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Playlist: Radio Drama

Compiled By: PRX Editors

 Credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-73686p1.html">Denis Vrublevski</a>
Image by: Denis Vrublevski 
Curated Playlist

Radio drama not just for your mama.

These are picks chosen by PRX editorial staff.

SUSPENSE #17- 'Who Goes There?'

From John Alsedek | Part of the SUSPENSE series | 35:26

An Antarctic research expedition finds something frozen deep in the ice cap...something that is still alive.

531046_402170939848327_1884750665_n_small An Antarctic research expedition finds something frozen deep in the ice cap...something that is still alive. Adapted from the short story by John W. Campbell, it stars Steve Moulton, Daamen Krall, Daniel Hackman, Sean Hackman, Christopher Duva, Rocky Cerda, Jeff Kirshner, and John C. Alsedek.

SUSPENSE (Series)

Produced by John Alsedek

SUSPENSE, "Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills", has returned from the great beyond in this revival by Blue Hours Productions. With a mix of original scripts and adaptations of classic works, all performed by a crack company of Hollywood actors and supplemented with music and real-life sound effects, SUSPENSE captures the feel of radio's 'Golden Age' without being an imitation.

Most recent piece in this series:

SUSPENSE #17- 'Who Goes There?'

From John Alsedek | Part of the SUSPENSE series | 35:26

531046_402170939848327_1884750665_n_small An Antarctic research expedition finds something frozen deep in the ice cap...something that is still alive. Adapted from the short story by John W. Campbell, it stars Steve Moulton, Daamen Krall, Daniel Hackman, Sean Hackman, Christopher Duva, Rocky Cerda, Jeff Kirshner, and John C. Alsedek.

2 Minute Film Noir

From ZBS FOUNDATION | 53:03

A compilation of a bunch of short 2 Minute Film Noir audio stories.

Prxpic_small This series of two-minute stories is based on that great American art form known as Film Noir. These are stories about gangsters, bimbos, cops, cons, lovers, losers, platinum blondes, mink coats, high heels, and neon signs reflecting on rain-slicked streets. 

Out Loud

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Three short plays. There You Are featuring Oscar Winner Olympia Dukakis is about two women who meet at an outdoor concert and pursue the relationship they didn't dare to in their youth. In Small Things, a door-to-door evangelist on his last day of service is invited in for the first time by an older man. In If We're Using A Surrogate How Come I'm The One With Morning Sickness a gay parent comically rants about having a child. Interviews are with Leslie Ayvazian, Cary Pepper and James Lecesne.

Playing
Out Loud
From
Playing on Air

Olympia_dukakis_photo_small The first play, There You Are, with Olympia Dukakis and Maria Tucci, is about two widows who meet again by chance at an outdoor concert and consider the relationship they didn't dare pursue in their youth. Then in Small Things by Cary Pepper a young door-to-door evangelist (Bobby Steggert) on his last day of service is invited in by a troubled man (Jack Wetherall) for the first time after a year of door knocking. As the 18-year old and the older man exchange their stories, we experience the curative power of a story. In the third short, If We're Using A Surrogate How Come I'm The One With Morning Sickness, by Marco Pennette; a gay parent (Oscar winner James Lecesne) comically rants about having a child. Interviews are with playwrights Leslie Ayvazian, Cary Pepper and actor James Lecesne. There You Are by Leslie Ayvazian with Olympia Dukakis (Oscar for Moonstruck) and Maria Tucci. Small Things by Cary Pepper with Bobby Steggert (Tony nom. Ragtime) and Jack Wetherall ("Queer as Folk). If We're Using A Surrogate How Come I'm The One With The Morning Sickness by Marco Pennette with James Lecesne (Oscar for Trevor). 

Like No Business I Know

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Three short plays. In Mrs. Sorken, a wacky theater devotee gets her chance in the spotlight. In I Know, an acting couple faces disastrous news. And in The Burial Society, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara as former Yiddish theater stars, steal the show at a memorial service. Interview with each playwright follows their play.

