Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays
176 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 143 ratingsHear short, contemporary stage plays with first-rate casts. Playing on Air brings together award winners and emerging young talent, and each play is followed by a conversation with the playwrights and cast. Tune in for great American plays with great American actors, hosted and produced by Claudia Catania.
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Episodes
BONNET by John Patrick Shanley
August 27, 2023 17:30 - 19 minutes - 44.6 MBIn BONNET, the incredibly talented John Patrick Shanley’s marital (and sometimes martial) comedy of manners, Dan (John Turturro) has a few questions for his wife Ava (Debra Messing) when she appears at the breakfast table with a meaningful new accessory. BONNET, written and directed by the Tony Award, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Shanley himself, was recorded live at Playing on Air’s 10th anniversary benefit celebration at 54 Below and features a feisty score by composer Tom ...
SECOND SIGHT by David Ives
August 20, 2023 16:30 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBIn SECOND SIGHT, a world premiere written and directed by renowned playwright David Ives, a retired historian’s (Danny Burstein) minor surgery brings up major questions that his affable surgeon (Steven Boyer), bemused wife (Susie Essman) and brother (Lee Wilkof) can’t seem to answer. Or is he, with the help of an otherworldly stranger (Brittany K. Allen), just seeing things clearly for the first time? SECOND SIGHT is directed by Ives and features music by Dan Moses Schreier, musical direc...
TYPHOID MARY by Mike Lew
August 13, 2023 16:30 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBIt’s 1915 and another typhoid fever outbreak, this one in a bustling hospital run by an officious Supervisor (Cindy Cheung), has once again led dogged sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the hospital’s newest cook, “Typhoid Mary" Mallon (Catherine Curtin). It’s been years since Soper reluctantly released her from a forced quarantine on an inhospitable island. Can Mary finally wash her hands of him for good? Playwright Mike Lew’s history-inspired comedy TYPHOID MARY, a 2021 Word...
MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY by Rehana Lew Mirza
August 13, 2023 16:30 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBIt’s 1907 and a typhoid fever outbreak among New York City’s elite families has led zealous sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the home of the haughty Mr. Winthrop (Michael Chernus) and a face-off with Winthrop’s proud, though not very hygienic cook, “Typhoid Mary" Mallon (Catherine Curtin). Playwright Rehana Lew Mirza’s history-inspired comedy, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music b...
I DON'T KNOW by James McLindon
August 06, 2023 16:30 - 23 minutes - 22 MBAn old school drill sergeant under fire from his very modern and diverse new recruits desperately longs for simpler times. Directed by John Giampietro, James McLindon’s short satire I DON’T KNOW features stage and screen favorite Jay O. Sanders as the Drill Sergeant and an ensemble cast of Broadway, off-Broadway, and TV regulars as his new recruits: Bobby Moreno, Sue Jean Kim, Jeff Biehl, and Brittany K. Allen. After the play, Producing Artistic Director Claudia Catania moderates a conve...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY by Lloyd Suh
July 30, 2023 15:30 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBIn Lloyd Suh’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY, a shared story, formerly repressed, begins to bridge the racial and generational distance between a white American centenarian of the Greatest Generation (Len Cariou) and his Asian American great-grandson (Ken Leung). Stay tuned after the play for a poignant conversation between the playwright and Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania.
THE ARMY DANCE by Cary Gitter
July 23, 2023 17:30 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBIt's the summer of 1955, and a new U.S. Army private stationed far away from his New Jersey hometown may have met his match, a very modern Southern belle, at a USO-style dance. Emily Bergl directs a pitch perfect cast—Eli Gelb, Erin Wilhelmi, and Vance Barton—in Cary Gitter’s THE ARMY DANCE, which also boasts a nifty-fifties-style score by composer Tom Kochan. After the play, host Claudia Catania and executive director Yvie Jones moderate a lively and poignant conversation with the playwr...
