BONNET by John Patrick Shanley

In 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 in December 2022 and features a feisty score by composer Tom Kochan—plus a bit of adult language! Stay tuned after the play for a rollicking conversation with Shanley, Messing, and Turturro.

SECOND SIGHT by 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. Can he find a happy medium ? Or is he, with a little otherworldly help (Brittany K. Allen), just seeing things clearly for the first time? 

SECOND SIGHT, a world premiere from renowned playwright David Ives, is directed by the playwright himself and features music by Dan Moses Schreier, musical direction and piano by Alan Johnson, and special guest vocals by Chloe Holgate, Hai-Ting Chinn, Gregory Purnhagen, and Barbara Rearick. Stay tuned after the play for an insightful conversation with Ives, the actors, Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania, and executive director Yvie Jones. (Running Time: 47 minutes, 18 seconds)

Listen below, on Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform!

TYPHOID MARY by Mike Lew

It’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, a 2021 Wordsmith Duo Commission supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and features music by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with Executive Director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists. (Running time: 32 minutes, 32 seconds)

MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY by Rehana Lew Mirza

It’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 by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with Executive Director Yvie Jones and all the featured artists. (Running Time: 33 minutes, 30 seconds)

I DON'T KNOW by James McLindon

An 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 conversation with the creative team. [Running Time: 24 minutes and 2 seconds]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY by Lloyd Suh

In 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 as Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania moderates a poignant conversation with the artists.

Sound Design: Sue Steyer of Phantom Audio

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream it below! [Running Time: 22 minutes, 24 seconds ]

THE ARMY DANCE by Cary Gitter

It's the summer of 1955, and a new U.S. Army private stationed far away from his hometown in New Jersey 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, Founder and Consulting Director Claudia Catania and Executive Director Yvie Jones moderate a lively and poignant conversation with the playwright, director, and actors.

Editing: Joanna Lynne Staub
Sound Design: John Kilgore Sound & Recording

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream it below! [Running Time: 30 minutes and 39 seconds]

ECHO AND NARCISSUS by Amanda Quaid

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, host Claudia Catania and executive director Yvie Jones dive into conversation with the playwright, director, and actors. 

Editing: Joanna Lynne Staub
Sound Design: John Kilgore Sound & Recording

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream it below! [Running Time: 25 minutes and 07 seconds]

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JFK Taxi by Aurin Squire

JFK Taxi by Aurin Squire

A 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 supported by Josie Merck and boasts an energetic score by composer Tom Kochan. Stay tuned after the play for a spirited conversation, starting at 25:11, with host Claudia Catania, Playing on Air’s founder and consulting director, executive director Yvie Jones, director Marchánt Davis, and our talented trio of actors.

Editing: Joanna Lynne Staub
Sound Design: John Kilgore Sound & Recording

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream it below! [Running Time: 41 minutes and 29 seconds]

EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson (Summer 2022 Re-Release)

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). Stay tuned after the play for a high spirited conversation with the cast, director, and Playing on Air founder and consulting director Claudia Catania.

 EVENING AT ANAHEIM was co-presented with Playwrights Horizons and recorded live in New York City.

Download the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting platform—or just stream below! [35 Minutes 58 Seconds]