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“This is a company that knows what its audience expects from an evening of theatre!”
LA TIMES

Get ready for a joyful, heart-tugging, and utterly unforgettable event honoring the past while boldly moving on and moving forward as we journey through 66 years of Playhouse and bid farewell to two members of the Playhouse Family!

As cherished Actors’ Repertory Theatre members Graham Silbert (33 years) and Joey Perez (12 years) prepare to take their next steps in NEW YORK, they return to the stage that helped shape them for an evening filled with music, laughter, and hope. Their journey reminds us that theatre is always moving forward, carried by the artists and communities who believe in it.

“The Playhouse is truly a gem in this city, and visiting it should be on the top-of everyone's Los Angeles to-do list.” UCLA DAILY BRUIN

If you’ve ever attended a Family Theatre Musical, taken a class here, or laughed, cried, and applauded through our Jewish Heritage Series, Love In Bloom, Fairytales for Pride, and more - you already know them. And you know how deeply their work is woven into the fabric of this theatre.

Follow Graham and Joey as they reunite with Actors’ Repertory Theatre to revisit favorite moments from Cinderella, Author! Author! – An Evening with Sholom Aleichem, Don’t Start the Games Without Me, Dorothy’s Adventures in OZ, Audition: The Musical, Alice and the Wonderful Tea Party, Dear Gabby, and so much more.

This special event is a joyful celebration of music, humor, and shared memories - an evening that honors not just two beloved artists, but the spirit of the Playhouse itself. More than a farewell, it’s a chance to laugh, reminisce, and celebrate the creativity, community, and sheer delight that live theatre brings to our lives, reminding us why this stage has always been a place of connection, joy, and belonging.

Each performance includes a sumptuous sweets-and-savories reception, and all proceeds support the Save the Main Stage Campaign, helping us restore, renew, and re-envision the heart of the Playhouse.

Joining Graham and Joey for this unforgettable send-off are Karla Bermudez, Holly Gibson, Isabel Lindley, Madeleine LeMay, Michala Peltz, and, of course, Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie.

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by generous grants from the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and Playhouse PALS.

Nearly seven decades since they emerged from San Francisco's North Beach club scene to introduce the sounds of folk music into the mainstream and take the world by storm, The Kingston Trio return to their native California for their 2024 "Keep The Music Playing" national tour.

Credited for sparking the "American Folk Revival" or folk movement of the late 50s and early 60s with their commercial success (which at one point accounted for approximately 15% of Capitol records sales), and known for hits such as "Tom Dooley," "M.T.A. (The Man Who Never Returned)," and "Where Have All The Flowers Gone," The Kingston Trio will appear for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Tuesday, April 9 at The Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.) in Santa Barbara. Tickets start at $26 for students and range from $51 - $76 for the general public (plus fees) and are available via loberotheatre.com, by calling (805) 963-0761 or 1-888-4LOBERO (1-888-456-2376), or at the box office. Showtime is 7 P.M.

Formed in 1956 by Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, and Dave Guard (replaced by John Stewart at the height of the group's popularity in 1961), The Kingston Trio is one of the longest-operating bands touring today. Though the group has undergone multiple personnel changes and its founding members have since passed away, the music of The Kingston Trio lives on with the passing of the torch to three new members with intrinsic ties to the original: Mike Marvin (adopted son of founding member Reynolds), Tim Gorelangton (friend of Reynolds since boyhood and one of the few to record with him), and Buddy Woodward (who toured with the Trio). All three personally remember the iconic trio's performances as folk music made its extraordinary ascent to the pinnacle of popular culture at the top of the music charts--perhaps part of the reason its newest members sound so much like the original Trio.

Cited as an influence by recording artists as musically and generationally diverse as Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Eagles, to comedian and banjo player Steve Martin, to contemporary artists such as the multi-Grammy® nominated Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers, The Kingston Trio occupies a unique, preeminent position in American musical history.

“I am proud to continue The Kingston Trio tradition and to share the music Nick, Dave, Bob, and John performed and getting audiences everywhere up and singing with us,” noted Mike Marvin, adding, “It’s all the more gratifying to perform this music for all the fans and to 'Keep the Music Playing."

For more information on The Kingston Trio ‘Keep The Music Playing’ Tour and tickets, please visit www.kingstontrio.

The chain that laid claim to celebrations across America is now sweeping up the confetti and turning off the lights. Two bankruptcies failed to get its debt in order.

A former White House aide told the House Jan. 6 committee that President Trump knew the crowd was armed and tried overpowering a secret service agent to go to the Capitol.

A new survey shows Americans are unhappy with the service they're getting — and are not afraid to let people know about it.

UCSB Library invites you to a public reception and panel discussion to celebrate the opening of Cultura Cura: 50 Years of Self Help Graphics in East LA, a new exhibition featuring prints and ephemera from the Self Help Graphics & Art Collection in the Library’s California Ethnic & Multicultural Archives (CEMA). Self Help Graphics & Art is an LA-based organization that fosters the creation and advancement of new art works by Chicana/o and Latinx, and other BIPOC artists artists through experimental and innovative printmaking techniques and other visual art forms.

4:00–4:45 PM: Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to visit the Day of the Dead altar on display in the Library’s Ethnic & Gender Studies Collection (2nd Floor, Ocean Side). Students from UCSB’s Las Maestras Center will be in the space to talk about the altar they created.

5:00 PM: Reception and panel discussion in the Library’s Special Research Collections (3rd Floor, Mountain Side) begins.
Moderator: Angel Diaz, the Curator for CEMA and the Interim Directory of Special Research Collections at UCSB Library will moderate the panel discussion.

Panelists:
Marvella Muro is the Director of Artistic Programs and Education at Self Help Graphics (SHG) in Los Angeles. Prior to joining SHG, she was the Community Engagement Manager at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, developing and executing art programs with community partners, artists, and social service groups in the neighborhoods of East Los Angeles, Compton and North Hollywood.

Linda Vallejo is an American artist known for painting, sculpture and ceramics, creating work that visualizes what it means to be a person of color in the United States. She states that these works reflect what she calls her “brown intellectual property”—the experiences, knowledge, and feelings gathered over more than four decades of study of Latino, Chicano, and American indigenous culture and communities.

Phung Huynh is a Los Angeles-based artist and educator whose practice includes drawing, painting, public art, and community engagement. Her work challenges beauty standards by constructing images of the Asian female body vis-à-vis plastic surgery to unpack how contemporary cosmetic surgery can whitewash cultural and racial identity. Her work of drawings and prints on pink donut boxes explores the complexities of assimilation and cultural negotiation among Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees who have resettled in the United States.

The Council of Europe released a report Wednesday charging that the CIA may have colluded with 14 European countries to secretly imprison suspected terrorists. The report calls the network of secret prisons and airports that transfer the suspects across borders a "spider's web" that violates international law. Madeleine Brand speaks with Rob Gifford.

For decades, Talley was the larger-than-life creative director and editor-at-large of Vogue. His influence was felt on fashion runways, where he pushed to include more Black designers and models.

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) responds to the latest congressional testimony from Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq. Clyburn explains why he opposes Petraeus' call to suspend troop withdrawals.

Each week, Pop Culture Happy Hour guests and hosts share what's bringing them joy. This week: the series Deadloch, a new John Grisham book, an album from Dessa, and a podcast about Vietnam in movies.