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]

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]

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]

HATE BABY by Gracie Gardner

Content advisory: this episode contains themes that may not be appropriate for younger listeners. 

Sigrid has a new little bundle of joy, and she's worried that he might be... evil. Today, she's tagging out: this baby is her neighbor Darla's problem now. Just in time for Mother's Day, Gracie Gardner's HATE BABY, the winner of Playing on Air's 2018 James Stevenson Prize for Comedic Short Plays, delves into the often-gross, ever-changing world of new parenthood. HATE BABY features Emily Bergl (Broadway's The Ferryman, PoA's Evening at Anaheim), OBIE winner April Matthis (Elevator Repair Service, PoA's Wanting North), and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God, PoA's An Upset). After the play, the artists join host Claudia Catania and director Claudia Weill for an onstage interview. 

HATE BABY was recorded live at the 52nd Street Project in New York City.

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [19 Minutes 37 Seconds]

AN UPSET by David Auburn

Content advisory: this episode contains explicit language and sexual references.

When a cocky, jaded tennis star (David Harbour) loses a pivotal match to an inexperienced Romanian player (Steven Boyer), the two men lock into an unlikely battle for dominance on and off the court. Over the course of three encounters on the Grand Slam circuit, AN UPSET by David Auburn (Tony & Pulitzer winner for Proof) peers irreverently, and explosively, behind the locker room door.

After the play, Tony nominees Harbour ("Stranger Things," Hellboy, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Boyer (Hand to God, "Trial & Error") join director Michael Wilson (PoA's Wildwood Park, Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful) and host Claudia Catania for an exclusive talk-back about working with your idols and what it means to be an amateur.

AN UPSET was recorded live at the 52nd Street Project in New York City. 

Download on iTunes, Podbay, Player FM, subscribe to our RSS feed, search ‘Playing on Air’ in your favorite podcasting app – or stream below! [29 Minutes 02 Seconds]

TASHA WALKS by Kim Merrill

In the comic TASHA WALKS by Kim Merrill, a young man (Steven Boyer, Tony nominee for Hand to God) returns dejected from his bomb of a vacation with his fiancee who has called the wedding off, to find his neighbor (4 time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason) has lost his fiancee’s cherished cat. Directed by Brian Mertes and recorded live at BRIC Arts Media House in Downtown Brooklyn. 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! [16 Minutes 32 Seconds]

ATTENTION by Holly Walter Kerby

In Holly Walter Kerby’s Attention, Amber (Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger) is bummed out that her boyfriend has visited his family without her. She takes solace in playing The Sims computer game. When her boyfriend David (Tony nominee Steven Boyer) calls to ask her the big question, he finds her hopelessly in the loving clutches of The Sims! Directed by Michael Barakiva. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation with the artists moderated by founding Artistic Director 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! [ 17 Minutes 55 Seconds ]

ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds

New podcast! Anniversary by Rachel Bonds, a comic drama about a young, grieving woman who finds love again. Featuring Michael Esper (The Last Ship, A Beautiful Mind), Sarah Sokolovic (“Homeland”), Steven Boyer (Hand to God), and Sue Jean Kim (Water by the Spoonful). Directed by Linsay Firman. Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between the playwright and founding Artistic Director, 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! [ 21 Minutes 23  Seconds]