ECHO AND NARCISSUS by Amanda Quaid
July 16, 2023 15:15 - 25 minutes - 22.9 MBHear that? In ECHO AND NARCISSUS, playwright Amanda Quaid's newfangled take on an infamous myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a young woman falls in love with a narcissist after a vengeful wife condemns her to a unique fate. The sprightly production is directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, stars Sarah Manton, Christian Conn, and Mia Katigbak, and features a kinetic score by composer Tom Kochan. After the play, Playing on Air (playingonair.org) founder and consulting director Claudia Catania ...
JFK TAXI by Aurin Squire
July 09, 2023 16:00 - 41 minutes - 38 MBA jet-lagged Gen Z couple (Toney Goins and Kerry Warren) decides to take an old school taxicab home to Brooklyn instead of an Uber, and their kooky cabbie (Louis Mustillo) introduces them to a very different (under)side of New York City. Playwright Aurin Squire’s otherworldly urban comedy is a James Stevenson Commission for Short Comedic Plays, generously supported by Josie Merck, and boasts an animated score by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a spirited conversation,...
EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
September 04, 2022 11:00 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBFrom 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, "Boardwalk Empire"), EVENING AT ANAHEIM features Richard Kind (The Producers, "Spin City", "American Dad!"), Karen Ziemba (Tony winner for Contact), Emily Berg...
TENNESSEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
August 28, 2022 11:00 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBIn Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley's TENNESSEE, a wannabe musician seeking an escape plan and a glimpse at his future approaches a dissatisfied woman who's blessed, and possibly cursed, with the power of foresight. The audio play stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (our audio production of MISADVENTURE, Dune, Beautiful Boy, Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and Shanley's Prodigal Son on Broadway) and Caitlin FitzGerald (“Succession,” “Masters of Sex," It's Comp...
BANSHEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
August 21, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBAnything can happen when you leave your window open on a warm night. Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck, Outside Mullingar) wrote and directed this week's summer re-release about a curious banshee, a fantastical Irish spirit, who pays an ailing teacher a visit and makes him an otherworldly proposal. The mystical comedy features Geraldine Hughes (THE MANDELA EFFECT, TWO CROWS APART, Jerusalem, Gran Torino) and Aidan Quinn (“Elementary,” Michael Col...
BITE THE HAND by Ara Watson (Summer Re-Release 2022)
August 14, 2022 11:00 - 31 minutes - 72.5 MBIn this week's summer re-release, we're doing a bit of time travel. It’s a balmy night in the post-WWII Ozarks, and a young woman is leaving behind her life as a "lady of the evening" for an offer of marriage. Then a client shows up with some jaw-dropping news. Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (A Doll’s House, Part 2, Adaptation, American Beauty), Emmy-winner Margo Martindale (“The Good Wife”, "The Americans," "Justified") and Broadway’s Liv Rooth (SURE THING, To Kill a Mockingbird, Venus in Fur...
YOU BELONG TO ME by Daniel Reitz (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
August 07, 2022 11:15 - 17 minutes - 41.1 MBThis week's summer re-release features Daniel Reitz's (NAPOLEON IN EXILE) affecting one-act YOU BELONG TO ME, featuring Amy Ryan (Oscar nominated for Gone, Baby, Gone, "The Office," "Only Murders in the Building," and a five-time Playing On Air MVP) and Michael Stuhlbarg (a recent Emmy nominee for "Dopesick," "The Staircase," "Boardwalk Empire," A Serious Man, and four-time Playing On Air veteran), as former lovers--who've gone very separate ways in the intervening 18 years--having a chance ...
AT THE WATER'S EDGE, WET by Jonathan Bernstein (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
July 31, 2022 11:10 - 20 minutes - 18.6 MBThe curtain is up. The show is in progress. But for a production stage manager and a sound and light board operator calling the cues behind the scenes, the night's most dazzling romance isn't playing out onstage. Written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein (RULES OF COMEDY and A VERY VERY SHORT PLAY), AT THE WATER'S EDGE, WET stars Callie Thorne ("Necessary Roughness," "Rescue Me," "The Wire") and Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos (Broadway's Clybourne Park, "Better Call Saul," HEDGEHOG YEARS). ...
