PLAYING GOD by Alan Zweibel (Re-Release)
In 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.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below!
HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE by Cary Gitter (Re-Release)
“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) features a sparkling cast: Eli Gelb (Skintight, Indignation) and Lucy DeVito (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” PoA’s Gun Show). After the play, host Claudia Catania moderates a conversation with the artists.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [19 Minutes 19 Seconds]
MY HUSBAND by Paul Rudnick
A wedding isn't a competition - until the mothers get involved.
After gay marriage is legalized in New York, one meddling matriarch will stop at nothing to get her son to the altar. Starring Michael Urie (Broadway's Torch Song, "Ugly Betty," PoA's A Departure) and Tony winner Harriet Harris ("Frasier," "Desperate Housewives," Phantom Thread), MY HUSBAND by Paul Rudnick (The New Yorker, the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada) is directed by Claudia Weill (Girlfriends, HBO's "Girls," PoA's Hate Baby). After the short comedy, host Claudia Catania joins the artists for a behind-the-scenes discussion.
MY HUSBAND 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! [19 Minutes 58 Seconds]
MILTON BRADLEY by Peter Sagal
How do you eulogize a woman who everybody hated?
In Peter Sagal's MILTON BRADLEY, Rabbi Schoenberg (Michael Stuhlbarg), faced with this dilemma, turns to a metaphor: the game of Life (the board game, that is).
Featuring Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water) and Bob Balaban (Gosford Park, Christopher Guest & Wes Anderson ensemble regular), MILTON BRADLEY is a darkly funny exploration of where we're all headed one day. Stay tuned after the play for a conversation with playwright Peter Sagal (of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! fame) and the play’s director, host Claudia Catania.
Download on iTunes, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [21 Minutes 51 Seconds]
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]
HAPPY by Alan Zweibel
In Happy by Alan Zweibel (“SNL,” Curb Your Enthusiasm,” 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal) a baseball fan (Scott Adsit of “30 Rock” and “Veep”) makes a pilgrimage to the home of a former baseball star who is now a janitor in Delray Beach, Florida (Frankie Faison of “The Wire”) and asks him to sign a very special ball. After a fair amount of humor and misunderstanding, the power of baseball to bond fathers, sons and men emerges. Directed by Fred Berner (Executive Producer/Director, "Law & Order"). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by Host Claudia Catania.
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 30 Seconds]
TWO JEWISH MEN IN THEIR SEVENTIES by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros
In TWO JEWISH MEN IN THEIR SEVENTIES by Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, two great comedians Jerry Stiller (“Seinfeld”, “The King of Queens”) and Bob Dishy (Sly Fox, Along Came Polly) play two old friends visiting a new holocaust museum. They don't like it so much. They've seen better. This funny and moving short was one of the very first short plays Playing on Air recorded. Thank you, Alex, Jerry, and Bob. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the playwright moderated by the play’s director, host Claudia Catania.
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 19 Seconds]
THE MIRACLE OF CHANUKAH by Sheri Wilner
In Sheri Wilner’s THE MIRACLE OF CHANUKAH, directed by host Claudia Catania, a holiday guest’s personal miracle throws a family for a loop. Featuring Zach Appelman, Peter Friedman, Emmy Award winner Judy Gold, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Lisa Joyce. Stay tuned after the performance for Catania’s conversation with the playwright and cast.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 17 Minutes 36 Seconds]
MILTON BRADLEY by Peter Sagal
In MILTON BRADLEY, a flummoxed Rabbi has to eulogize a mother whose son has only terrible things to say about her. Peter Sagal’s play (Host of NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!) features Bob Balaban (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gosford Park) and Michael Stuhlbarg ("Boardwalk Empire", A Serious Man). Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between MILTON BRADLEY’s director, host Claudia Catania, and playwright Peter Sagal.
Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [ 21 Minutes 28 Seconds]