When Lightning Strikes!

Prolific playwrights Mona Mansour and Emily Zemba recently debuted Entangled: 12 Scenes in a Circle K off the I-40 in New Mexico. The play, which was directed by Scott Ilingworth, premiered at HERE Arts Center and is presented by SOCIETY Theatre Company. SOCIETY is a collective of theatre makers creating new research-driven, radically collaborative works.

This episode was recorded March 23, 2026.

Read the New York Times piece about quantum entanglement, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/science/black-holes-cosmology-hologram.html Dan Hooper's podcast that was mentioned is Why This Universe?

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Kit Buchan and Jim Barne wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the New York Times Critic’s Pick musical Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), currently running on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre. The longtime collaborators are known for their witty, contemporary storytelling and catchy, character-driven scores, that bring a fresh, modern voice to musical theater. Audiences will soon be able to experience their music beyond the theater when the show’s cast album is released on March 20. Two Strangers stars Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts and is directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson.

This episode was recorded on March 17, 2026.

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Writer/director Ngozi Anyanwu says that her play The Monsters is “a love letter to strong bodies, soft hearts.” Now playing at Manhattan Theatre Club, this intimate production is also a riveting sibling love story about what it takes to reconnect, forgive, and truly confront your inner demons. The Monsters cast members Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan and Aigner Mizzelle, along with Anyanwu, choreographer Rickey Tripp, and MMA consultant Sijara Eubanks, share insights about the show’s mixed martial arts backdrop and why it feels so relevant, especially now.

This episode was recorded January 13, 2026.

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Andréa Burns is a beloved Broadway star whose many credits include In the Heights, The Notebook, On Your Feet!, Dear World, The Light in the Piazza, Songs for a New World, West Side Story, and more. She is currently starring as Diane in Come from Away at Paper Mill Playhouse.

This episode was recorded February 20, 2026.

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Heather Christie created and hosts LoveNotes! The storytelling event also inspired Heather's popular book of the same name. LoveNotes! mines all kinds of love stories, including first love, last love and all the messy love in-between. This Valentine's Day, on February 14th, LoveNotes! returns to New York and will be performed for three special shows at Symphony Space. LoveNotes! has also been seen in in cities across the country and is currently expanding to other markets.

This episode was recorded on February 10, 2026

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Linus Karp and Joseph Martin are actors, writers, and theater makers. They created Awkward Productions to bring ridiculous genre-mixing comedy, niche pop culture references, audience participation, and queer joy to the stage. Their shows include Gwyneth Goes Skiing, Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, The Fit Prince, and How to Live a Jellicle Life: Life Lessons from the 2019 Hit Musical 'Cats.' These shows have all been performed for sold-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe. As they say, "An Awkward Productions show isn’t performed for you—it’s performed with you, making each show unique."

In January 2026, Gwyneth Goes Skiing and Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story will be performed in select U.S. cities. Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story made its New York debut at SoHo Playhouse. Gwyneth Goes Skiing will be presented in Aspen for Gay Ski Week from January 14 to 17 at the Wheeler Opera House. Afterward, the show will be performed at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles from January 21 to 24, followed by Diana from January 25 to 28.

For more information about Awkward Productions and tickets to the shows, visit awkwardprods.com and www.instagram.com/awkwardprods.

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This episode was recorded November 21, 2025.

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Samuel D. Hunter is a playwright and screenwriter whose work includes the critically acclaimed play The Whale and its Oscar-winning film adaptation. This past fall he made his West End debut with Clarkston, and he is currently making his Broadway debut with Little Bear Ridge Road at the Booth Theatre. Drawing deeply from his upbringing in Idaho, Samuel's work, including the plays A Case for the Existence of God, A Bright New Boise, and Greater Clements, is celebrated for its humanity, humor, and intimate portraits of life.

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Crystal Skillman is an award-winning dramatist. Her play Open, which was awarded a New York Times Critics’ Pick, has been running Off-Broadway at WP Theater through July. Her next play, The Rocket Men, is about to receive a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere across the country.

This episode was recorded on July 25, 2025

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Jak Malone co-stars in the hit new musical, Operation Mincemeat, which is nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and a nomination for Jak. He also received Oliver, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his show-stopping performance as Hester Leggatt and other characters. Operation Mincemeat is based on the unlikely, but completely true, story of how during WW2 the allies deceived the Nazi's by attaching fake war-plan documents to a corpse and washing him up on the shores of Spain. The success of the mission transformed the war.

Operation Mincemeat is now playing at the John Golden Theatre. In 2026, the production will be launching a world tour going around the globe throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Mexico and New Zealand.

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Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and co-stars in A Real Pain. In the film two mismatched cousins embark on a Holocaust tour through Poland to understand the history of their late grandmother who is a Holocaust survivor. It's a beautiful, honest, poetic and hilarious film that is listed as one of the ten best movies of 2024 by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the National Board of Review. As Owen Gleiberman wrote in Variety "Eisenberg has scripted with an ear for the music of ideas and for contrasting voices, he presents the story of these two cousins — how they interact, what they mean to each other, how their past intersects with the present — in a way that’s so supple you can touch their reality."

I sat down with Jesse at the Ram's Head Inn, a seaside hideaway in Shelter Island. The historic property was the site of several famous physics conferences that hosted J. Robert Oppenheimer and Stephen Hawking over the years. The Ram's Head continues the tradition of being an incubator for great talents. Jesse took part in a new film series there called, The Ram Film Society.

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