Aurora Theatre Company Closes NAUGHTY & NICE, 12/30

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company jazzes up the holidays with NAUGHTY & NICE: A MEG AND BILLY CHRISTMAS. Bay Area husband and wife cabaret duo Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia, whose seasonal sensation A Little Cole in Your Stocking was a hit for Aurora in 2005 and 2006, return with a witty, memorable musical showcase that is sure to spice up the holidays for cabaret fans old and new. NAUGHTY & NICE plays for eight performances only December 17-30 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Tickets ($23 and $25) may be purchased directly from the Aurora Theatre Company box office by calling (510) 843-4822, or online at www.auroratheatre.org.
 
Christened "the royal couple of San Francisco's musical stage" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia offer a unique escape from traditional holiday theater fare with NAUGHTY & NICE. Mixing Great American Songbook standards and rarities ("Love Is Here To Stay," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," "What A Wonderful World") with traditional and non-traditional holiday tunes ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Santa Baby"), a good dose of humor, and several original songs, NAUGHTY & NICE is sure to be a yuletide treat. Those who saw A Little Cole in Your Stocking will want to make a special return trip this year to see Mackay and Philadelphia's intimate new show inaugurate Aurora Theatre Company's Nell and Jules Dashow Wing (completed in July 2009) as a production performance space.
 
Actress and chanteuse Meg Mackay divides her time between musical theater, dramatic, and cabaret performance. She starred for three seasons in A Karen Carpenter Christmas (written and directed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross), has been a frequent guest soloist with the Marin Symphony, and is a veteran of the long-running San Francisco musical theater revue Beach Blanket Babylon. Additional production credits include roles at TheatreWorks, 42nd Street Moon, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and Marin Theatre Company, among others; she toured for two years with the national touring company of the Tony Award-winning Torch Song Trilogy. Mackay has garnered numerous awards for her stage work, including several Drama-Logue and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards, and has recorded two CD's, both of which were arranged and produced by performing partner and husband Billy Philadelphia
 
Billy Philadelphia has played and performed in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. For Aurora Theatre Company, he previously served as musical director for the company's hit production of Mae West's SEX and last season's production of Speech & Debate; additionally, he has been musical director for shows at San Jose Repertory Theatre and Marin Theatre Company. A versatile pianist and energetic entertainer, Philadelphia accompanied the incomparable Dame Edna in her hit show The Royal Tour at Theatre on the Square; his production of Hoagy, a tribute to the legendary songwriter/actor Hoagy Carmichael, had a successful San Francisco run, and was re-mounted at the historic Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami where it received rave reviews. In addition to his stage work, Philadelphia has been musical director for several Bay Area television shows, including "AM San Francisco," "SFO," and "Good Time Café," and held a long-running spot as "The Man About Town" for KNBR radio.
 
Following NAUGHTY & NICE: A MEG AND BILLY CHRISTMAS, in January, Aurora Theatre Company presents the second main stage production to develop from its Global Age Project, the World Premiere of Allison Moore's COLLAPSE, directed by Jessica Heidt; as a National New Play Network World Premiere, the play will be produced at Curious Theatre Company (Denver) and Kitchen Dog Theater Company (Dallas) following the Aurora's lead production. In honor of Tennessee Williams' 100th birthday, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross helms Williams' rarely-produced stage gem THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE in April; additionally, all of the Script Club selections for the season will be plays by Williams. Closing the season is the first American professional production of British director David Farr and Icelandic actor-director Gísli Örn Gardarsson's thrilling avant garde adaptation of Franz Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS, directed by Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson in June.
 
Nominated for 27 and winner of 7 Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for 2009, Aurora Theatre Company continues to offer challenging, literate, intelligent stage works to the Bay Area, each year increasing its reputation for top-notch theater. 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" and "a must-see midsize company" 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."

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!