I had the pleasure of attending last Saturday's performance of The Book of Ezra... a biographical tour de force written and performed by Leslie Ezra Smith and Directed by Mark Clayton Southers  and presented as the opener for the 12th Season of the Playwrights Theatre Company at its venue at 937 Liberty Avenue downtown.

The audience was transfixed as Leslie unabashedly performed his life in front of us.  It was a superlative performance and a powerful drama that literally draws you into his life=space as he experienced it and as he re-enacted it right in front of us.  Ezra received a tearful standing ovation from many of us.

You owe it to yourself to experience this play before it closes on October 25th.  You will be enlightened, enriched and truly moved by the experience.  Kudos to Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre for hitting the ground running with this season opener.

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Ezra is a spoken word artist, Hip Hop artist, director, playwright, and event host and coordinator, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He is currently the host of The Eargasm Open Mic Series at the Hill House Kaufmann Center, Trifecta Slam at High Rollers Cafe and SAvoy Soul, Open Mic for singers and poets at Savoy Restaurant and Lounge.  

He was awarded the Poet of the Year award from the 2010 Pittsburgh hip Hop Awards.  He won AACTA Onyx Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in Kuntu Repertory Theater's 2007 production of Sarafina!, and Best Lead Actor in a Play for his performance in New Horizon Theatre's 2008 production of "Freeman."  He tied for the Best Lead Actor Award for his performance in Ray Werner's "Redneck Revenge" during the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company's Theater Festival in Black and White in 2012.  Ezra is also an acting and spoken-word coach and site coordinator for an after school program.

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He is a heavyweight and a force to be experienced.

Doc