PLAYING ON AIR Announces Summer Season Featuring Tonya Pinkins, Julie Halston, Condola Rashad and More

Audio drama podcast Playing on Air has announced its August 2020 mini-season, featuring four favorite short plays. After a successful spring season, Playing on Air brings back four audio gems.

Since 2012, Playing on Air's podcasts and public radio programs have shared the highest caliber contemporary short plays with audiences nationwide. Every piece is followed by an insightful and lively conversation with the artists. Its summer 2020 mini-season spans genres, from bumbling humor with Scott Adsit to absurdist comedy by David Ives to stirring social drama featuring Tony winner Tonya Pinkins and Tony nominee Condola Rashad.

PLAYING ON AIR, SUMMER 2020 SCHEDULE

Sunday, August 2: HAPPY, by Alan Zweibel ("SNL", 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal). A baseball fan shows up at the home of his childhood hero, George "Happy" Halliday. Has the stranger come to pay his respects or to throw a curveball? A comedy for anyone who's ever wished for an extra inning, HAPPY stars Frankie Faison ("The Wire") and Scott Adsit ("30 Rock"), directed by Fred Berner.

Sunday, August 9: ANNIVERSARY, by Rachel Bonds. Through a haze of gin, mediocre roast beef, and horrible apartment parties, a grieving New Yorker finds herself drawn to a quirky, flirtatious friend-of-a-friend. Hurtling through time, ANNIVERSARY follows a journey back to love. Linsay Firman directs Sarah Sokolovic ("Big Little Lies"), Michael Esper (David Bowie's Lazarus), Sue Jean Kim (Water by the Spoonful), and Tony nominee Steven Boyer (Hand to God).

Sunday, August 16: CELL, by Cassandra Medley. Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline or Change), Tony nominee Condola Rashad ("Billions"), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire") star in Cassandra Medley's CELL. When a jaded guard at an immigrant detention center finds jobs for her sister and niece, family tensions erupt into a battle over home and homeland security.

Sunday, August 23: ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS, by Tony-nominated playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur). In the middle of the desert, two vultures find their lunch interrupted by a man of faith. Now, they have a bone to pick with Saint Francis of Assisi. Full of miraculous and mischievous wit, ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS features Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher), Julie Halston (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom), Matthew Saldivar (Peter and the Starcatcher), an appearance by the legendary Lois Smith (The Inheritance, Lady Bird), and a surprise cameo from the playwright.

More information on Playing on Air can be found on its website: https://playingonair.org/

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski