In this episode, we celebrate To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim, a heartfelt tribute to one of musical theatre’s greatest legends, Stephen Sondheim. Emmy winner and Tony and Grammy nominee Liz Callaway is joined by special guest Jim Walton for an evening of stories, music, and reflection on a career deeply intertwined with Sondheim’s work.

Recorded live at 54 Below, the Grammy-nominated album offers a personal and nostalgic look at Sondheim’s legacy and the profound impact his work has had on performers and audiences alike. Liz shares behind-the-scenes memories, celebrates the music that shaped her career, and honors the enduring brilliance of a composer who forever changed the landscape of musical theatre.

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In this episode, we explore Once in the Countryside: A Collection of Plays by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lloyd Suh, a sweeping anthology that brings over 150 years of Asian and Asian American history to life onstage. Through plays like The Chinese Lady, The Far Country, Bina’s Six Apples, and The Heart Sellers, Suh blends intimacy, humor, and epic storytelling to illuminate voices and histories too often left out of the American narrative.

Joined by editor Christine Mok and special guests including performer Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac, the conversation dives into the process of shaping this landmark collection, the power of historical storytelling, and how these plays resonate urgently in the present.

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In this episode, we dive into 43 Stages of Grieving: A Comedy, a wildly inventive and deeply human story about a pregnant, dying robot and a human determined to live forever. Forget the idea of just five stages—this surreal, heartfelt comedy explores the countless (and often hilarious) ways we navigate loss, from soft cheese to hard cheese and everything in between. As the pair grapple with an uncertain future, looming motherhood, and the complexities of technology and mortality, they search for meaning in a grief-saturated world.

Playwright Micharne Cloughley joins us to discuss the origins of this poignant sci-fi comedy, her expansive theatre career, her work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with The Civilians, and her transition into television writing on Law & Order: SVU. With projects spanning two continents and multiple genres, Micharne brings rich insight into storytelling, humor, and healing.

Learn more at micharne.com.

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In this episode, we explore Sappho’s Garden, a theatrical meditation on the legendary Greek poet that blends a vivid one-act play with scholarly insight and creative reimagining. Writers Carol Lee Campbell and Domnica Radulescu discuss bringing Sappho’s voice into a contemporary theatrical frame, drawing on history, myth, and modern perspectives on gender, identity, and artistic legacy. The conversation dives into their collaborative process, the intersection of scholarship and storytelling, and how this work reclaims and re-centers one of literature’s most enduring and enigmatic figures.

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In this episode, we celebrate the launch of Prince Faggot, one of the year’s most talked-about and provocative new plays, written by acclaimed playwright Jordan Tannahill. This live conversation explores the play’s audacious premise, radical imagination, and fearless interrogation of power, privilege, queerness, and colonial legacy.

The discussion is moderated by director Shayok Misha Chowdhury and features reading performances by Mihir Kumar and David Greenspan, with a special musical performance by Arèwa Basit. Together, they unpack Prince Faggot as a poppers-fueled, metatheatrical thought experiment—one that boldly reimagines monarchy through queer and trans lived experience and asks who gets to inherit the future.

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In this episode, Mark talks with Mara Lieberman about Bated Breath Theatre Company’s newest immersive production, Dirty Books, and the evolving world of immersive theatre. Lieberman has served as the company’s Executive Artistic Director since 2012, directing and co-writing all of its productions, including Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Lautrec, Chasing Andy Warhol, Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec, Beneath the Gavel, Freedom: In 3 Acts, The Pride of Christopher Street, and Wild Things. Their conversation explores the creative process behind Dirty Books, an immersive experience inspired by the true stories of 1960s erotic fiction writers who worked under the shadow of America’s anti-obscenity laws, inviting audiences into a world of secret bookstores, banned novels, and underground desire where the audience helps craft the story itself. Learn more at maralieberman.com.

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Join us for an engaging conversation and live performance exploring Unlikely Japan and Other Plays, a collection of ten one-act plays written by Neil LaBute over a decade-long collaboration with the St. Louis Actors’ Studio. LaBute and William Roth discuss the creation and staging of these diverse shorts, spanning comedy, drama, monologue, and dialogue, while Gia Crovatin performs scenes from the collection.

Listeners will gain insight into the creative process behind one-act plays, the challenges and joys of developing new theatrical work, and the unique collaboration between playwright, director, and actors that brings these stories to life.

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In this episode, we celebrate artistry that endures with photographer and artist Betti Franceschi, whose book Ageless Dancers captures forty legendary New York dancers—ages 70 and up—in striking portraits that honor grace, intelligence, and lifelong creative expression. Franceschi is joined by featured dancers Ze’eva Cohen, Molissa Fenley, Sandra Lee and Diana Byer and more.

Together, they discuss aging in dance, the evolution of the body, and the artistry that deepens over time—offering a moving reminder that creative life doesn’t fade, it transforms.

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Doug’s Goddess of the Hunt is a fast-moving comedy about dark secrets in a public world. When grieving Charlie Windsor meets the lively Diana Black-White in a New York bar, they become instant BFFs, much to the shock of his longtime friend, Broadway actor Ed McGrath. Pulled into a whirlwind of secrets, betrayals, and dysfunctional family dynamics, Charlie navigates a world he’s unprepared for. This gleefully silly homage to 1960s romantic comedy thrillers—blended with Roman mythology and the modern chaos of social media—had its workshop premiere at the Fresh Fruit Festival and will debut fully at Lab Theater Project in Tampa, Florida. Doug, a two-time O’Neill Semi-Finalist, has had plays produced and developed across the U.S. and London, with work published by Next Stage Press and Smith & Kraus.

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In this episode, veteran producer Julian Schlossberg discusses My First Book—Part 2, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from his six decades in film, theater, and television. Hear his experiences with legends like Peter Falk, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and John Cassavetes, along with reflections on running his own Castle Hill Productions for nearly 40 years.

Moderator Renee Taylor, Emmy- and Academy Award-nominated actor and playwright, guides the conversation, offering insights into the art, business, and humor of a career spent at the heart of show business.

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