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.
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.
NAUGHTY & NICE: A MEG AND BILLY CHRISTMAS
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.
NAUGHTY & NICE plays for eight performances only. This intimate show inaugurates Aurora Theatre Company’s Nell and Jules Dashow Wing (completed in July 2009) as a production performance space.
SHOWS: December 17, 18, 21-23, 28-30
All performances 7:30pm
WHERE: Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
