Rose Petals and Ashes at Santa Monica Playhouse

ROSE PETALS AND ASHES (formerly "The Brick") is one man's adventure through baseball, cockfighting, Russian Soldiers, The Berlin Wall, alcoholism, drug addiction, stealing Steve Martin, attempted murder, actual murder, mint & chip ice cream, mother and son, heaven and hell, three nuns, two crows, one guitar and finally, redemption. Featuring 10 original songs.
The BFF aka The BINGE Fringe Festival of Free Theatre - the annual Santa Monica Fringe Festival - features artists, companies and performances by Santa Monica and Los Angeles based artists. All #BFF shows are free.
"A tremendously moving show, disguised as an evening of comic songs. the burdens of childhood, how one moves forward with an emotionally absent parent, the struggle to assemble the broken pieces through art; all this plus the sensibility of the great music/comics: Stan Freberg, Dave Frishberg, Tom Lehrer, The transparent, soul-baring book mixed in with the elegantly-crafted and laugh-out-loud music create an evening that provides everything you'd want in an evening of theater, pared down to its essence. Immediate and long-lasting Standing Ovation the night I went. Impossible to recommend this strongly enough." Better Lemons.com

"As an actor, Berry is naturally open and vulnerable. As a musician, he flies. At this performance, the audience was so acutely tuned to his energy I don't even think they realized they were singing softly along with him on "Two Crows," a haunting song about the wisdom of age. That kind of organic connection is something that cannot be manufactured and I found it to be incredibly powerful. It helps that he knows how to write a song with a hook that stays with you even after you've left the theater. You'd be crazy to miss it the next time he presents it in LA. " Broadway World.com

For adults and children 14 and up.

Written and performed by Bill Berry. Directed by Kelly DeSarla.

Called the “Quentin Tarantino of Folk Music”, snazzy, sketchy, sharp-witted singer/songwriter Bill Berry writes story songs which cheerfully celebrate the car wreck lifestyles of those fumbling with love’s ruins and lighting small fires on big castaway islands of hope. Bill’s latest album Awkward Stage ( "an instant classic!" - Blitz Magazine) recently contended for the Best Comedy Album Grammy. Bill’s songs have been featured on Conan, Samantha Bee and Dr. Demento. This is his fourth play.

Kelly DeSarla made her directorial debut at the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival with The Brick. Her performance in Henry Jaglom’s “Train to Zakopané” won Kelly a 2014 Last Straw Award. She can be seen as a series regular in the soon to be released virtual reality series, “Defrost,” directed by Randal Kleiser, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Kelly is a trained classical flutist and performs regularly in Harriet Schock’s band.

Presented by The BINGE Fringe Festival of Free Theatre. All tickets to BFF events are FREE - click on the show icon on the webpage.