Francis Jue, Maryann Plunkett, and More Featured in New PLAYING ON AIR Episodes

An award winning line-up of actors can be heard as part of Playing on Air's ‘25 - ‘26 Season announced last month.  As previously shared, this new season contains an extraordinary collection of short plays from some of today's most exciting voices: Mara Nelson-Greenberg, Charles Mee, Maleek Rae, John Patrick Shanley, and Else Went. The season includes one previously published work, world premieres and commissions, alongside monthly mini curated episodes designed to reach new audiences and highlight classic and contemporary gems of the short play form.

Two episodes from the season are currently available on the Playing on Air website and across podcast platforms.

The cast of 73, SK. by Else Went includes Olivia Barresi (Initiative at The Public Theater), Paul Bernardo, Zachary Desmond, Chukwudi Iwuji, Joe McGurl and The New York Nightingales. Additional episode composing and arranging by Charlie Rosen and long time POA Editor and Sound Designer, Grammy Award winner, John Kilgore.

In 73, SK., a small club of HAM radio operators mourn the unexpected loss of one of their members. 73, SK. is the inaugural William W. Lunnie Commission, directed by Emma Rosa Went (Initiative at The Public Theater).  73, SK. dropped onto the POA airwaves on Friday, December 5th.

73, SK. includes the creative team and one actor, Olivia Rose Barresi, from the award winning and celebrated world premiere of Initiative, that closed at The Public Theater on December 7.

“The provocation to write an audio play really gave me license to imagine something that would never be intended for or successful in any other medium”, said playwright Else Went.  Went continues, “As a writer deeply interested in sound, having grown up more on audio dramas and old time radio shows, it was so genuinely delightful to finally have a chance to be in dialogue with that legacy from my own point of view, while also celebrating a particular type of soundscape, that of the shortwave radio communications that I remember so fondly from drives across the country with my grandfather. I love writing with a sense of place in mind, and it was a gift to be able to sort of float above the landscape of California's Central Coast, imagining the lives and loves of a few of its inhabitants, and I hope that love translates through the script and performances. This play is a love letter to a type of sound that is overlooked and vanishing from a world of increasing polish and rapidity.”

The cast of The Corner Cafe by Charles Mee features the largest cast in Playing on Air history.  The cast includes  Vandit Bhatt, Sasha Diamond, Ethan Dubin, Peter Friedman, Elijah Jones, Francis Jue (Tony Award Winner, “Yellow Face”), Matthew Maher, Katie Martucci, Barrie Lobo McLain, Jo Mei, Maryann Plunkett (Tony Award Winner, “The Notebook”), Jon Norman Schneider, Constance Shulman and Claire Siebers. Additional episode music and lyrics, composition and arrangement by Charles Mee, Tom Dugdale, Katie Martucci and Barrie Lobo McClain.   

In The Corner Cafe by Charles Mee, our listeners will experience “society talk”. The Corner Cafe was directed by Tom Dugdale. The Corner Cafe was released on Friday, December 19.

“When I first encountered Chuck's writing and unique way of assembling plays”, said director, Tom Dugdale. “it shook up the whole way I thought about theatre.”   He continues, “Chuck provides so much to work with and at the same time, so much space to play. It was a massive honor collaborating with him on this new work, and with our wonderful cast. Chuck's world is a world where everything is possible, collaboratively and dramatically, and that's a lovely spot to hang out.” 

This five-play lineup showcases Playing on Air's commitment to delivering innovative, intimate storytelling in an accessible audio format.  Three of the five plays this season are commissions, a commitment by the organization to support new work.

Playing on Air shared holiday related plays from the archives through the end of the year.  On Friday, January 9, “A Headspace Meditation” by Mara Nelson-Greenberg drops, followed by “Father's Sin” by Maleek Rae  on Friday, January 23.  The season concludes with a Playing on Air regular, John Patrick Shanley and his play, “The Red Coat”, dropping on Friday, February 6.

Playing on Air is free. Listen on their website or your favorite podcast platform. 

Conversations with the leadership team and artists will air in between on all podcast platforms and across Playing on Air's social media channels. To learn more, visit www.playingonair.org.

The podcast boasts over half a million downloads.