Open-Door Playhouse

Send us Fan Mail The inevitable part of life, losing someone we love. How much time off from work is fair and just? What happens when the law dictates your allowable grieving time, what are your rights? Law vs human emotion. Which would you decide? Listen in to hear what transpires between an employee and her boss. Will sympathy prevail?" Kim Hlavac directs Goreti da Silva as Tara and Kim Hla...

Send us Fan Mail Three friends open Christmas crackers at a holiday party. Two contain the usual paper crowns and bad jokes. The third contains something that's absolutely terrifying. Bernadette Armstrong directs a cast that includes Noelle Evangelista, Matt Foyer, Cynthia Gravinese Brown, Kevin Carr, and Gilbert Glenn Brown . John Leslie is the playwright. He is a Los Angeles-based actor and...

Send us Fan Mail A worm tries to convince a fish to eat something else so that they don’t end up becoming a fisherman’s meal. Kim Hlavac directs Sue Gisser and Jeff S.S. Johnson . Matthew Moore is the playwright. With a career spanning over fifteen years, Moore has accumulated numerous awards for his work. Exceptionally prolific, Moore’s many previous plays include Bereavement Days, Superman and t...

Send us Fan Mail Foster and Jackson are trudging along in the desert on the hot sands, the sun beating down on them. Foster brags about his Texas chili, while Jackson praises his wife’s red beans and rice. How did the two of them end up in the desert in the first place? Gary Lamb directs Peter Bonoff and David Purdham . Robert Nersesian is the playwright. The Washington, D.C.-based writer is the r...

Send us Fan Mail A man is haunted by his past when he tries to reunite with an old flame. Gary Lamb directs Elaine Mello as Liz and Michael Fletcher as John. Mark SaFranko is the playwright. The New Jersey-based writer is the author of four novels and over fifty published short stories. His previous plays include T he Bitch-Goddess, Incident in the Combat Zone, Interrogation #2, Raw Connections, T...

Send us Fan Mail A young woman impulsively goes on a retreat----but it’s not exactly what she had in mind. Rachel Berney Needleman directs Tiana Randall-Quant as Killi and Gita Redd as Suna. Rachel Berney Needleman directs Tiana Randall-Quant as Killi and Gita Reddy as Suna. Allie Costa is the playwright. She is an actor, writer, director, and singer working in film, TV, theatre, and voiceover. He...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Founded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse is a Theater Podcast- like the radio dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. The Playhouse launched on September 15, 2020. At the time, Open-Door Playhouse provided Playwrights, Actors and Directors a creative outlet during the shutdown. Since its inception. Open-Door Playhouse has presented Shor...

Send us Fan Mail Legendary actress, Joan Crawford awakes to finds herself in the Afterlife Bardo. As she adjusts to the fact that she has died she reflects on the ups and downs of her life and those that she left behind. All the while interacting with two guardians who will assist her transition into the universe that awaits her. Bernadette Armstrong directs Goreti da Silva as Joan, Crawford, Glor...

Send us Fan Mail October 31 is, of course, Halloween, and Brody and the Dark and Stormy Night is certainly appropriate for the season. Brody has recently had his heart broken. He goes to a Halloween party and sees his ex with a new boyfriend. Brody steps onto a balcony where he is ultimately joined by a stranger who takes an interest in him. Perhaps Brody’s luck is about to change. However, it is...

Send us Fan Mail October is, of course, the month of Halloween, and Monsters Anonymous is certainly appropriate for the season. Dracula wants to be a better monster and feels guilty for his past killings. Determined to stop, he struggles with his addiction to human blood, despite being able to survive on animal blood. He joins Monsters Anonymous (MA), posing as an alcoholic, and meets other monste...

Send us Fan Mail October is, of course, the month of Halloween, and Face Dancers is certainly appropriate for the season. Suzy is trying to get home but is being pursued by a threatening, nameless creature as she runs down the street. She begs entry at one house and finds refuge for the moment as a schoolmate and his grandfather take her in. But the night is still young, and dawn is hours away. Wi...

Send us Fan Mail Denise and Matt believe they are the legal owners of the contents of an abandoned storage unit. Then along comes a big dude who begs to differ with their appraisal of their circumstances. Sometimes you just can’t make a deal. Kim Hlavac directs herself, Jeff LeBeau , and Keith Barber . Kim is also the playwright. A frequent contributor to Open-Door Playhouse as an actor, director,...

