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In the short play Dress Blues, two young men, Christopher and Nicholas are partners in The Peak of Chic Boutique, a high-end clothing store on a fashionable street in Boston. A wealthy customer, Mrs. Simmons, wants to make a purchase, but her emotional distress makes things difficult. The middle-aged woman wants something that will make her look her absolute best, so that her husband won’t be distracted by the pretty young things in his office.  In addressing Mrs. Simmons’ concerns, Nicholas will have to come up with a resolution that gives new meaning to the term “retail therapy.”

 Open-Door Playhouse founder and artistic director Bernadette Armstrong directs a cast that includes Kim Hlavac, Matthew Scott Montgomery and Michael Fletcher.

            Donald Loftus is the playwright. His previous full-length plays include The Springvale Armadillo, Per, Driftwood, and The Archway. Based in New York, he sits on the Board of Directors of the Dramatists Guild Foundation 

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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 Short and One-Act plays from Playwrights across the country and internationally. In 2021 Open-Door Playhouse received a Communicator Award for Content for the Play Custody and in 2023 the play What’s Prison Like was nominated for a Webby Award in the Crime & Justice Category.

Plays are produced by Bernadette Armstrong, Sound Engineer is David Peters, sound effects are provided by Audio Jungle, and music from Karaoke Version. All plays are recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, CA.

There’s no paywall at the Open-Door Playhouse site, so you could listen to everything for free. Open-Door Playhouse is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and if you would like to support performances of works by new and emerging playwrights, your donation will be gratefully accepted. Your tax-deductible donations help keep our plays on the Podcast Stage. We strive to bring our listeners thoughtful and surprising one-act plays and ten-minute shorts that showcase insightful and new perspectives of the world we share with others. To listen or to donate (or both), go to https://opend...