Peter Callender News

Marin Theatre Company begins 2015 with the Bay Area premiere of The Convert, which marks the Bay Area debut of award-winning Zimbabwean-American playwright Danai Gurira, running tonight, Feb 19-March 15.

Marin Theatre Company begins 2015 with the Bay Area premiere of The Convert, which marks the Bay Area debut of award-winning Zimbabwean-American playwright Danai Gurira, running Feb 19-March 15.

Due to popular demand, Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add a second extension week of performances of the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE. Jon Tracy, who directed Aurora's productions of Gidion's Knot and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, helms BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE, featuring L. Peter Callender (The Soldier's Tale, Permanent Collection), Dan Hiatt (Wittenberg, The Arsonists), Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (African-American Shakespeare Company, Lamplighters), and Adrian Roberts (TheatreWorks, California Shakespeare Theater). BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE plays now through December 20 (added performances: Tuesday, December 16, 7pm; Wednesday, December 17, 8pm; Thursday, December 18, 8pm; Friday, December 19, 8pm; Saturday, December 20, 8pm) at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-50) and more information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Critics and audiences agree -a second helping of BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE is in order. Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add an additional 7 performances of the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative new play.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 23rd season with the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE. First produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2005, this recent off Broadway hit was inspired by newspaper reports that Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, severely depressed and convinced he was haunted by the ghost of a dead comrade, sought treatment from a white psychiatrist. Shedding light on Mugabe's demons, the sessions soon become a precarious power struggle between doctor and patient. Set against the aftermath of colonialism and revolution, BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE delves into the mind of one of the world's most vilified leaders.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 23rd season with the West Coast Premiere of Fraser Grace's provocative BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE. First produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2005, this recent off Broadway hit was inspired by newspaper reports that Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, severely depressed and convinced he was haunted by the ghost of a dead comrade, sought treatment from a white psychiatrist. Shedding light on Mugabe's demons, the sessions soon become a precarious power struggle between doctor and patient. Set against the aftermath of colonialism and revolution, BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE delves into the mind of one of the world's most vilified leaders.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2014 season with George Bernard Shaw's brilliant Pygmalion, directed by Cal Shakes Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone. Pygmalion plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from now through August 24. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2014 season with George Bernard Shaw's brilliant Pygmalion, directed by Cal Shakes Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone. Pygmalion plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from July 30 through August 24.

Closing the award-winning African-American Shakespeare Company's 19th season is William Shakespeare's glorious comedy of love delayed, Much Ado About Nothing. Celebrating the joy of love and the power of redemption, the play chronicles the clever banter and sincere affection of two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.

The regular season will be staged August 2014 through July 2015 at the intimate Aurora Theatre in the downtown Berkeley arts district. For single tickets ($32-$60) or subscriptions ($155-$305), the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. Subscriptions on sale March 27. Single tickets on sale for subscribers July 29 and on sale August 5 to the general public.

San Francisco's elegant Four Seasons hotel, its ballroom transformed into a mesmerizing swirl of vibrant, electric colors, provided the dramatic setting for California Shakespeare Theater's 19th annual gala, Raise the Roof, on Saturday, March 15, 2014. Led by Gala Co-Chairs Jean Simpson and Maureen Knight, and Honorary Co-Chair Annette Bening, the event was the most successful in Cal Shakes history, grossing more than $688,500 and welcoming 330 attendees.

The 2013 BroadwayWorld San Francisco audience choice awards saw a fantastic number of nominations for theatres throughout Northern California this year, from Fresno's Good Company Players to Modesto's Gallo Center to Broadway Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco. If only enough time existed for us writers to see every talented cast perform. Here are a few of my favorite productions from 2013 in a brief look back at some of the shows I was fortunate enough to witness.

San Francisco's African-American Shakespeare Company opens its 2013-14 season with a reprisal of Diablo Actors' Ensemble's 2011 production of Alfred Uhry's DRIVING MISS DAISY. Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize, DRIVING MISS DAISY traces the evolving relationship between an elderly Southern Jewish matron and her African-American chauffeur in Atlanta during the mid-20th century. After wrecking yet another car, Daisy Werthan is informed by her son, Boolie, that he has hired a chauffeur for her, a proud, soft-spoken black man named Hoke whom she immediately dislikes and who, in turn, is equally unimpressed with her. As the play progresses over 25 years, the two develop an unlikely bond despite their mutual differences, growing closer to, and more dependent upon, one another.

California Shakespeare Theater has announced it will conclude its 2013 season with one of Shakespeare's rarely-performed gems, A Winter's Tale. Directed by Patricia McGregor and choreographed by Paloma McGregor, the sister team responsible for last season's critical and popular hit, Spunk, A Winter's Tale plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from tonight, September 25 through October 20.

California Shakespeare Theater concludes its 2013 season with one of Shakespeare's rarely-performed gems, A Winter's Tale. It plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from September 25 through October 20.

San Francisco's African-American Shakespeare Company opens its 2013-14 season with a reprisal of Diablo Actors' Ensemble's 2011 production of Alfred Uhry's DRIVING MISS DAISY. Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize, DRIVING MISS DAISY is a timeless meditation on race relations in America told through the complex relationship between an elderly Southern Jewish woman and her black chauffeur. Having recently demolished another car, Daisy Werthan is informed by her son that she must rely on the services of a proud, soft-spoken black man named Hoke whom she immediately regards with disdain and who, in turn, is equally unimpressed with her. In a series of absorbing scenes spanning 25 years, the two develop an unlikely bond despite their mutual differences, growing closer to, and more dependent upon, one another.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2013 season with Oscar Wilde's comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan, directed by Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member Christopher Liam Moore in his Bay Area directorial debut. Lady Windermere's Fan plays at the Bruns Amphitheater, tonight, August 14 through September 8.