"Opening Doors re-opens doors to our memories that never are shut very tight (no matter how hard we may try) with Is There Life After High School?  Appropriately, Opening Doors also opens wounds that accompany those recollections of those character-forming days for us all.  As characters looking back with vivid recall or wistfulness, the emotions are in the committed ensemble cast's every glance, stance, reaction and passionately sung lyric.  This nuanced and thoughtful production exploring the years after the yearbooks and homework is a textbook example of acting while singing and making individual moments and words count.  The kaleidoscope of snapshots snaps us back to our own past.  As of one Craig Carnelia's precise and potent songs states, "All it takes is the slam of a locker."  Ever a part of us, like a tattoo, we are marked by what we said, shoulda said, was said to us back then.  Come for the catharsis and closure, have the humor and hope that come with hindsight as a bonus, or just come prepared to be impressed and entertained by the huge amount of talent on the tiny stage.  Slickness would be anathema to anyone involved.  Attending is a welcome "assignment." - Rob Lester, Cabaret Scenes

"As Opening Doors Theatre Company revives Is There Life After High School? on a teeny stage at the Duplex, [it] does turn out to have more charm and immediacy than might have been found [in its original Broadway run] at the Barrymore [Theatre].

As a showcase for fresh talent, much of which looks like it hasn't been out of high school all that long, it does the job. Heather Jane Rolff doesn't just sing "Diary of a Homecoming Queen" in excellent voice; she really acts it, building the regret of a popular schoolgirl turned faded housewife to a shattering climax. Doug Chitel portrays a working-class punch-drunk kid so convincingly that I refuse to believe it's not his actual persona. Austin Ku invests "High School All Over Again" with an eloquent frustration that every kid who wasn't one of the in kids will identify with vividly. And Marcie Henderson—well, she's a star waiting to happen.
- Marc Miller, Backstage

"The score is full of wonders, and the richly talented cast performs it expertly. This is truly musical comedy, a now extinct species, and it is a marvel to me that you can find performers who can still do it. Spencer Plachy, who plays a former stockbroker who has mastered the art of living hand to mouth, has a virile charm and vocal suaveness he shows to great advantage both in the funny numbers and the incredibly beautiful, 'How Do You Describe a Face?' As the object of his affection, a wily reporter, Erin Cronican is enormously winning, excelling in 'Once in a Lifetime" and "I Said It and I'm Glad.'

'Subways' may be one of the last musicals in which a serious romance is paralleled by a comic couple. Scott McLean Harrison handles a role written for Orson Bean with splendid archness and irrepressible brio. In the role Phyllis Newman originated Lexi Windsor shows great comic range. All the other parts are performed by Lee Cavellier, Gregory W. Knotts and Erin McCracken. There are only three of them but they fill the stage with infectious gusto. Director Hector Coris and choreographer Diego Funes have both brought inventiveness to the show. Musical director Ted Kociolek makes the score sound vigorous and fresh, full of unexpected riches.

As this amazing production shows, classical musical theater -- the art that lured so many of us to New York -- is alive and kicking. Bravo!" - Howard Kissel, NY Daily News

"A tiny stage can pack a lot of pizzazz. That's what Diego Funes, choreographer for Subways Are For Sleeping, discovered opening night. His talented cast filled the Duplex Theater with unrestrained energy."
- Gianella Garrett, Dance Spirit Magazine

"I salute Opening Doors' enthusiasm. Spencer Plachy as Tom has an unforced charm and sings attractively. He definitely gets the style. As Angie, Erin Cronican is nicely vulnerable and connects well with her lyrics. Director Hector Coris keeps the pace fast on the tiny Duplex stage. Special praise goes to Ted Kociolek's excellent musical direction and piano playing." - Erik Haagensen, Backstage

"Subways Are For Sleeping was put on awhile ago by the always reliable Opening Doors Theater Company. In these hard economic times it's hard to imagine this Jules Styne, Comden and Green Musical was written in 1961 because it is so relevant. Despite the small stage at the Duplex, Diego Funes managed to choreograph some exquisite numbers and Hector Coris directed with flair and aplomb. This show will leave you awake and singing. Major Happy Face!" - Hi Drama!

REVIEWS FOR "FADE OUT, FADE IN"

"As presented by Opening Doors Theatre Company - those greasepaint-in-their-veins kids who have quickly established themselves as a valuable part of New York's musical theatre scene by mounting clever and energetic and pocket-sized productions of rarely seen shows like Bring Back Birdie and The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public - Fade Out-Fade In is a funny and delightful charmer that bubbles over with that Comden and Green sense of fun and the Broadway pizzazz of Jule Style. 

Sarah Lilley, a spunky ingénue type with a silly side can deliver energetic tunes like "It's Good To Be Back Home" and the mock-seduction, "Call Me Savage," with a startlingly strong mezzo belt.

As self-centered matinee idol Byron Prong, Rob Ventre hilariously oozes cheap charisma and puts his rich baritone to good use in the comic gem, "My Fortune Is My Face."  Warren Freeman sings and acts with geeky appeal as the film exec who falls for Hope's wholesome attractiveness and Hector Coris is a blustery hoot as the bombastic producer who fears that one of his executives (all of whom are his nephews) is out to take over his studio.

Lawrence Street nails Comden and Green's most critically satirical scene, playing a role based on film actor Lincoln Perry (a/k/a Stepin Fetchet), a professional, well-spoken black man who was regulated to playing comic stereotypes of his race.  Later on he and Lilley provide the evening's song and dance showstopper, spoofing Shirley Temple and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the mock-optimistic "You Mustn't Be Discouraged," which reminds us that whenever you think you've hit the bottom, "there's always one step further down you can go."

