Review: “Penny Slots” by Open Door Playhouse

“Penny Slots”, written and directed by Kim Hlavac, is a fifteen-minute audio play that follows a group of retired women in Florida as they venture out to the local casino enjoying retirement and accidentally getting on the front page of the local paper in the process…twice.  And all in all was very enjoyable.

The story seemed as though it would lend itself better to an episodic series rather than a single story fifteen-minute play. The characters were incredibly strong and had vibrant and differing personalities but the two stories we got felt rushed because they were both competing to fit into a fifteen-minute time frame. I would have loved to see the casino story stretched out longer maybe more happened before the robber got there? Maybe it took longer to subdue him?

And I don’t know if it was just me, but I was incredibly fascinated by what his backstory was. When the crime was going wrong he said “My mom’s gonna kill me.” I don’t know if it was intentional, but I immediately wondered “Why was his mom making him rob this casino?” Maybe that’s just my imagination going too far, but it stuck out for sure. The unexpected personality of this character was so charming that I just wanted that conversation to go on longer. It was a lovely contrast of the unexpected, between the tough older women and the shy nervous robber. If this became a series I would love to see this character again in some way. And while the beach scene didn’t take as much time as the other, I would still like to hear a full fifteen minutes of how these ladies would interact with other beachgoers.

The three women in the leading roles were very entertaining. I don’t know if these scenes were recorded with everyone in the same room or not but if they weren’t you can barely tell. The way they play off of each other in both the writing and the acting is very entertaining to listen to. All the more reason why I want more episodes with the two of them.  The writing by Hlavac gave these actors plenty to work with as they all exchanged witty banter after witty banter.

While “Penny Slots” definitely doesn’t feel like a short play with its two very quick stories, I did find myself enjoying it and laughing out loud at many moments. These characters are the kind of people that could be placed in any scenario and make it entertaining. I hope to see them pop up in more places soon.

“Penny Slots” was produced by Open Door Playhouse and can be listened to here: https://www.opendoorplayhouse.org/plays/theater5-akkcx-z9ttj-n8ebp-2mea4-ef46w-5nyca-d7x92-e7gcg-a9rdx-3rf66-3frrx-495k6-h4mjj-42n6d-pbcrw-tekwc-mz7x4-5cn7l-d9ckj-8r3kz-9hz7f-xclnb

It was written and directed by Kim Hlavac.

It featured: Goreti da Silva, Carol Goldman, Marla Cotovsky, and Amir Abdullah

With sound editor, Hall Cantrell