RELATIVE STRANGERS by Sheri Wilner (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
July 24, 2022 11:15 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBThis week's summer re-release features RELATIVE STRANGERS, a bubbly comedic short from playwright Sheri Wilner (The Miracle of Chanukah, Cake Off, Kingdom City) about a young woman who, during a flight to South Carolina, decides the woman next to her just might be the mother she never had. She finds an ally in a wacky stewardess who, unlike the reluctant mother figure, thinks these two passengers are a match made in heaven. Directed by founder, consulting director, and host Claudia Catani...
OPEN ARMS by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
July 17, 2022 10:45 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBIn Open Arms by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, an impending 50th birthday party sets off calamity over coffee and Kindles. Open Arms is directed by Tony Award winner John Rando and features Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed, Airline Highway, POTUS: Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive), and Bill Irwin (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Waiting for Godot, King Lear). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between our Founder and Consulting Direct...
CELL by Cassandra Medley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
July 10, 2022 10:45 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBTony 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 ...
GUN SHOW by David Auburn (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
July 03, 2022 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBFrom 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...
The MAN IN RED by Arian Moayed
December 19, 2021 12:30 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBIn this holiday dazzler written, directed and produced by Arian Moayed, Santa keeps a closer eye on the naughty and nice lists than we think, especially during "unprecedented times." But maybe Mrs. Claus, the hardworking team at the North Pole, and one melancholy little girl might keep the man in the red suit from singing the blues. THE MAN IN RED, our first musical, features music by Butch Phelps and performances by Brian Cox, Jayne Houdyshell, Phylicia Rashad, Brandon Dirden, Javier Muño...
JARED AND IVANKA’S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AT MAURICE J. FELDMAN JEWISH DAY SCHOOL by Jonathan Spector
December 12, 2021 15:05 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBIn the cool, otherworldly confines of a Zoom room, a controversial president's ethereal daughter and hands-on son-in-law surf the choppy waters of chiseled memories, personal responsibility...and elementary school. JARED AND IVANKA’S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AT MAURICE J. FELDMAN JEWISH DAY SCHOOL, our third James Stevenson Commission for Short Comedic Plays, was written by playwright and screenwriter Jonathan Spector (Eureka Day, This Much I Know, The Flats) and directed by Daniel Aukin....
JACOB AND AMAL by Dipika Guha
December 05, 2021 09:00 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBOn the precipice of making a world changing medical breakthrough, Amal visits an old lover and they contend with the uncertain future through the light of a shared, tumultuous past. JACOB AND AMAL, our second Wordsmith Duo play this season supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by Dipika Guha (Blown Youth, “Sneaky Pete,” “Black Monday”) and directed by Jo Bonney (Cost of Living, Father Comes Home from the War, Anna in the Tropics). It stars Rita Wolf (What Happened? The Mich...
THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT by Mfoniso Udofia
November 28, 2021 09:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBAmal would like to spend the night hiding from, well, everything. But when her bestie has other ideas - ideas that include a world renowned research university, high heels, and lowered expectations - she agrees to a not-so-scientific exercise that could take her, well, anywhere. All right. Just this once. THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT, a Wordsmith Duo play supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by playwright Mfoniso Udofia (Sojourners, “13 Reasons Why,” “Little America”) and directed...
THANKSGIVING FOR ONE by Hamish Linklater (Re-Release)
November 21, 2021 18:32 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBAfter his hit NUDITY RIDER, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE. Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. She can’t get a decent gin & tonic, her daughter is spending Thanksgiving in another state, and her crazed waiter has cast her in a festive audio play. It might just be time to flip the table – and the script. With dire...
LOCKED AND LOADED. CAN I HELP YOU? by David Ives
November 14, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBThe proud owner of a gun shop in a small American city has a peculiar visitor one day - a celebrity of sorts who wants to buy a weapon but can't say exactly why. LOCKED AND LOADED. CAN I HELP YOU?, a world premiere from celebrated playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur, The Heir Apparent, White Christmas) is directed by Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur, White Christmas)) and features Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons,” Monty Python’s Spamalot, “Brockmire”) and Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Spring Aw...
