Aurora Theatre Company Extends THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE

Audiences and critics agree: THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE is one helluva show. Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company announces extension performances of its production of George Bernard Shaw's THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE, directed by Aurora Theatre Company founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver. Starring Gabriel Marin, Søren Oliver, Stacy Ross, and Warren David Keith, and featuring Allen McKelvey, Trish Mulholland, Anthony Nemirovsky, Tara Tomicevic, and Michael Ray Wisely, THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE plays now through December 7 with added performances on November 29 at 2pm, December 2 at 8pm, and December 6 at 2pm at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets and information ($40-42) the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

In THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE, America is at war with the British and the Redcoats want to hang the local minister in order to demoralize the townsfolk. Richard Dudgeon is a self-proclaimed "devil's disciple," but when the British come for the minister, he pretends to be the wanted man. Was it for love, country, or duty, or did the devil make him do it? Poking fun at religious zealotry and political arrogance, and rife with Shaw's trademark humor and irony, this fictional account of an American "hero" set during the Revolutionary War is the playwright's first popular success and his only full-length play set in America.

The San Francisco Chronicle hailed THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE "an intriguing entertainment" where "urbane wit flashes like musket fire," while the Contra Costa Times dubbed the production "profound and wickedly funny," and the San Jose Mercury News declared "stick a feather in your cap and gallop straight to Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company . . . this perfectly chiseled production of the rarely staged ‘The Devil's Disciple' is a rip-snorting adventure no patriotic soul should miss."

Following THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE, the jingle bells will rock when Aurora Theatre Company presents THE COVERLETTES COVER CHRISTMAS in December, followed by the West Coast Premiere of George Packer's provocative recent Off-Broadway hit BETRAYED in January. Mark Jackson, who directed Aurora Theatre Company's acclaimed production of Salome, returns to the company to helm August Strindberg's MISS JULIE in April. Bob Glaudini's unconventional romantic comedy JACK GOES BOATING, directed by Joy Carlin, rounds out the season in June.

Aurora Theatre Company continues to offer challenging, literate, intelligent stage works to the Bay Area, each year increasing its reputation for top-notch theatre. Located in the heart of the Downtown Berkeley Arts District, Aurora Theatre Company has been called "one of the most important regional theaters in the area" by the San Francisco Chronicle, while The Wall Street Journal has "nothing but praise for the Aurora." The Contra Costa Times stated, "perfection is probably an unattainable ideal in a medium as fluid as live performance, but the Aurora Theatre comes luminously close," while the San Jose Mercury News affirmed "[Aurora Theatre Company] lives up to its reputation as a theater that feeds the mind," and the Oakland Tribune declared "it's all about choices, and if you value good theater, choose the Aurora."