Barbara Oliver News

Aurora Theatre Company today announced that long-time artistic director Tom Ross will step down at the end of the company's 27th season in July 2019. When Ross departs, he will have been on staff at Aurora for 27 years, 15 of which he will have served as artistic director.

The Marsh Berkeley has announced Colette Uncensored, the first solo show by acclaimed actress Lorri Holt, will return to the East Bay for the fall with a revised script.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 26th season with Rebecca Gilman's (Blue Surge, Spinning Into Butter, The Sweetest Swing in Baseball) LUNA GALE. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross directs this powerful and arresting Bay Area Premiere, featuring Jamie Jones (Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, Mud Blue Sky, Gideon's Knot), Laura Jane Bailey (Mud Blue Sky), Devin S. O'­Brien (Mud Blue Sky), Joshua Marx (TheatreWorks), Alix Cuadra (Theatre of Yugen), Kevin Kemp (Shotgun Players), and Jennifer Vega.  LUNA GALE plays September 1 through October 1 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Aurora Theatre Company presents the U.S. Premiere of British playwright Steve Waters'(World Music, The Contingency Plan) hit play, TEMPLE. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross (Mud Blue Sky, A Bright New Boise, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance) helms this thought-provoking new play, featuring Paul Whitworth, Sylvia Burboeck, J. Michael Flynn, Sharon Lockwood, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, and Mike Ryan. TEMPLE plays April 14 through May 14 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary season, Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company announced today the public phase of the company's 25th Birthday Gift Campaign. The campaign aims to raise funds to provide a more comfortable and fulfilling audience experience and provide theater artists with a better environment in which to do their work. As Aurora reaches its 25th birthday, it's time to celebrate the Aurora experience, refresh the theater, and prepare for the next quarter century.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 25th season with a revival of the play that started it all, DEAR MASTER, running September 2 - October 2, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the star onstage below!

Aurora Theatre Company proudly opens its 25th anniversary season with a revival of the play that started it all, DEAR MASTER. Joy Carlin (The How and The Why, Talley's Folly, Jack Goes Boating) helms this elegant portraitfeaturing Bay Area favorite Michael Ray Wisely (The Letters, The Arsonists) and Aurora's first leading lady Kimberly King (Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance), wife of Aurora co-founder Ken Grantham, who played Flaubert in the original production. DEAR MASTER plays September 2 through October 2 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-56) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 25th season with a revival of the play that started it all, DEAR MASTER, running September 2 - October 2, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the star onstage below!

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company proudly announces the lineup for its 25th anniversary season. The company opens the season with a revival of Dorothy Bryant's DEAR MASTER, directed by acclaimed actress and director Joy Carlin and featuring Kimberly King and Michael Ray Wisely.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 24th season with the Bay Area Premiere of award-winning playwright Marisa Wegrzyn's (Hickorydickory, The Butcher of Baraboo) MUD BLUE SKY.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 24th season with the Bay Area Premiere of award-winning playwright Marisa Wegrzyn's (Hickorydickory, The Butcher of Baraboo) MUD BLUE SKY.

Lanford Wilson's 'Talley Trilogy' continues on the Aurora Theatre Company main stage with FIFTH OF JULY. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Bright New Boise, This Is How It Goes, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, The Shape of Things) helms FIFTH OF JULY, featuring Craig Marker (The Shape of Things, The Persians), Elizabeth Benedict, John Girot, Jennifer Le Blanc, Oceana Ortiz, Harold Pierce, Josh Schell, and Nanci Zoppi. FIFTH OF JULY plays tonight, April 17 through May 17 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

Lanford Wilson's 'Talley Trilogy' continues on the Aurora Theatre Company main stage with FIFTH OF JULY. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Bright New Boise, This Is How It Goes, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, The Shape of Things) helms FIFTH OF JULY, featuring Craig Marker (The Shape of Things, The Persians), Elizabeth Benedict, John Girot, Jennifer Le Blanc, Oceana Ortiz, Harold Pierce, Josh Schell, and Nanci Zoppi. FIFTH OF JULY plays April 17 through May 17 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Aurora Theatre Company celebrated the remarkable life of its founding Artistic Director, Barbara Oliver, with the unveiling of the Barbara Oliver Bas Relief on Tuesday, October 28 in the Nell and Jules Dashow Wing at Aurora Theatre Company.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 22nd season with the Bay Area Premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's edgy and earnest A BRIGHT NEW BOISE. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross helms this comedy about faith, family, forgiveness, and second chances, featuring Robert Parsons, Patrick Russell, Gwen Loeb, Megan Trout, and Daniel Petzold. A BRIGHT NEW BOISE playsNovember 8 through December 8 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 21st season is the Bay Area Premiere of Neil LaBute's dark, edgy comic drama THIS IS HOW IT GOES, directed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Delicate Balance). Ross helmed LaBute's The Shape of Things, the first LaBute play produced in the Bay Area, in 2003. Featuring Aldo Billingslea (Collapse), Gabriel Marin (Collapse, Jack Goes Boating), and Carrie Paff (A Delicate Balance, Collapse, Betrayal), THIS IS HOW IT GOES presents a one-two punch after LaBute's Fat Pig (staged at Aurora in 2009).

It is with great sadness that Aurora Theatre Company announces the passing of the company's founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver due to complications from a recent stroke. Barbara passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 20 at her Berkeley home, surrounded by family.

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 21st season is the Bay Area Premiere of Neil LaBute's dark, edgy comic drama THIS IS HOW IT GOES, directed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Delicate Balance). Ross helmed LaBute's The Shape of Things, the first LaBute play produced in the Bay Area, in 2003. Featuring Aldo Billingslea (Collapse), Gabriel Marin (Collapse, Jack Goes Boating), and Carrie Paff (A Delicate Balance, Collapse, Betrayal), THIS IS HOW IT GOES presents a one-two punch after LaBute's Fat Pig (staged at Aurora in 2009). Tweaking perspectives of truth and interpretation to broach sharp questions about race, love, and manipulation,THIS IS HOW IT GOES, about which the Chicago Tribune raved "Highly recommended! LaBute's play has a lot of sting and nothing is as it seems!" plays June 14 through July 21 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($35-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 21st season is the Bay Area Premiere of Neil LaBute's dark, edgy comic drama THIS IS HOW IT GOES, directed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Delicate Balance). Ross helmed LaBute's The Shape of Things, the first LaBute play produced in the Bay Area, in 2003. Featuring Aldo Billingslea (Collapse), Gabriel Marin (Collapse, Jack Goes Boating), and Carrie Paff (A Delicate Balance, Collapse, Betrayal), THIS IS HOW IT GOES presents a one-two punch after LaBute's Fat Pig (staged at Aurora in 2009).

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company, now celebrating its 21st season, lit up the night on Saturday, March 23 with an evening of heavenly wining and dining at Aurora Borealis, the company's 15th annual benefit, held at The Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. Over 218 guests attended the fundraising fete honoring Robert B. Hetler (Berkeley), and co-chaired by Ellen Levine (Oakland) and Jacquelin Ewing (Walnut Creek); the event raised upwards of $200,000. Funds raised at Aurora Borealis will support Aurora Theatre Company's outstanding live performances, innovative education program, and the Global Age Project new works program. Individual tickets to the invitation only event sold for $295, with tables going for $3000-$7,500.