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There's no business like show business.... In Christopher Durang's witty MRS. SORKEN, a wacky theater devotee gets her chance in the spotlight. And in the moving I KNOW, an acting couple's crisis reveals their love.  In the third short piece, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara play aged former Yiddish theater stars who steal the show at a memorial service in the funny THE BURIAL SOCIETY. Mrs. Sorken by Christopher Durang (TONY WINNER for Vanya and Masha and Sonia and Spike) with Dana Ivey (5xTony nominee), I Know by Jacquelyn Reingold with Jack Davidson, Beth Dixon and The Burial Society by Susan Sandler with Anne Meara (Stiller and Meara, Afterplay), George Morfogen, Jerry Stiller (Stiller and Meara, "Seinfeld," "The King of Queens"). Interview with Christopher Durang, Jacquelyn Reingold and Susan Sandler.


Beating The Odds

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Three short plays. In Two Jewish Men in Their Seventies, Jerry Stiller and Bob Dishy play two holocaust survivors berating a new holocaust museum. Waking Up juxtaposes an American urbanite and an African villager's experiences with breast cancer. In the romance Dear Kenneth Blake, a Khmer Rouge refugee and a homeless man find each other. Interview with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, Cori Thomas and Jacquelyn Reingold.

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Three short plays. In TWO JEWISH MEN IN THEIR SEVENTIES, by Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, two great comedians Jerry Stiller (“Seinfeld”, “The King of Queens”) and Bob Dishy (Sly Fox, Along Came Polly) play two old friends visiting a new holocaust museum. They don't like it so much. They've seen better. WAKING UP juxtaposes an American urbanite and an African villager's triumph over breast cancer. Although the details from diagnosis to ultimate triumph are vastly different, their stories reveal the universality of the human spirit. In DEAR KENNETH BLAKE, a Cambodian refugee and a homeless man strike up a romance. TWO JEWISH MEN IN THEIR SEVENTIES by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros (Pulitzer nom) with Bob Dishy, Jerry Stiller. WAKING UP by Cori Thomas with Lynette Freeman, Amy Staats. DEAR KENNETH BLAKE by Jacquelyn Reingold with Matthew Cowles, Jodi Long. Interviews with all three playwrights.


Home Runs

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Two short plays. In I’m with Ya, Duke; Jerry Stiller plays a fruit vendor mouthing off about Brooklyn these days, impending surgery, and the loss of the Dodgers. In Getting In, a scrappy GI, gleefully recalls how he went from almost flunking high school to the trenches of WWII to Dartmouth. Interview with Tony award-winning director John Rando and with Pulitzer and Tony winning playwright, Frank Gilroy.

Playing
Home Runs
From
Playing on Air

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In I'M WITH YA, DUKE, by Herb Gardner, Jerry Stiller plays a fruit vendor dreaming of the good old days when Duke Snider played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and there was someone "ya could root for." Duke and the other Dodgers who won the 1947 pennant: Amoros, Gilliam, Campanella, Furillo, Hodges, Padres are his heart and Red Barber his voice as he faces impending surgery - and crazy kids.  
Next up, in the autobiographical GETTING IN by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Frank Gilroy (The Subject Was Roses), a scrappy GI, gleefully recalls how he went from truancy, almost flunking high school, the trenches of WWII, to Dartmouth College, on the GI Bill that changed his life. Two shorts. Interview with Tony award-winning director John Rando and the charming Frank Gilroy himself. Original Music by Tom Kochan.

I'm With Ya, Duke by Herb Gardner (Tony winner) with Jerry Stiller ("Seinfeld" "King of Queens"), Fiana Toibin, Gordon MacDonald and Getting In by Frank Gilroy (Tony, Pulitzer Prize) featuring eleven! - David Beach, Kim Benheim, Matthew Cowles, Caroline Gilroy, Michael Godere, Carter Hudson, Lillian Laserson, Thomas Lyons, David Margulies, Fiana Toibin and Jack Wetherall! Short play, long cast. Interview with Tony award-winning director John Rando follows Herb Gardner’s play and with Pulitzer and Tony winner, Frank Gilroy, following his.


