ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS by David Ives (Re-Release)
In the middle of the desert, two vultures find their lunch interrupted by a man of faith. Now, they have a bone to pick with Saint Francis of Assisi.
Full of miraculous and mischievous wit, ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS by David Ives (Venus in Fur, PoA’s The Blizzard) features Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher, PoA’s Evening at Anaheim), Julie Halston (Tootsie, PoA’s Relative Strangers), Matthew Saldivar (Bernhardt/Hamlet, PoA’s The Philadelphia), an appearance by the legendary Lois Smith, and a surprise cameo from the playwright. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with Tony Award-winning director John Rando (Urinetown, PoA’s The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage), the cast, and host Claudia Catania.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [34 Minutes 39 Seconds]
CELL by Cassandra Medley (Re-Release)
Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam, “Fear the Walking Dead,” PoA’s Poof!), Tony nominee Condola Rashad (Saint Joan, “Billions”), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Little Fires Everywhere”) star in Cassandra Medley’s CELL. When a jaded supervisor at an immigrant detention center finds jobs there for her sister and niece, family tensions erupt into a battle over home and homeland security.
Directed by Diverse City Theater Company founder Victor Lirio, CELL by Cassandra Medley (Relativity, Coming Up for Air) “deftly explores the dirty antidemocratic secret of institutionalized racism” (New York Times). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration journalist Julia Preston, Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld, and playwright Medley to move beyond headlines and explore the real lives that inspired CELL.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [54 Minutes 14 Seconds]
ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds (Re-Release)
“This doesn’t seem like your kind of place -
Why?
I dunno. You don’t look like you eat a lot of crappy deli meat.”
Through a haze of gin, mediocre roast beef, and horrible apartment parties, a grieving New Yorker finds herself drawn to a quirky, flirtatious friend-of-a-friend. Hurtling through time, ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds (PoA’s Winter Games, Goodnight Nobody) follows a journey back to love.
Ensemble Studio Theater’s Linsay Firman directs Sarah Sokolovic (“Big Little Lies,” PoA’s The Blizzard), Michael Esper (Lazarus, PoA’s Rules of Comedy), Sue Jean Kim (Office Hour, PoA’s 52nd to Bowery…), and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA’s If You Win). After the play, playwright Bonds joins host Claudia Catania to discuss her roots as a writer.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [23 Minutes 7 Seconds]
HAPPY by Alan Zweibel (Re-Release)
Never underestimate the persistence of a Mets fan.
In HAPPY by Alan Zweibel (“SNL,” 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal), a baseball fan shows up at the home of his childhood hero, George "Happy" Halliday. Has the stranger come to pay his respects or to throw a curveball?
A comedy for anyone who’s ever wished for an extra inning, HAPPY stars Frankie Faison (“The Wire”) and Scott Adsit (“30 Rock,” PoA’s Wild and Precious Life), directed by Fred Berner. After the live recording, join the artists and host Claudia Catania for an onstage interview.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [34 Minutes 39 Seconds]
G.O.A.T. by Ngozi Anyanwu
Jay, Bonita, and Row have gathered on the rooftop to burn the sage and drink the sacred Gatorade. To pray to the goddess Nike, and the power of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. To summon victory for their beloved champion: Serena Williams, the Greatest Of All Time.
Directed by Whitney White (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and featuring original music by Jeremy Lloyd (Marian Hill, clear eyes), G.O.A.T. is an electric celebration of Black Girl Magic, on and off the court. Denise Manning (Daddy, PoA's Wild and Precious Life), Obie winner April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA's Hate Baby), and playwright/performer Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen) star - and Drama Desk nominee Bobby Moreno cameos - in the final episode of Playing on Air’s Spring 2020 season. After the episode, stay tuned for host Claudia Catania’s conversation with the artists, about ritual, their multi-hyphenate talents, and the G.O.A.T. herself, Serena Williams.
G.O.A.T was nominated for a 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Audio Theater Production.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [22 Minutes 18 Seconds]
IF YOU WIN by Emily Chadick Weiss
John Lithgow ("The Crown," "3rd Rock from the Sun," Hillary and Clinton) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA's An Upset) star in Emily Chadick Weiss's IF YOU WIN.
On the eve of a local election, candidate Hal Wheelwright (Lithgow) receives an unexpected offer from his opponent's son (Boyer). Is this an act of political sabotage or a blessing in disguise?
After the play, director Giovanna Sardelli (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Atlantic's Describe the Night) joins Chadick Weiss (Ensemble Studio Theatre, “The Share”) and the cast for a behind-the-scenes interview moderated by host Claudia Catania.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [22 Minutes 27 Seconds]
JUNE WEDDINGS by Barbara Hammond
One summer morning, in a cool and dusty bar, two strangers seek refuge from the past. RJ is a single father, on a break from his only son’s wedding. The mysterious Sonja is patient and sympathetic, but may have her own priorities. Two strangers meeting is an old story, but the possibility of a true connection always feels new.
Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny,” Broadway’s The Rose Tattoo) stars with Michael C. Hall (“Dexter,” Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Alfredo Narciso (Broadway’s Time and the Conways, PoA’s The Blizzard) in JUNE WEDDINGS by Barbara Hammond (Terra Firma). Directed by Jenn Thompson (Abundance, Lost in Yonkers). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the artists to talk about romance, parenting, and people-watching in New York City.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [33 Minutes 9 Seconds]
HUMAN RESOURCES by Jason Gray Platt
Playing on Air is proud to present the winner of our 2019 James Stevenson Prize: Jason Gray Platt’s HUMAN RESOURCES.
Tech start-up Diddly has a problem: their staff is whiter than a Coldplay concert in Vermont. Fortunately, Human Resources has a plan to “improve” Diddly’s corporate culture —at least in theory.
A biting satire about virtue signaling and elephant milk, HUMAN RESOURCES features Tony winner Julie White (Airline Highway, A Doll’s House, Part 2) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand To God, PoA’s An Upset). Jade King Carroll (Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth, Proof of Love) directs the world premiere, recorded live at New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the ensemble for a discussion about comedy, identity, and the absurd.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [24 Minutes]
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]