There are fun performances all throughout the cast, including Sarah Cooney as a painfully droll gossip columnist, Jean McCormick as a sex-obsessed Viennese psychiatrist, Lexi Windsor as an air-headed sexpot starlet-to-be, Brian DeCaluwe as a smarmy executive and Patrick John Moran as his spineless colleague.

Choreographer Christine Schwalenberg has little room to work with, but she and director Adams keep the funny visuals coming at a bright and peppy pace.  Fade Out-Fade In is one of those shows that musical theatre geeks just love.  And if you're not one already, the enthusiastic joy that propels the Opening Doors production just might make a musical theatre geek out of you."
- Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld.com

REVIEWS FOR "GOLDILOCKS"

"Daniel Haley directs this knock-out cast that would knock your socks off and once again Opening Doors knocks one out of the park."- Eva Heinemann, Hi! Drama

"GOLDILOCKS IS A DELIGHT ! The cast is totally winning. In their hands, so is Goldilocks."
- Howard Kissell, Daily News

"A FUN NIGHT OUT! This production features four songs cut before the Broadway opening. Though none of them are lost gems, they all receive fine deliveries from Jennifer Teska, Rachael Lee and Lee Cavellier.  Teska puts in an adorable turn as the cutesy girl-next-door crushing on the director and Andrew McLeavey is very funny as the overly noble fiancé of the reluctant star.  Ryan Hallett, Clare Chihambakwe and Rachel Louise Thomas make up the rest of the charming ensemble, led by music director/accompanist Jessica Stewart. With enjoyable productions of great titles like Bring Back Birdie, Whoop-Up and The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public already under their belts, musical theatre lovers are bound to be delighted with their choices." - Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld

REVIEWS FOR "THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE GOES PUBLIC "

"A FAST AND FUNNY, SOLID CHARMER! Brooke Jacob's deep tones and talent for clear, attractive riffs beautifully enhance the score's hidden gem of a ballad, "Picture Show," where Mona traces her life's ups and downs. Brett Rigby's role - which he does very well - gets to show off some belty pipes in a nightclubbish solo, "A Change In Me." Burley comic Brian Tom O'Connor is great fun. A trio of divine-looking honeys (Dana Barathy, Rebecca Greenberg and Lexi Windsor) plays the brothel's star attractions with humor and sex-appeal while Jason B. Schmidt and Justin Jones camp it up grandly as the evil IRS director and his assistant.  Rachel Louise Thomas is earnestly perky as the government official trying to get the whorehouse back on its feet… so to speak… and Bryce Bermingham shines in various small roles.

The unamplified vocals of the whole company sound strong and clear under music director Michael Lavine, who's on stage at piano.  One of the amazing things about the Opening Doors Company is their ability to stage full-out presentations with large casts without crowding the small Duplex stage.  Director Hector Coris and choreographer Dana Boll deliver a swift, fully entertaining production."
- Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld.com READ FULL REVIEW

"JUST WATCHING THE EXUBERANT AND YOUTHFUL CAST BRINGING OUT THE JUICE AND THE JOY IS A JOY IN ITSELF. Making zingy lemonade out of what Broadway critics once found to be lemons, Opening Doors has proven itself with what is now a habitual way of putting a left-for-dead body’s best foot forward and making it dance.  Keeping what’s best and winking with a forgiving eye at the rest, the company embraces musicals that aren’t classics but bring them some class.  Finding some treasures in the Broadway junk heap is more than just blithely optimistic recycling, it’s a fresh look with rewarding results.  This second look at the second look at a musical whorehouse (yes, a Broadway sequel) looks great.  Thanks to a talented cast that has zip and zing, it’s lighthearted fun and well worth the re-visit.  With a truncated book, savvy director Hector Coris gets the broad strokes and the broad humor for the Broadway style broads, businessman, and buffoons working for the government.  Nutty rather than smutty or slutty, a little tacky and more than a little wacky, it’s kind of adorable and the small scale production brings out the charm factor.  With Michael Lavine’s solid musical direction/ piano accompaniment, the whore score sure does soar.   The group makes the musical play into a playground and just makes a merry, mad game of the story and the tale of troublesome taxes never becomes troubling or taxing for the audience.  But if the I.R.S. puts a tax on smiles and laughs, this would be an expensive night out. It’s a sure-as-shootin’, rootin’, tootin’, non-high-fallutin’, prostitutin’, hoot’nin’, hollerin’ good time!
- Rob Lester, Cabaret Exchange

REVIEWS FOR "FLORA THE RED MENACE "

"Fitting nine actors and a piano on the cabaret stage of The Duplex (which has only one backstage entrance/exit) is not easy feat but director Suzanne Adams and choreographer Christine Schwalenberg keep the proceedings crisp and peppy.  The strong-singing (Ray Baily is music director), enthusiastic cast is a pleasure from top to bottom.  Desiree Davar and Francis Kelly are endearingly quirky as the wide-eyed, idealistic Flora and her stuttering, Communist activist boyfriend, Harry.  Alison Renee Foster has plenty of pizzazz as the femme fatal rabble-rouser, Charlotte, while Erin West and Kevin Michael Murphy are perfectly charming as a young tap-dancing couple.  Andrew Lebon, Jillian Prefach, Buzz Roddy and Kevin Z. Wanzor are all enjoyable in their various roles."
- Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld.com

"Director Suzanne Adams and choreographer Christine Schwalenberg turned a tiny stage into a show stopping, feet tapping, razzle dazzle delight. I just wish I'd discovered these talented people sooner!
If you ever see Opening Doors, go catch it". - Eva Heinemann, Hi! Drama