Tim Realbuto's YES Extends Off-Broadway at Manhatten Rep

Due to popular demand and an extremely positive critical and audience response, Tim Realbuto's two-person drama YES has extended its run at Off-Broadway's Manhattan Repertory Theatre. YES was scheduled to close at the midtown venue on December 3rd, but has added an encore performance on Tuesday, December 20th at 7:00 PM. The special holiday ticket price for the added performance is only $10.

Realbuto is most known for co-writing the musical Ghostlight alongside Matthew Martin and for touring his popular solo show Wunderkind.

YES, which received rave reviews earlier this year as part of the Venus/Adonis Festival at The Hudson Guild Theatre, made its world premiere in 2015 at the Emerging Artists Theatre in NYC. After that, Realbuto and team hit the road and took the show to Michigan where it played a successful, sold-out run at the Detroit Fringe Festival.

Realbuto, who was recently nominated for a 2016 Thespis Award for his play The Weak Ones (co-written with Matthew Martin), writes, directs and stars as Patrick Ness in YES. He is joined onstage by co-star Joe Blute (So You Wanna Be Cool) as Jeremiah Rosenhaft. Blute and Realbuto originated the roles and have played them in every incarnation. Two-time Drama Desk Award nominee Christina Bianco (Application Pending; Forbidden Broadway) provides the voice of the motivational speaker. Realbuto's long-time collaborator Matthew Martin provides the voice of the television show announcer.

According to press notes: "YES is a one-act, two-person drama about Patrick Ness (Realbuto), a fading star in his 30's who now teaches private acting lessons in NYC, and the relationship that forms with Jeremiah (Blute), his new teenage student that Patrick happened to see in a high school production of 'Romeo and Juliet'. What begins as an innocent acting lesson turns into a sick game of cat and mouse, resulting in mental torture, sexual advances, and perhaps the destruction of two (possibly) innocent people."

Paul Mitchell Wilder serves as the production stage manager and lighting designer, with fight choreography by Adele Rylands and hair and make-up design by Allison Farengo.

A film version of YES is currently in the works, to be directed by Andrea DeLuca (Mr. Reilly). When DeLuca attended an early performance last year, he knew the play screamed to be on the silver screen. DeLuca, Realbuto, and Blute have been in constant meetings about the project and shooting is scheduled for spring of 2017. Realbuto has recently completed the screenplay, which expands his two-person, one-room play into several locations with added supporting characters. Blute and Realbuto will reprise their starring roles in the film version. Negotiations are underway with several well-known stage and screen actors to take on the newly added supporting roles. Full casting will be announced at a later date.

Realbuto has stated that the Manhattan Rep. production of YES will likely be the last one before filming begins. The final added December 20th performance of YES will take place at the newly remodeled Manhattan Rep. located at 17-19 West 45th Street in the heart of the theatre district. A very limited number of $10 tickets are currently available by visiting http://manhattanrep.com/yes-by-tim-realbuto/

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