THE WAYFARER'S CODE by Brittany K. Allen
November 07, 2021 08:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBAirstreams, Winnebagos, Chevys, the blood brothers of RV circuit, take us from the shackles of modernity to the freedom of the road! Two couples who might not otherwise cross paths befriend each other in a Texas RV Park, and declare their mutual independence. THE WAYFARER’S CODE, another world premiere James Stevenson Commission, is written by playwright Brittany Allen and features Frankie Faison (“The Wire,” Fences), Caitlin O'Connell (The Crucible, The Heiress), Robin de Jesús (The Boys ...
TECH DEMONS by Sarah Gancher
October 31, 2021 16:19 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBAn aspiring writer (Isaac Oliver) who dreams of learning the secrets of the human heart summons an ancient demon (Vera Beren). Good thing he’s got tech support (Jay O. Sanders). TECH DEMONS, a world premiere James Stevenson Commission by Sarah Gancher, is directed by Marc Bruni (Broadway’s Beautiful: The Carole King Story) and also features Vera Beren and music by composer Dan Moses Schreier. After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the playwright, director, and cast for a behind the sce...
THE BURIAL SOCIETY by Susan Sandler (Re-Release)
October 10, 2021 08:00 - 16 minutes - 37.4 MBHusband-wife team Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller play former Yiddish theater stars who steal the show at a memorial service in the THE BURIAL SOCIETY, a comic play by Susan Sandler. Also featuring George Morfogen* (“Oz”) and David Margulies (Ghostbusters). Directed by Playing on Air Producing Artistic Director Claudia Catania. Playing on Air is honored to share the work of this all-star cast, the members of whom have passed away since BURIAL SOCIETY’s recording in 2011.
WAKING UP by Cori Thomas
October 03, 2021 08:00 - 18 minutes - 42.2 MBPlaying on Air presents Waking Up, an insightful short by Cori Thomas. It juxtaposes the experiences of an American urbanite’s and an African villager’s struggle with breast cancer. Although the details from diagnosis to ultimate triumph are vastly different, their stories underscore the universality of the human spirit. This play features Lynnette Freeman and Amy Staats. Conversation between host, Claudia Catania, and playwright, Cori Thomas, follows the play.
A DEPARTURE by Andy Reynolds (Re-Release)
September 26, 2021 09:30 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBWhen 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.
PLAYING GOD by Alan Zweibel (Re-Release)
September 19, 2021 08:00 - 24 minutes - 55.6 MBIn PLAYING GOD, a divine comedy from SNL's Alan Zweibel (Playing on Air's HAPPY), a self-involved OB-GYN (Scott Adsit of 30 Rock) creates chaos for his pregnant patient (Emily Bergl). Over the objections of a heavenly assistant (Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm), God himself (Bill Buell) challenges the doctor to an outrageous squash match for his faith. Following the play, director Fred Berner and host Claudia Catania join the cast and playwright to talk about their roots in comedy.
THE DONOR by Avery Deutsch
June 27, 2021 08:30 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBSingle mom Suzanne needs an actor for a discreet personal favor. It should be simple. But when she casts Mike, she grossly underestimates the lengths an out-of-work actor will go to to make an impact. Written by Avery Deutsch and a winner of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays, THE DONOR stars Sakina Jaffrey (Timeless) and Hamish Linklater (The Big Short, “Legion”). It is directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Bernhardt/Hamlet).
OWNER OCCUPY by Jonathan Spector
June 20, 2021 08:30 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBIn Alvin and Mia’s neighborhood, property owners flip houses or parcel them out for AirBnBs. No one’s investing in the community. So they’re thrilled by the arrival of a new homeowner — a tech entrepreneur who’s rich, ambitious, charismatic, and strangely pale. And he’s an excellent drinking companion. Scotch, anyone? A comedy about bloodsuckers of all kinds, OWNER OCCUPY stars David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks), David Furr (Noises Off), and Kalyne Coleman (Lessons in Survival). It’s written...
REVELATIONS by JuCoby Johnson
June 13, 2021 08:30 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBMahalia, a Black trans woman, returns to her hometown of Minneapolis during the tumultuous summer of 2020. Against a backdrop of fire and protest, she and her father tentatively rekindle a long-dormant bond. REVELATIONS is written by JuCoby Johnson (How It’s Gon’ Be) and directed by Goldie E. Patrick (Paradise Blue). It stars Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), John Douglas Thompson (Public Theater’s Julius Caesar), and Lynnette R. Freeman (Ensemble Studio Theatre).
