Taking Steps

BY Alan Ayckbourn

Directed By Troy Johnson

Set on three floors of an old and reputedly haunted Victorian house, the stage is arranged so that the “stairs” are flat and all three floors are on a single level. Inside are assembled a hard drinking tycoon considering buying the property, his wife who is always considering leaving him, his lawyer, the builder selling the house, the tycoon's brother-in-law, and his in-law's fiancee who is possibly running away from the impending marriage...

Jan 17 — Feb 9

Preview Jan 16

RSVP HERE (TICKETS)

Featured

Elizabeth's unappreciative husband; a businessman who is a major presence in the bucket industry; alcoholic

Todd Wright (Roland Crabbe) is delighted to return to the wonderful team here at the Pear. He has worked all over the South Bay Area, from comedy to drama, from musicals to Shakespeare. Some past roles include Georg Graupner in Bach at Leipzig at the Pear, Russ/Dan in Clybourne Park at Palo Alto Players (TBA Award Nominee 2016), Sam Byck in Assassins at Los Altos Stage (TBA Award Nominee 2017), and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew at the Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival.

Former dancer, retired as a result of her marriage; now in perpetual indecision about whether to leave her husband; her effort to do so sets off much of the action in the play.

Betsy Kruse Craig (Elizabeth Boxer Crabbe) is pleased to be back on the Pear stage. Seen at the Pear in Hedda Gabler, Oh Coward!, Arcadia, August: Osage County, and House & Garden, Kruse Craig has also performed at Palo Alto Players as Morticia in The Addams Family, Bev/Kathy in Clybourne Park, and Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, as well as in One ManTwo Guvnors and God of Carnage. Betsy is the former Artistic Director of the Pear Theatre, and she is Program Director of the Arts for Stratford Middle Schools.

Roland's solicitor; inarticulate and unassertive; unwittingly causes absolute havoc. For Ayckbourn, for all of Tristram's apparent ineffectuality, his is the central role in the play.

Max Tachis (Tristram Watson) is excited to return to the Pear, where he was last seen in Geeks vs. Zombies (Loomis) and August: Osage County (Little Charles). A regular in the South Bay theatre community, he has most recently appeared in Macbeth (Duncan/Macduff) at Dragon Productions, Mothers and Sons (Will) at City Lights Theater Company, and The Santaland Diaries (David/Crumpet) at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. As a playwright, Max had his first world premiere, Perishable, Keep Refrigerated, with Renegade Theatre Experiment in 2014. His next play, The Hollow Throne, will have its first reading before an audience at Dragon Productions in late 2020.

Elizabeth's brother, attempting to save his one-sided relationship to Kitty and fulfil his dream of opening a fishing tackle shop.

David Boyll (Mark Boxer) is delighted to return to the Pear following his maiden voyage aboard the HMS Present Laughter. After a thirty-year hiatus, David returned to the stage in 2017, “delivering a full load of crazy” as Bernard B. O’Hare in the world premiere of Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night at Custom Made Theatre Company. Recent work: American Hero, Custom Made; The Odd Couple (Felix), Ross Valley; Partition, Indra’s Net; Come Here Often?, Left Coast; The $18-Billion Prize, Theater Planners. Much love to Molly and Caroline. Thanks, thanks, and ever thanks to John, Eric, Graham, Michael, Terry, Terry, and Carol. More at www.davidboyll.com

Dodgy builder, on the brink financially; desperate to sell the house (currently rented) to Roland.

Matt Brown (Leslie Bainbridge) is excited to continue his journey at the Pear after playing John Thorpe in Northanger Abbey, Dog on the Left (and others) in Pear Slices 2018, and Billing in An Enemy of the People. He also recently appeared as Juror #10 in 12 Angry Men at Foothill College. Matt moved to the Bay Area from Tucson, Arizona, where his favorite performances were in Love’s Labours Lost (Berowne), The Admirable Crichton (Crichton), Run for Your Wife (John Smith), King Lear (Edgar), Photograph 51 (Ray), and Rough Crossing (Dominick). He holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Western Washington University and has also worked in the film and television industry as an actor, stand-in, and background performer. He thanks his wife, Nicole, for her continuous love and support.

Arm-twisted into engagement with Mark; having left him at the altar once, she has been persuaded to come back to him after her arrest for suspected solicitation; feels trapped into always being part of other people's dreams (including Mark's fishing tackle shop).

Roneet Aliza Rahamim (Kitty) is happy to be back at the Pear, where she was last seen in August: Osage County. Recent credits include Macbeth (Dragon Productions) and Kiss (Shotgun Players). She has worked with many esteemed companies in the Bay Area, including City Lights Theater Company, Palo Alto Players, and Los Altos Stage Company, and she is a resident artist with Golden Thread Productions. Some favorite roles to date have been Anne Frank (Diary of Anne Frank, PAP) and Constanza (Amadeus, CLTC). Recently she has been involved in theatre from the other side with directing: Bench Project 2019, Making God Laugh (assist dir. CLTC), and 12 Angry Women (Foothill College Theater). www.roneet.com