Someone To Watch Over Me

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Two short plays. In West of Stupid, a teacher, vacationing with her son, falls for Rome and won’t go home. In Relative Strangers, a young woman decides she’s found a new mother on a flight to South Carolina. Interview with playwrights Cusi Cram and Sheri Wilner follow their play.

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Two short plays. In West of Stupid, a teacher, vacationing with her adult son, falls for Rome and won’t go home. In the comic Relative Strangers, on a flight to South Carolina, a young woman selects a surrogate mother.  Cusi Cram's West of Stupid with Alfredo Narciso, J. Smith-Cameron (Tony); and Sheri Wilner's Relative Strangers with Julie Halston ("Sex and the City"), Michael Keck, Debra Monk (multiple Tonys, Emmys), Merritt Wever (Emmy Award for “Nurse Jackie”). Interview with playwrights Cusi Cram and Sheri Wilner follow their play.


 

Dearly Departed, Two Comedies

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Two short plays. In Milton Bradley by Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me host Peter Sagal; a flummoxed Rabbi has to eulogize a mother whose son has only terrible things to say about her. In Goodbye, Howard, three batty sisters make a mortifying mistake. Interview with Peter Sagal and cast members Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen and Scott Sowers.

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Two short plays. In Milton Bradley by "Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me" host Peter Sagal; a flummoxed Rabbi has to eulogize a mother whose son has only terrible things to say about her. In Goodbye, Howardthree North Carolinian sisters in a total tizzy about their esteemed 85-year-old kid brother's imminent death, avoid an embarrassment worse than death. Milton Bradley by Peter Sagal with Bob Balaban and Michael Stuhlbarg (“Boardwalk Empire”) and Good-bye, Howard by Romulus Linney (Obie, National Critics Award) with T. Cat Ford, Jacob Callie Moore, Lois Smith (2 time Obie Award winner, 2 time Oscar nominee), Frances Sternhagen (2x Tony), Dana Ivey (5x Tony nom) and Scott Sowers. Interview with Peter Sagal and cast members Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen and Scott Sowers.


Two Holidays and a Blizzard

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Three short plays. The Blizzard, a mystery thriller, features Jesse Eisenberg as a snowed-in screenwriter facing unexpected guests. In The Miracle of Chanukah, a holiday guest’s personal miracle throws a family for a loop. In Christmas Breaks, a guy dumps a girl but presents a substitute. Interview with David Ives, John Rando and The Blizzard cast; Sheri Wilner and The Miracle of Chanukah cast and the cast of Christmas Breaks.

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Three short plays. The Blizzard, a chilly thriller, features Jesse Eisenberg as a snowed-in screenwriter facing unexpected guests. In The Miracle of Chanukah, a holiday guest’s personal miracle throws a family for a loop. In Christmas Breaks, a young man surprises his girlfriend with some curve ball gifts. The Blizzard is written by David Ives (Venus in Fur), directed by John Rando (Tony) with Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Alfredo Narciso, Heidi Schreck and Sarah Sokolovic ("Homeland"). Miracle of Chanukah is by Sheri Wilner and features Zach Appelman, Peter Friedman, Judy Gold (Emmy), Marcia Jean Kurtz, Lisa Joyce. Christmas Breaks is by Patrick Gabridge and features Zach Appelman, Steven Boyer (Hand to God, "The Trail"), and Halley Feiffer ("Bored to Death").  Interview with David Ives, John Rando and The Blizzard cast; Sheri Wilner and The Miracle of Chanukah cast and the cast of Christmas Breaks.

Tying the Knot, Or Not

From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00

Two short plays. An impending 50th birthday party sets off calamity over coffee and Kindles for Tony Award-winners Bill Irwin and Julie White in Open Arms. Oscar winner Chris Cooper and Emmy winner Margo Martindale star in Bite the Hand. A young woman ‘of ill repute” is grabbing a chance at marriage when a client shows up with some jaw dropping news. Interview for Open Arms with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, director John Rando, Bill Irwin and Julie White; and for Bite the Hand with Ara Watson, Chris Cooper and Margo Martindale.

