Tim Realbuto’s Dances with Films premiere of ‘Yes’
Are you ready to watch some excellent cinema this weekend? You’d better, because Yes is premiering at Dances with Films tomorrow night in L.A., the 22nd of June, and you don’t want to miss it.
Yes tells the story of alcoholic, pill-popping, washed-up ex-child star Patrick Nolan (Tim Realbuto), who is begrudgingly dragged from his nearly uninhabitable apartment by his sister Annie (Jenna Leigh Green) to see his niece in her high school production of Romeo and Juliet.
Starring as Romeo is 17-year-old Jeremiah (Nolan Gould), who immediately catches Patrick’s eye. Patrick, who was involved in a scandal involving a minor years earlier which ruined his career and life, decides to mentor Jeremiah.
What begins as an innocent acting lesson turns into something much more dangerous. As a love affair begins between two surprisingly common minds. The destruction, or salvation, of these co-lead characters will last a lifetime.
New York-based actor Tim Realbuto (Emperor’s Club) stars as the co-lead in Yes and also wrote the screenplay based on his critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play. The film is directed by Rob Margolies (She Wants Me, Lifelines).
Realbuto is a versatile writer and performer known for his work in the NYC theatre scene as well as on the screen. He cowrote and directed the Off-Broadway play Ghostlight, which was featured in The New York Times. Realbuto also starred in the Off-Broadway musical The Wrong Box at Theater For The New City and as Uncle Louie Kurnitz in Neil Simon’s Tony® and Pulitzer Prize® award-winning play, Lost in Yonkers.
Realbuto’s most recent stage appearance was as John Hinckley in The Secret Theater production of Assassins. Directed by Lauren Shields, Assassins explores the motives of nine men and women who have killed or attempted to kill United States Presidents throughout history.
If you want to learn more, give the project a follow over at Instagram. Don’t forget to tweet us if you make the premiere tomorrow night.
Check out these reactions from the West Coast premiere and make sure you see Yes when it’s playing near you.
“It was an absolute pleasure watching the spectacular movie Yes. Hats off to Jared Safier, international sales agent and executive producer, for helping get this piece of greatness out there. Tim, you truly are an Oscar nominee in my book. “And to the rest of the team, the dedication, perseverance, talent, and sleepless nights to say the least, helping bring such a beautiful vision to life and share it with us and the world is profound. The fight continues, I know. Keep driving hard.” —Richard Ryan
“Last night I saw this most terrific film called Yes about an actor and his acting coach (a two man show, originally an off-Broadway play). Every actor should see this. Seek this film out!” —Jorge Ameer
Post-Premiere Release and Availability
Yes moved from festival circuit to wider audiences with an on-demand release on October 5, 2020. That rollout placed the film on major digital storefronts, where it remains accessible for rent or purchase. Viewers can still find it on Amazon, Apple TV, and comparable platforms as of 2026, giving later audiences a chance to catch the drama without waiting for another theatrical window.
Tim Realbuto's Subsequent Career Highlights
Since the premiere, Realbuto has taken on roles that demanded both physical and dramatic shifts. He lost 154 pounds to play the lead in Bobcat Moretti, a boxing drama that paired him with Vivica A. Fox and Taryn Manning. Additional projects followed, including the independent drama Fruit of Our Womb and the title role in The Many Lives of…, with work documented across 2023 and 2024. These credits show a performer who kept building after the stage-to-screen transition that began with Yes.
Reception and Legacy of Yes
The film holds an IMDb score of 6.8 out of 10, reflecting steady audience interest years after its debut. Early coverage described it as award-winning, and the original reactions from Richard Ryan and Jorge Ameer remain on record. Those comments captured the immediate response at the Dances with Films screening, while the rating data offers a longer view of how the story lands with viewers who discovered it later through streaming or digital purchase.
From Stage to Screen Adaptation Journey
Yes started as a two-person Off-Broadway play written by and starring Realbuto. The screenplay kept that intimate structure while expanding the world around the central relationship. Rob Margolies directed the adaptation, guiding the material from a theater piece into a 102-minute feature that preserved the original focus on mentorship, risk, and consequence. The transition illustrates how an independent stage work can move into film without losing its core dynamic.
Red carpet images from the Dances with Films West Coast premiere of Yes
The images document the June 2019 event at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and serve as an archival record of the premiere night.
Realbuto has continued stage and screen work post-2019, with recent focus including a major physical transformation for Bobcat Moretti.
