BWW Reviews: TOM RUBIN - SUCCESS GURU Says Failure is an Option!

Get ready to fail! You can do it!

Have you ever attended a Tony Robbins self-help seminar? Ever do est? Love Dr. Phil? Then this is the show for you! In his one-man show "Tom Rubin - Success Guru" at the Santa Monica Playhouse on Friday nights at 8:00pm through February 22, stand-up comedian Tom Rubin turns success/self-help guru logic on its head in this mock motivational seminar complete with name badges for audience members.

Tom Rubin has performed stand-up comedy for years at venues such as The Improv, The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Laugh Factory. A New Jersey native, Tom graduated from Harvard University and then "everything went downhill" after he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his aspirations in the entertainment industry. He has had dual careers as a stand-up comedian and an entertainment attorney. 'Tom Rubin - Success Guru' was inspired by his experiences in the hyper-competitive worlds of the Ivy League, corporate America, and Hollywood.

In his role as the anti-Tony Robbins, Tom comically dispels every major method and mantra offered by serious self-help gurus and skewers well-known self-help concepts ranging from positive thinking and empowerment to bucket lists and spiritual enlightenment - replacing them with his own absurd (or perhaps not-so-absurd) system based on the premise that Failure Is An Option.

It's wickedly funny and surprisingly uplifting as well-accepted success concepts are thrown aside, leaving you believing that you really are successful just the way you are and using Arnold's mantra "It's Great" in response to all situations will get you through whatever ails you in life. Oh and be sure to listen to old people because they know what bullshit really is and their crankiness is really wisdom in disguise.

Tom rushes into the room and gets the audience cheering and with him from the moment he takes the stage. Self-deprecating when needed, especially about his childhood trying to make it as a chubby kid in Little League, he pulls you right in and then proceeds to dispel everything you think is true about empowerment, employment, relationships, sex, and friendship - leaving you thinking that having low expectations may just be the way to happiness. Blessed are those who expect nothing for they will never be disappointed. It's as simple as that in Tom's world.

And since no one listens to advice anyway, just stop trying to change people and accept everyone as they are. Simple words of wisdom to live by. Yet how often do we fail in our relationships because we constantly think we can change someone? Again, failure is an option.

Need a wake up call about how to be happy in life by accepting that failure is an option? See the show and laugh at yourself. I guarantee you will leave the theater looking at life in a more logical, if warped, way thanks to Tom Rubin - Success Guru.

Tom Rubin - Success Guru
A comedy where Failure is an Option!
Written by and Starring Tom Rubin
Directed by Rocco Urbisci

Runs for 6 Fridays Jan 18 - Feb 22 at 8 pm
Santa Monica Playhouse Main Stage, A Guest Production
1211 4th Street Santa Monica, CA 90401

TICKETS $25 or $20 Seniors (use promo code 007)
Running time: 75 minutes.
Reservations (323) 960-4420
https://www.plays411.net/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=3345

Shari Barrett, a Los Angeles native, has been active in the theater world since the age of six - acting, singing, and dancing her way across the boards all over town. After teaching in local secondary schools, working in marketing for several studios, writing, directing, producing, and performing in productions for several non-profit theaters, Shari now dedicates her time and focuses her skills as an independent publicist to "get the word out" about smaller theaters throughout the Los Angeles area. As a founding member of the LA Stage Alliance Leadership Council Task Force, she and reps from theaters throughout the city work together to articulate a vision for the theatre community of Greater Los Angeles. Shari has received recognition from the City of Los Angeles for her dedication of heart and hand to the needs of friends, neighbors and fellow members of society for her devotion of service to the people of Los Angeles. Shari is honored to serve her hometown as a contributor to Broadway World.

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