Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays

When 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 father and daughter Danny DeVito ("It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia") and Lucy DeVito ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" ). It was first performed live at Playing on Air's 2020 Digital Holiday Benefit.

"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.

"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, Ensemble Studio Theatre) is a moving, unexpectedly funny portrait of a family on the brink. Emmy nominee Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle," Good People) and Will Dagger (HBO's "I Know This Much Is True," PoA's The Press Conference) star as mother and son. After the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss writing for actors and bringing theater chops to the world of sitcom TV.

Nobody 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-com for cynics. Playwright Naveen Bahar Choudhury joins host Claudia Catania for a post-performance conversation.

In 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 ("In Treatment", Side Man, "Law & Order: SVU"). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins Asner and the playwright for a behind-the-mic interview.

Throughout February, Playing on Air returns with four episodes from our back catalog starting Sunday, February 7th.

The 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, Part 2, White (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, "Alpha House") and Wilhelmi (To Kill A Mockingbird, The Crucible) reunite in this final episode of the 2020 Fall Season. After the play, they join Bonds, Campbell-Holt, and host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic interview.

THIRD 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 alongside playwright-performer Morisseau. Directed by Stori Ayers ("The Last O.G.," Chautauqua Theater Company), THIRD GRADE is a searing look at the impossible choices that parents and public school educators are making to protect America's kids. Later in the episode, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss their own third grade experiences and the need to "go deep."

Ah, 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 2B), Sue Jean Kim (Office Hour, PoA's 52nd to Bowery…), April Matthis (Toni Stone, PoA's G.O.A.T.), and Amy Ryan ("The Office," PoA's Clean Slate). After the play, host Claudia Catania joins the cast, director, and playwright to discuss Thanksgiving traditions and family dynamics.

After 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 direction by Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Paradise Blue, Your Blues Ain't Sweet Like Mine), THANKSGIVING FOR ONE unites actor-writer Linklater ("Legion," "The Big Short," The Public's Shakespeare in the Park) with Emmy winner Jean Smart (HBO's "Watchmen", "Fargo," "Frasier"). After the play, join host Claudia Catania for a behind-the-mic chat with the artists.