Open-Door Playhouse Debuts BEETHOVEN AND MISFORTUNE COOKIES On February 28

Open-Door Playhouse continues to present plays in podcast form. As one of its shows for Black History Month, it is spotlighting and rereleasing one of its earliest podcast plays, Beethoven and Misfortune Cookies, beginning February 28 online at http://opendoorplayhouse.org

Beethoven and Misfortune Cookies is the true story of Kabin Thomas, a musician and, for eleven years, a Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas. The show begins with Thomas teaching a lesson about the struggles of Beethoven, the composer of mixed European and Moorish ancestry who coped with hearing loss in his later years and creating his Ninth Symphony while deaf.

Thomas later runs into trouble with the university authorities subsequent to his teaching a lesson about Abel Meeropol and his song made famous by Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit, about the lynching of Blacks in the Deep South. Thomas accompanies the lesson with a famous photograph of lynching victims.

Relieved of his teaching position, Thomas subsequently comes to Hollywood and is cast on a reality TV show. Becoming aware of his father's early demise related to mental illness, Thomas must overcome his own personal inner demons if he is to survive and attain any lasting measure of happiness.

Devereau Chumrau directs. Amir Abdullah stars.

Joni Ravenna is the playwright. A graduate of USC, her previous playwriting credits include A Brush With Fate, For Pete's Sake, The Green Grocer, Jack of Hearts, and "Sex, Love and the Premature Evacuation. She has also extensively written for television, notably music documentaries and a travel series.

Beethoven and Misfortune Cookies is one of several plays specifically curated by Open-Door Playhouse for presentation during Black History Month (February).

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://opendoorplayhouse.org

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