Kyle Smith News

Pear Theatre, always a champion of new plays by local playwrights, has upgraded its play development series and premieres "Fresh Produce," a weekend presentation of staged readings, from July 20 to 21. An annual event, "Fresh Produce" will this year feature three plays under development from members of the Pear Playwrights Guild: "Terms of Use" by Patrick Brennan, "Dr. Rowan, the Demon, and Love" by Carol Wolf, and "Confession" by Barry Slater. "Fresh Produce" will offer one reading on Friday evening, and two on Saturday afternoon. All readings are held at the Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida St., Mountain View. Tickets ($10 per reading, or $25 for all three) can be purchased by visiting www.thepear.org or calling (650) 254-1148.

Richmond Triangle Players concludes its 25th Anniversary Season with one of the most acclaimed musicals of the 20th century, A Chorus Line. This landmark work, with a cast comprised of performers from up and down the East Coast, opens Today, June 8, 2018 at 8 pm, following a two low-priced previews on Wednesday and Thursday June 6 and 7 at 8 pm. 

Richmond Triangle Players concludes its 25th Anniversary Season with one of the most acclaimed musicals of the 20th century, A Chorus Line. This landmark work, with a cast comprised of performers from up and down the East Coast, opens Friday, June 8, 2018 at 8 pm, following a two low-priced previews on Wednesday and Thursday June 6 and 7 at 8 pm. 

 Spring is in the air - and for Pear Theatre patrons, that means "Pear Slices," a collection of original, short plays from the members of the Pear Playwrights Guild. Now in its fifteenth year, Pear Slices presents fifteen-minute vignettes: a stunning variety of stories, settings, and plot twists occupy the Pear Theatre stage, penned by local playwrights and brought to life with a single cast of highly versatile, local actors. "Pear Slices 2018," directed by Robyn Ginsburg Braverman and Troy Johnson, previews on May 3, with press and Opening Night on Friday, May 4, followed by a champagne gala. The show runs Thursdays through Sundays through May 20. All performances are held at the Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida St., Mountain View. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.thepear.org or calling (650) 254-1148.

Emerging Artists Theatre celebrates its 25th Anniversary by presenting their 20th Annual New Work Series (NWS). Under the direction of Artistic Director, Paul Adam's, the festival runs February 26 through March 18 at TADA Theatre in Chelsea.

Spring is in the air - and for Pear Theatre patrons, that means PEAR SLICES, a collection of original, short plays from the members of the Pear Playwrights Guild. In fifteen-minute vignettes, a stunning variety of stories, settings, and plot twists occupy the Pear Theatre stage, penned by local playwrights and brought to life with a single cast of highly versatile, local actors. This annual short play showcase has become a favorite among Pear audiences and never fails to amuse, intrigue, and inspire. Troy Johnson and Robyn Ginsburg Braverman direct.

The very title of THE FIGHT encourages us to imagine the rivalry between Phyllis Feinberg (Fleur Alys Dobbins) and Doris Marguiles (Judith Hawking)--obviously fictional names for Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan---in pugilistic terms.Deftly directed by Peter Dobbins, artistic director for the Storm Theater Company (which is currently in its twentieth season), Leaf's meticulously researched play explores the ideological and personal conflicts within Second Wave feminism, taking the 1973 meeting of the National Woman's Caucus in Houston as its dramatic focal point. Like his last work, Deconstruction, THE FIGHT is part-mystery and part-intellectual history. Profiled as an 'up and coming playwright' and compared to Saul Bellow in Timeout New York, Leaf's signature is the sustained, careful exposition of concepts and characters through sharp, witty, realistic dialogue. One thinks of George Eliot's line in Daniel Deronda's Book II: 'The moment of finding a fellow-creature is often as full of mingled doubt and exultation as the moment of finding an idea.' Leaf's plays are cerebral yet full of emotion, 'mingl ing ' ideas with with their messy human manifestations in ways Eliot, an irreducibly philosophical novelist, would approve.

The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, directed by Oskar Eustis, is in performances now and runs through Sunday, June 18. See the critics reaction below!

The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, directed by Oskar Eustis, is in performances now and runs through Sunday, June 18. See the critics reaction below!

