part One of a two-part thriller that continues next week with Rajiv Joseph’s CLEAN SLATE. Both pieces are world premieres through Playing on Air and Axe-Houghton Foundation’s annual Wordsmith Duo Project, which invites two extraordinary playwrights to explore a shared theme or story through original, partnered plays.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [23 Minutes 15 Seconds]
WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE by Patricia Cotter
There's a lot of money to be made at this funeral.
Friends and flames have gathered to celebrate and remember the WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE of the charismatic, outrageous Sheila (Tony & Emmy winner Debra Monk) — but the dearly departed still has one more trick up her sleeve.
WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE by Emmy winner Patricia Cotter (PoA's Rules of Comedy, The Daughters) features an ensemble cast of Playing on Air favorites — Monk, Scott Adsit, Lucy DeVito, Denise Manning, Lisa Emery, and Jeff Biehl — original music by folk-rock duo Misner & Smith, produced and recorded by John Kilgore, arranged and performed by Charlie Rosen. Associate Producer Michele O’Brien directs. Stay tuned after the episode, as host Claudia Catania chats with the artists about celebrating life and how they’d like to be remembered.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [23 Minutes 36 Seconds]
NIGHT VISION by Dominique Morisseau
Content Warning: Violence
“I don’t want you hunting anyone. What if you become the prey?”
On a night walk in Brooklyn, pregnant Ayanna and her husband Ezra witness a sudden, violent attack. But when they call the police, doubts arise. Did they get a good look at the attacker’s face? What color was his sweatshirt? And — why do their memories differ so drastically?
Originally commissioned as part of New Black Fest’s “Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege,” NIGHT VISION launches Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Projects, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations). Directed by Stori Ayers (Chautauqua Theater Company, "The Last O.G.”), NIGHT VISION stars OBIE winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, Elevator Repair Service, PoA’s Hate Baby) and Eden Marryshow (“Jessica Jones,” Broadway’s Ink) and features music by guest composer Jimmy Keys.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 41 Seconds]
THE CLAM by Amanda Quaid
Tony Shalhoub and Kristine Nielsen star in Amanda Quaid’s THE CLAM, the Second Place winner of Playing on Air’s 2019 James Stevenson Prize competition.
After a lifetime of playing it safe, a wistful clam (Shalhoub) decides to come out of his shell with help from a therapist (Nielsen). His friends are disappearing without a trace, he’s lost touch with thousands of his children, and he’s desperate for a pearl to call his own. Alternately tongue-in-cheek and deeply identifiable, THE CLAM is a comedy for anyone who’s ever felt adrift in their search for happiness.
Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway’s Bernhardt/Hamlet, Hand to God) directs Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” The Band’s Visit, “Monk”) and Tony nominee Nielsen (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Androninus, PoA’s Wildwood Park). The opening episode of PoA’s 2020 Spring Season, THE CLAM was recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 49 Seconds]
NUDITY RIDER by Hamish Linklater (Re-Release)
We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!
(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)
Michael C. Hall ("Dexter," Hedwig and The Angry Inch), Martha Plimpton ("The Good Wife," PoA's Gun Show), and actor-playwright Hamish Linklater (The Big Short, "Legion") star in NUDITY RIDER, a world-premiere comedy by Linklater.
The cameras are ready to roll on the set of a New Orleans basic cable show, but the high-strung leading man, Keith Saturday, has a problem: his most up-close-and-personal scene has been unexpectedly rescheduled for today. And he's been eating. A lot. Now, an incisive production assistant (Hall) and no-nonsense makeup artist (Plimpton) must battle the clock - and assuage Saturday's ego - to save the shoot. After the episode, host Claudia Catania joins the cast and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway's Hand to God, Bernhardt/Hamlet) for an in-studio interview about writing for radio and what it takes to be a successful actor.
NUDITY RIDER is presented with the support of Fred Wistow.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [36 Minutes 3 Seconds]
RULES OF COMEDY by Patricia Cotter (Re-Release)
We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!
(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)
Caroline can't find anything funny -- not her awkward love life, not her jaded standup coach Guy, and definitely not the punchlines she's been reading in 101 Dirty Jokes.
Originally produced at the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville, Patricia Cotter's RULES OF COMEDY is a playful, wry look at the lives of comedians when they dare to go offstage and off script. Directed by Jonathan Bernstein, Cotter's short comedy stars Louisa Krause (The Flick, Billions, PoA's Winter Games) and Michael Esper (Trust, The Last Ship, PoA's Anniversary). After the play, stay tuned for an artist interview about the playwright's background in comedy, avoiding the pull towards bitterness, and toeing the line with your material.
"Cotter's script is lush with the knowledge of standup comedy... this play is a scream" - Todd Zeigler, Broadway World Reviews
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes 41 Seconds]
CRAZY EIGHTS by David Lindsay-Abaire
Two recovering addicts (Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo) have their Saturday night card game interrupted by a love-struck parole officer (Bobby Cannavale) with major boundary issues.
Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Good People), the madcap comedy CRAZY EIGHTS features Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman, “Boardwalk Empire,” PoA's Gun Show), Tony winner John Leguizamo (Latin History for Morons, Ghetto Klown, Moulin Rouge), Oscar nominee Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing, Fearless, "The View"), and Kevin Hogan ("Mr. Robot"). Stay tuned after the performance for an interview with David Lindsay-Abaire and the cast, moderated by Artistic Director Claudia Catania.
CRAZY EIGHTS was recorded live at BRIC House in Brooklyn, New York.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [32 Minutes 10 Seconds]
POOF! by Lynn Nottage (Re-Release)
We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!
(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)
Loureen is at the end of her rope. And now, she's just turned her husband into a pile of ashes.
As Lynn Nottage's funny and wrenching POOF! opens, Loureen (Audra McDonald) has inadvertently made her abusive husband (Keith Randolph Smith) disappear. Enter her friend and neighbor Florence (Tonya Pinkins) to help her pick up the pieces and begin to imagine a life post-Samuel. Directed by Seret Scott, POOF! features Tony Award winners Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill) and Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam; Caroline, or Change). Following the play, the 2-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Sweat, Ruined) joins host Claudia Catania for a conversation about POOF! 's origins - and how she almost never became a playwright.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [26 Minutes 15 Seconds]
MISADVENTURE by Donald Margulies (Re-Release)
We're re-releasing 5 of our most popular episodes for a 2020 fresh start!
(Psst: keep your eyes open for an exciting announcement, coming soon...)
The police picked up teenage Ethan (Timothée Chalamet) for drunkenly wandering down the highway. Now, he's facing the real reckoning for his Misadventure: the wrath of his big sister (Zoe Kazan).
Playwright and director Donald Margulies is a Pulitzer Prize winner for Dinner with Friends and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Sight Unseen and Collected Stories.
Best known for her leading role in The Big Sick, Zoe Kazan has also played on Broadway and off in A Behanding in Spokane and Angels in America, among others. Her film credits include It’s Complicated, happythankyoumoreplease, and Ruby Sparks.
Timothée Chalamet has received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Call Me By Your Name. Other screen credits include Little Women, Lady Bird, and Beautiful Boy. He won acclaim on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s Prodigal Son. 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! [12 Minutes 11 Seconds]