JACK GOES BOATING Closes Aurora Theatre's 17th Season 6/12-7/19

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 17th season is the Bay Area Premiere of Bob Glaudini's (A View from 151st Street) Off-Broadway hit JACK GOES BOATING. Bay Area theater veteran Joy Carlin (Hysteria, Bosoms and Neglect, The Price) helms this quirky romantic comedy, featuring Amanda Duarte, Gabriel Marin, Beth Wilmurt, and Danny Wolohan. JACK GOES BOATING plays at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley June 12 through July 19. For tickets and information ($28-50) the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

A modern take on old-fashioned romance, JACK GOES BOATING finds loveable slacker Jack enlisting the aid of his two best friends to win the girl of his dreams. The inner workings of two love affairs, laced with cooking classes, swimming lessons, and illicit recreational substances, are etched out in laughter in this charming portrait of four New York eccentrics learning how to stay afloat in the deep waters of day-to-day living. Hailed as "endearing . . . witty and knowing and all heart" by Variety, and ‘‘an immensely likable play [that] exudes a wry compassion' by The New York Times, JACK GOES BOATING premiered Off-Broadway in 2007 at the LAByrinth Theater Company in residence at The Public Theater.

Director Joy Carlin, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and an original member of Chicago's Playwrights' Theatre, has been a leading actress, director, and teacher in the Bay Area since 1969. She served as the Associate Artistic Director of the American Conservatory Theater from 1987-1992, was an actor and resident director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre from 1981-1984, and served as its Interim Artistic Director from 1983-1984. For Aurora Theatre Company, Carlin most recently directed Terry Johnson's Hysteria and John Guare's Bosoms and Neglect, as well as productions of Arthur Miller's The Price, Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol, David Mamet's The Old Neighborhood, and Michael Frayn's Benefactors. In addition to starring in Aurora Theatre Company's productions of The Belle of Amherst and Thérèse Raquin, she has appeared in multiple stage roles at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and San Jose Repertory Theatre. She is the recipient of 17 Bay Area Critics Circle Awards and Dramalogue Awards for both acting and directing.

Aurora Theatre Company has assembled an extraordinary ensemble for JACK GOES BOATING. Danny Wolohan returns to Aurora Theatre Company as Jack in JACK GOES BOATING. Wolohan previously appeared in the company's hit production of Mae West's SEX, as well as Tough! and The Shape of Things. He is a member of Campo Santo, where he has appeared in seven World Premiere productions, collaborating with writers including Dave Eggers and Octavio Solis. Additional credits include roles with Berkeley Repertory Theatre (The Lieutenant of Inishman), American Conservatory Theater, Magic Theatre, Word for Word, Shotgun Players, and Fools Fury, among others.

Beth Wilmurt, last seen at Aurora Theatre Company in Bosoms and Neglect and Salome, returns to the company as Connie in JACK GOES BOATING. Additional credits include American $uicide at Encore Theatre Company, The Death of Meyerhold at Shotgun Players, Schrodinger's Girlfriend at Magic Theatre, and productions at Word for Word and Crowded Fire, among others. Wilmurt is a founding member of Art Street Theatre.

Gabriel Marin returns to Aurora Theatre Company as Clyde in JACK GOES BOATING. Marin appeared earlier this season in the company's critically acclaimed production of The Devil's Disciple, and previously appeared in the company's productions of Gunplay and The Glass Menagerie. Additional credits include productions at SF Playhouse (Bug, Our Lady of 121st Street), Magic Theatre (The Rules of Charity), American Conservatory Theater, Marin Theatre Company, Thick Description, Word for Word, Chicago's Dramatists Workshop, and LA's Actors Gang.

Also returning to Aurora Theatre Company is Amanda Duarte as Lucy. Duarte previously appeared in the Aurora Theatre Company productions of Tough! and The Philanderer. Additional regional credits include productions at TheatreWorks (Trying, Be Aggressive), San Jose Repertory Theatre (Two Gentlemen of Verona), Magic Theatre (Minutes from the Blue Route), and Shotgun Players (Arrivals/Departures, Three Sisters). New York credits include Big Love at Theatre for the New City and Songs from the Pac Man at the Bureau, among others.

Playwright Bob Glaudini's works for the stage include Dutch Heart of Man (2004), which inaugurated LAByrinth Theater Company's residency at The Public Theater, The Identical Same Temptation (2004) and The Claiming Race (2005), both produced at Theatre for the New City, and A View from 151st Street (2007). JACK GOES BOATING (2007) was produced as part of LAByrinth's 15th Anniversary season; Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who appeared in the original Off-Broadway cast, will direct the upcoming film version. Additionally, Glaudini's plays The Claiming Race, Sickness of Youth and The Poison Tree were presented in the Mark Taper Forum's New Works Festival, with The Poison Tree produced as part of the Taper's main stage 1999-2000 season. Glaudini directed the World Premiere of Sam Shepard's Mad Dog Blues at Theater Genesis, and the World Premiere of Cowboy Mouth, written by and starring Sam Shepard and co-author rock-poet Patti Smith, at The American Place Theatre. His plays Against the Sun and Borrowed Time were also produced at Theater Genesis. In addition to writing and directing for the stage, Glaudini was a writer for the hit ABC drama "NYPD Blue."

Following JACK GOES BOATING, Aurora Theatre Company opens its 18th season in August with Clifford Odets' legendary Depression-era drama AWAKE AND SING! directed by Joy Carlin. Tony-nominated director Barbara Damashek returns to Aurora Theatre Company in October to helm Neil LaBute's exploration of body image in contemporary America, FAT PIG, and the jingle bells will rock again this December with a new edition of THE COVERLETTES COVER CHRISTMAS. Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross helms the World Premiere of Joel Drake Johnson's THE FIRST GRADE in January, and Aurora Theatre Company founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver returns to direct Henrik Ibsen's masterwork John Gabriel BORKMAN in April. Closing the season in June is the Bay Area Premiere of Stephen Karem's innovative comedy SPEECH & DEBATE directed by Robin Stanton.

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."