From the director of The Ring comes this psychological thriller and 'fantastically creepy experience' (Kyle Smith, New York Post) about an ambitious young executive sent to retrieve his company's CEO from a remote and mysterious 'wellness center.' When he begins to unravel the retreat's terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests there longing for the cure.

Over halfway through DECONSTRUCTION, Jonathan Leaf's remarkable play about Paul De Man, Mary McCarthy (Fleur Alys Dobbins) tells Hannah Arendt (Karoline Fischer) that she sees no morality 'worthy of the name' in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. 'There's a need to find authenticity,' McCarthy concedes, 'But it seems to me that you can be genuinely and perfectly evil.' However one feels about deconstruction as a method of reading--I happen to be a fan--we should all agree that De Man was a bad guy: a thoroughgoing liar, a bigamist, a swindler, a manipulator, and the author of some 200 pieces for the Nazi publication in Belgium, Le Soir. I've lingered over this literary-historical context (ironic, given that deconstruction deemphasizes extra-textual material, including authorial intent) because while Leaf's play works beautifully as a story about the (alleged) affair between De Man and McCarthy, the play's real triumph is how deftly it evokes the intellectual minefields on which these personal relationships developed. DECONSTRUCTION is far better, to say nothing of smarter, than most of the ideologically-driven caricatures of the play suggest. This is all the more remarkable given the play runs a mere 75 minutes.

Pear Theatre continues its season with its annual showcase of original short plays by members of the Pear Playwrights Guild. From Anasazi to Aboriginals, private detectives to proposals, this year's crop of plays promises to engage, delight, and inspire. All eight plays will be performed in the same evening, with a cast of seven actors performing all the roles. 'Pear Slices 2017,' directed by Troy Johnson and Robyn Ginsburg Braverman,previews on May 4.

Once on this Island is an adaptation of novelist Rosa Guy's My Love, My Love, which is in turn inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. The annual All-Ohio Show is one of the most exciting projects that the Ohio EdTA offers to Thespians in Ohio. Thirty-eight students from nineteen different high schools around Ohio are featured in this production.  The show rehearses over 3 long weekends before opening the State Thespian Conference. The All-Ohio show intends to provide participating students with the experience of working on an advanced level of theatrical production. Involvement in the All-Ohio show is a special honor for the participants and schools, as well as an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

OSCAR® Winner* 'Warren Beatty is back and better than ever' (Kyle Smith, New York Post) in this unconventional love story set in 1950s Hollywood when RULES DON'T APPLY arrives on Digital HD February 14 and on Blu-ray & DVD February 28.

OSCAR® Winner* 'Warren Beatty is back and better than ever' (Kyle Smith, New York Post) in this unconventional love story set in 1950s Hollywood when RULES DON'T APPLY arrives on Digital HD February 14 and on Blu-ray & DVD February 28.

Composers and performers from all of the signatories of the North American Free Trade Agreement are represented in a concert at Tenri Cultural Institute on March 13, 2017.

The cast of The Other Cinderella includes Mark J.P. Hood, best known as a finalist on The Voice Season 10, as the Prince, with Jessica Seals (Cinderella), Rhonda Preston (Stepmother), Melanie McCullough (Stepsister Geneva), Miciah Long (Stepsister Margarite), Kylah Frye (Fairygodmama), Dwight Neal (King), Shari Addison (Queen), Kyle Smith (Page), Brandon Lavell (Groundhog), Henri Slater (Peanut Butter),Trequon Tate (Attendant), and Paige Hauer (Dorothy).

Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor continue the 40th Anniversary Season (The Season of Greatest Hits) with the family-friendly, holiday favorite The Other Cinderella, written by Jackie Taylor and directed by Jackie Taylor and Rueben Echoles.

Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor continue the 40th Anniversary Season (The Season of Greatest Hits) with the family-friendly, holiday favorite The Other Cinderella, written by Jackie Taylor and directed by Jackie Taylor and Rueben Echoles.

Teddy Pendergrass was considered to be soul music's number one sex symbol in the '70s with songs like "Turn Off The Lights," "If You Don't Know Me By Now," and "Wake Up Everybody." He was on top of the world and at the height of his career in 1982 when a devastating car accident left him a quadriplegic. Teddy Pendergrass passed away in 2010 having lived with his challenge for 28 years. His story demonstrates that the greatness of the human spirit will never be defeated, no matter the challenges that we face in life.