CAMBERWELL HOUSE by Amelia Roper
June 06, 2021 08:30 - 20 minutes - 48 MBA tale of old age, murder and gingernut biscuits. CAMBERWELL HOUSE, a darkly comic one-woman play by Amelia Roper ("The Great"), stars five-time Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The School for Scandal, “Sex and the City”).
DUMMY DIALOGUE by David Ives
May 30, 2021 08:30 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBNorman and Max may be dummies, but they’re no fools. Offstage, ventriloquist dummies are the same as anyone else — smack-talking their bosses, worrying about being behind the times — but beneath their hard wooden exteriors lurk sensitive, philosophical, funny souls. A world premiere by a master of the short form, David Ives (The School for Lies, Venus in Fur), DUMMY DIALOGUE stars Richard Kind (A Serious Man, “The Goldbergs”) and Tony winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda the Musical). It is dire...
REAL AMERICAN DINNER PARTY by Jen Silverman
May 23, 2021 08:30 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBSometimes you lose your keys, sometimes you lose your temper, and sometimes you lose the most unexpected of things. When Marcy and her difficult boyfriend come for a visit, what we know about ourselves can change in the blink of an eye... REAL AMERICAN DINNER PARTY is written by Jen Silverman (Witch, novel We Play Ourselves) and directed by Tony winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown). It features April Matthis (Toni Stone), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Marys Seacole), Sean Carvajal (King Lear on Bro...
I THINK IT’S WORTH POINTING OUT THAT I’VE BEEN VERY SERIOUS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE DISCUSSION OR, DAVE AND JULIA ARE STUCK IN A TREE by Mallory Jane Weiss
May 16, 2021 08:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBWhen runaway snow tubes send a dad and his grown daughter flying off a cliff, they’re left hanging on for dear life -- and testing the limits of a punchline. This winning comedy, recipient of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays, cheerfully prods family bonds between parents and their grown children. Written by Mallory Jane Weiss and directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God), I THINK IT’S WORTH POINTING OUT… is a world premiere starring real-life fath...
HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter (Re-Release)
February 28, 2021 09:30 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MB“A gorgeous high note...a Jewish screwball romance… uproarious and beautifully cast, with tone-perfect direction by Colette Robert." — The New York Times It's 1933, and a young Jewish immigrant has returned to his Polish hometown in search of a wife. On a snowy afternoon, he sets his sights on Chava, a savvy, sarcastic shopgirl in a local hat store. Directed by Colette Robert (STEW, Behind the Sheet), HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter (EST’s Youngblood, The Sabbath Girl...
NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz (Re-Release)
February 21, 2021 09:30 - 39 minutes - 36 MB“I felt I really had given birth ... rebirth ... to Napoleon.” “So wait. Am I Napoleon? Or do I need to look for a job?” Everyday life is a battlefield for single mother Evelyn and her adult son Corey, who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). But underneath their sparring over Minecraft and job applications, a game-changing crisis is bubbling. Directed by Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason (“Grace and Frankie,” The Goodbye Girl), NAPOLEON IN EXILE by Daniel Reitz (New Dramatists, En...
SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury (Re-Release)
February 14, 2021 09:30 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBNobody comes to the campus health clinic looking for love. But as he waits for the nurse to call him in, Robby (Vandit Bhatt) finds himself drawn to Angie (Nitya Vidyasagar), a disenchanted writer with problems of her own. Can two strangers find unexpected poetry in each other? And do they even want to? SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury (My Name is Yusuf, Ma-Yi Writers Lab) features Bhatt (“Quantico,” Indian Ink, “New Amsterdam”) and Vidyasagar (“Sesame Street,” The Glorious Ones) in a rom-c...