Send us Fan Mail On a dark and stormy night, a distraught young woman seeks the aid of a doctor to release her from the thrall of a deadly entity changing her into….something else. But her immortal Master has yet another, more powerful, unholy being under his control. What can the doctor do? Bernadette Armstrong directs Allan Wasserman, Elaine Mello, and Daaman Krall . Simon Bowler Khan is the pla...

Send us Fan Mail “The Suitcase involves a married couple coming to a major decision about their life together. It has a serious theme with a surprise ending that no one sees coming.” Miranda Stewart directs actors Anne Cooper and David Purdham . Stuart Brown is the playwright. A prolific author of short plays, his works have been presented in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and Con...

Send us Fan Mail Set in 1863, just after the Emancipation Proclamation, Chess Master tells the story of a confrontation between a defiant plantation owner and a newly freed slave. The owner, desperately clinging to the old order, attempts to coerce his former servant into staying on as an unpaid laborer---a potent allegory for the continuing struggle to create a truly free society. The cast includ...

Send us Fan Mail Astrid meets Paolo for the first time in almost a year after breaking up. He has convinced her to meet his “new self” at a men’s clothing store. When he makes his reveal, she has difficulty adjusting to what he now looks like. The ghost of his former self arrives, and both react intermittently. The cast includes Ivy Jane and Matthew Scott Montgomery. Bernadette Armstrong directs....

Send us Fan Mail This new comedic play begins with three women and forty-four cats. Simple enough ingredients with which to launch a narrative, yes? Not so fast…. The cast includes Reyna Stephanie, Joyce Hananel, and Zelda Kimble. Yunyi Zhu directs. James C. Ferguson is the playwright. The Massachusetts-based writer is the prolific author of a number of short plays, including OMG, Don’t Jump the G...

Send us Fan Mail A man dies and must decide whether to accept the finality of his death or choose to be reborn and give it another go. Was his one life enough or should he roll the dice and try again? The cast includes Kim Hlavac and Dennis Gersten. Kim Hlavac directs. Mark Saunders is the playwright. Based in Portland, Oregon, he is a prolific writer of short plays. His full-length works include...

Send us Fan Mail  In the chilly streets of New York, a disillusioned young man is troubled by his recent work as a death doula, prompting him to ponder life's deeper questions. One night, he encounters Chloe, who appears to be on the brink of personal turmoil. Observing her spiral into alcoholism, Ben intervenes and brings her to his apartment. What starts as a promising evening of connection...

Send us Fan Mail Present-day actors rehearsing the roles of Richard III and Queen Margaret are interrupted by the arrival of the real Richard III and Philippa Langley, the British writer and ; producer who played a pivotal role in finding the bones of Richard in 2012. Now, Philippa and Richard are intent on rescuing his reputation. Gary Lamb directs Billy Mendieta, Kevin Carr, Joanne McGee, and Ca...

Send us Fan Mail Two fellows encounter each other at a party. One insists they have recently been lovers. The other denies anything of the kind, to the irritation of the other man. The story has a conclusion that you won’t see coming. Matt Ritchey directs Matthew Scott Montgomery and Kevin Phan. F.J. Hartland is the playwright. Based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he is the recipient of an M.F.A. fro...

Send us Fan Mail An older gentleman invites a younger man to his apartment for dinner. As the meal progresses the two discuss the difficulties that each generation has delt with over the years; each contending that their generations has endured the harshest difficulties. As the conversation between the two fades, they acknowledge their similarities and the evening takes on a more personal tone. Ga...

Send us Fan Mail Ethan wants to be a good son and a good caregiver to his forgetful mother. Not everything is how it seems, however, in this narrative which has an unexpected twist ending worthy of O. Henry. Miranda Stewart directs Carol Goldman, Noelle Evangelisti , and Omari Williams. F.J. Hartland is the playwright. Based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he is the recipient of an M.F.A. from Carnegi...

Send us Fan Mail Lizzy is nine months pregnant and is due to give birth on Mother’s Day. Lizzy wants to name the new baby Mildred, after trailblazing scientist Mildred Dresselhaus, who was known as The Queen of Carbon. Lizzy’s husband Danny has other ideas. Rachel Berney Needleman directs Gloria Tsai and Felipe Figueroa . Bara Swain is the playwright. The exceptionally prolific Greenwich Village-b...

Send us Fan Mail Ellie’s a recent college graduate. She often perceives thing differently from her mother, Janet. What Janet reveals about Ellie’s recently deceased dad will profoundly affect Ellie’s understanding of things. Bernadette Armstrong directs Camille Ameen and Elaine Mello . Bara Swain i s the playwright. The exceptionally prolific Greenwich Village-based writer has created numerous pla...