Around the Sun, an episodic audio drama, created by Brad Forenza, has launched its first episodes via the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes premiere each week, throughout fall 2021. The series features an all-star cast, including winners/nominees of every major performance award (Drama Desk, Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy, Oscar, Screen Actors Guild, and Tony). It is available for streaming wherever you listen to podcasts (learn more at: BPN.FM/AroundTheSun).

Each self-contained episode of Around the Sun explores human connections, made and missed, with an existential New York flare. Whether consumed together or independently, the comedy, tragedy, and soul of Around the Sun embraces one character’s assertion that, “We’re never alone in New York… even if it feels like the opposite is often true.” The series was produced in quarantine, via remote technology.

“Around the Sun is a valentine to a city I love, and the transcendent themes that unite us,” says series creator Brad Forenza. “It’s also a celebration of possibility, created amidst the pandemic’s destruction.”

Four-time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl) concurs. “Amidst the great loss of the pandemic, there grows new life amidst the chaos. Around the Sun is one of many creations to emerge from the destruction. And if there is a message to Around the Sun, it’s that renewal is often closer than we think.” Mason stars opposite two-time Drama Desk winner Austin Pendleton (The Muppet Movie) in the first episode.

Others from the cast—like Grammy winner François Clemmons (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)—expanded upon Ms. Mason’s point. “When Brad Forenza invited me to portray the role of a NYC Marathoner, metaphorically running through each stage of life, we had never met,” notes Clemmons. “And still, there was something connecting us—a theme that recurs throughout the episodes.”

SAG Award winner, Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), who stars opposite Forenza in one of the episodes, offered similar praise for the series creator: “I love working with Brad Forenza on all his projects. He’s a great talent.”

Several actors offered episode-specific quips. “I had a lot of fun performing Upper West (episode #5), especially because I got to heatedly argue with my real life wife, Alysia Reiner, without repercussions,” notes David Alan Basche (The Exes).

Mr. Basche’s wife, Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black), agrees: “It was so fun trying to create the imaginary world just through sound- particularly the physical humor. Listen and see if you can hear us actually sparing, not just vocally!”

Around the Sun paired other real-life friends in scripted scenarios—friends like Maureen Van Zandt (The Sopranos) and Joanna Bonaro (Good ‘n Screwed). “I had a complete blast working on this project!” proclaims Ms. Van Zandt. “Brad is a wonderful writer/actor/director who I love collaborating with, and it’s an honor to work with an actor of Joanna’s caliber. She is simply a joy to partner with.”

“Working with Brad and Maureen- two people I consider to be exceptional talents- was a highly gratifying experience,” notes Ms. Bonaro. “Being able to be creative during the pandemic was an added bonus.”

“I loved performing in Off-Broadway (episode #3) with the radiant Lilli Cooper,” Veanne Cox (Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella) reflects. “The scene is obviously funny, but its dramatic overtones are even richer in the new ‘audio drama’ landscape.”

“It was a joy to work with the brilliant Veanne Cox, whose work I have admired for years,” Lilli Cooper (Tootsie) reciprocates. “Our poignant scene together in Around the Sun is like a tender track on a wonderfully eclectic mix-tape.”

Cast member David LaRosa (Clandestine) implicitly expands upon Ms. Cooper’s point: “In hearing the finished series, I’m particularly amazed at how well these episodes can play as self-contained pieces, or as part of a larger whole.”

“The economy of these vignettes only enhances their capacity to enlighten and entertain. Each scene is bursting with dramatic potential, and the folly of human conceits,” radio personality Christine Nagy (106.7 Lite FM) observes. “Apothecary (episode #6) unfolds in a shallow New York City storefront. Yet, like all good theater, the dramatic tension of the scene dives far below the surface.” (Apothecary co-stars BD Wong, current cast member of Nora from Queens)

In describing the theatricality of another dramatic episode (episode #4, Red Light), current cast member of Real Housewives of New Jersey, Dolores Catania, states that, “Brad brings a realistic tension to his writing, which is what makes his work compelling and accessible. There’s a lot of drama packed into these 10-minute slices of life.”

Around the Sun also offers listeners a healthy dose of comedy, including one starring two-time Emmy winner Sally Struthers (All in the Family). “I’m a big fan of Brad Forenza’s,” Struthers quips.

Ms. Struthers’ co-star, Ryan Wotherspoon (Fogg) recalled that, “Recording Subway Car (episode #2) was one of the most fun times I have ever had. Brad is so dang talented and was a joy to work with. And Sally is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.”