THE FINAL INTERROGATION OF CEAUSESCU’S DOG by Warren Leight (Re-Release)
February 07, 2021 09:30 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBIn the wake of the 1989 Romanian Revolution, a dictator’s beloved pet must answer for the crimes of his owner. What’s the cost of staying loyal to the hand that feeds you — especially if that hand belongs to a tyrant? Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Happy Talk, PoA’s The Blizzard) and Golden Globe winner Ed Asner (Elf, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” PoA’s New York Story) open the 2021 Winter Mini-Season with a sly satire: THE FINAL INTERROGATION OF CEAUȘESCU’S DOG by Tony winner Warren Leight ...
Winter Mini Season Begins Next Sunday, February 7th!
January 31, 2021 09:30 - 46 seconds - 718 KBThroughout February, Playing on Air returns with four episodes from our back catalog starting Sunday, February 7th.
BIRD by Rachel Bonds
December 13, 2020 09:30 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBThe year is 2030. On the snowy outskirts of DC, an underground musician (Tony winner Julie White) and her pragmatic teenage daughter (Erin Wilhelmi) battle the forces, seen and unseen, that threaten their survival. Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Colt Coeur, PoA’s 52nd to Bowery…), Bird is a world-premiere recording and, in partnership with the Axe-Houghton Foundation, a Wordsmith Duo commission. After their previous run as mother and daughter in Broadway’s A Doll’s House, ...
THIRD GRADE by Dominique Morisseau
December 06, 2020 09:30 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBTHIRD GRADE continues Playing on Air’s yearlong celebration of MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ winner Dominique Morisseau (The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations). Elementary school teacher Kai is dedicated to helping her students thrive. But when one of her third-graders is brutally bullied, Kai must unexpectedly go to battle with the boy’s father over how best to protect his son. J. Alphonse Nicholson (Starz’s “P-Valley”, A Soldier’s Play) stars...
THE THOMPSONS by Andrew Massey
November 29, 2020 09:30 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBAh, the holiday season! The wine is flowing. In-laws are gossiping in the kitchen. And the Thompson family is indulging in their most bizarre Thanksgiving ritual: the Turkey Trot. Mischievous and tender, THE THOMPSONS by Andrew Massey (EST’s Youngblood) is a comedy about the wacky families we love, break, and remake. Arin Arbus (TFANA, Broadway’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) directs an all-star cast of PoA regulars: William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place,” PoA’s 2B Or Not ...
THANKSGIVING FOR ONE by Hamish Linklater
November 22, 2020 09:30 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBAfter his hit Nudity Rider, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE. Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. She can’t get a decent gin & tonic, her daughter is spending Thanksgiving in another state, and her crazed waiter has cast her in a festive audio play. It might just be time to flip the table – and the script. With di...
SCRAPS AND THINGS by Melis Aker
November 15, 2020 09:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBAt a laundromat in Istanbul, a chatty seamstress (Carol Kane) and a guarded, young academic (Melis Aker) discover that they're linked, and haunted, by the myth of the same man. Written by, starring, and featuring original music by Melis Aker (Kilroys List, Ars Nova Play Group), SCRAPS AND THINGS also marks the PoA return of legendary Oscar nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and is directed by Neil Pepe, Artistic Director of the At...
SCRAPS AND THINGS by Melis Aker
November 15, 2020 09:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBAt a laundromat in Istanbul, a chatty seamstress (Carol Kane) and a guarded, young academic (Melis Aker) discover that they're linked, and haunted, by the myth of the same man. Written by, starring, and featuring original music by Melis Aker (Kilroys List, Ars Nova Play Group), SCRAPS AND THINGS also marks the PoA return of legendary Oscar nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” PoA’s Hedgehog Years) and is directed by Neil Pepe, Artistic Director of the At...
HOW TO BE A WIDOW by Tori Keenan-Zelt
November 08, 2020 09:30 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBOn a sweltering afternoon in 1864, two Civil War widows meet in a graveyard. Mirabelle is trying to paint a pineapple; Annaleigh needs to make sure that her husband hasn’t turned into a vampire. Together, the women begin to imagine the futures that might await them beyond corsets, lockets, and bullets. HOW TO BE A WIDOW by Emmy nominee Tori Keenan-Zelt (Kilroys List, Bay Area Playwrights Festival) features Mary Bacon (Lost Girls, Coal Country) and Naomi Lorrain (“Orange is the New Bla...