Chriscooperheadshot_small

Two short plays. An impending 50th birthday party sets off calamity over coffee and Kindles for Tony Award-winners Bill Irwin and Julie White in Open Arms. In Bite the Hand, a young woman ‘of ill repute' is grabbing a chance at marriage when a client shows up with some jaw-dropping news. Oscar-winner Chris Cooper, Emmy-winner Margo Martindale and Broadway's Liv Rooth (Venus in Fur) star in Bite the Hand, Ara Watson's potent classic, directed by Tony-winner Doug Hughes. Open Arms by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros (Pulitzer Finalist) is directed by John Rando (Tony) and stars Bill Irwin (Tony) and Julie White (Tony). Bite the Hand by Ara Watson is directed by Doug Hughes (Tony) and stars Chris Cooper (Oscar), Margo Martindale (Emmy) and Liv Rooth. Interview for Open Arms with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, director John Rando, Bill Irwin and Julie White; and for Bite the Hand with Ara Watson, Chris Cooper and Margo Martindale.

False Ending

From The Truth | 17:44

A satire within an enigma within a film within a radio story.

This is part of a larger series called The Truth.

Playing
False Ending
From
The Truth

False_ending_v2_small This story takes place at a Q & A for a film called "False Ending." It's a postmodern satire of film theory, recorded live at NYC Podfest 2013.

Performed by Ed Herbstman, Louis Kornfeld, Chet Siegel, Christian Paluck, Kerry Kastin, Kelly Buttermore, Matt Weir, and Sebastian Conelli.
Special thanks to Jermey Wein, who organized NYC Podfest 2013.
Thanks also to Michael Montalbano for technical assistance.
Very special thanks to Kerry Kastin for her help in organizing this show.
To learn more about our podcast you can visit our website: thetruthapm.com
You can also follow us on twitter, @thetruthapm

Produced by Jonathan Mitchell.
The Truth is co-produced by Kerrie Hillman.
Our production advisor is Peter Clowney.

Tape Delay

From The Truth | 14:15

The recording doesn't lie.

This is part of a larger series called The Truth.

Playing
Tape Delay
From
The Truth

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A story about a man who makes an unexpected discovery when he accidentally records a phone call.

Ed Herbstman as Ben

Tami Sagher as Erica

Libby Geroge as Mom

Christian Paluck as the Bartender

Produced & directed by Jonathan Mitchell

Written by Jonathan Mitchell, Ed Herbstman, and Melanie Hoopes

Editors: Ira Glass, Peter Clowney, Kerrie Hillman, Lisa Pollack, and Jonathan Menjivar

Recorded at WNYC, Magnet Theater, and on location in New York City

Originally produced for This American Life

Everybody SCREAM!!!

From The Truth | 10:32

Spin class gets personal.

This is part of a larger series called The Truth.

Disco_ball_purple_small On this episode of The Truth, we're going to spin class. Warm up that saddle and pick up the pace, as we go inside the imaginations of two very competitive women.

Chet Siegel as Sam
Emily Tarver as Lisa
Ed Herbstman as Kirk
Produced by Jonathan Mitchell
written collaboratively by The Truth, from a story by Chet Siegel

Special thanks: Peter Clowney, Kerrie Hillman, Madeline Sparer and Chris Bannon. Recorded at WNYC and on location in New York City

L.A. Theatre Works (Series)

Produced by L.A. Theatre Works

Listeners across the country are discovering L.A. Theatre Works’ National Broadcast Series, which brings you contemporary, edgy and significant radio drama by acclaimed playwrights starring top name talent.

Most recent piece in this series:

Incident at Vichy/The Case of J. Robert Oppenheimer

From L.A. Theatre Works | Part of the L.A. Theatre Works series | 01:58:02

Incident_at_vichy_cover_art_small In hour one, nine men are detained under a shadowy pretext in 1942 Vichy, France. As the tension builds, the men are questioned – are they the sort of people whom the new Nazi regime considers "inferior?" Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy  stars Arye Gross, Gregory Itzin, Armin Shimerman and a full cast. 

In hour two, a docudrama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, complete with real-life commentary and re-enacted courtroom scenes, starring John de Lancie in the title role: In the Name of Security: The Case of J. Robert Oppenheimer.  A co-production with the BBC.