Jamie Jones Now to Headline Aurora's A DELICATE BALANCE

Aurora Theatre Company today announced that Bay Area favorite, actress Julia Brothers, who previously appeared in Aurora Theatre Company's hit productions of The First Grade and Salome, has been replaced in the company's upcoming 20th season opener, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. Brothers recently left the production to join the Broadway cast of Relatively Speaking, directed by John Turturro, featuring one-acts by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen; Brothers will be part of Elaine May's play George Is Dead. The production will take place at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, with previews beginning September 20 and an opening planned for October 20, the same time frame as Aurora Theatre Company's production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance.

Actress Jamie Jones will now make her Aurora Theatre Company debut in the role of "Claire" left vacant by Brothers' departure from A Delicate Balance. Jones' credits include numerous productions at Sacramento Theatre Company and Sacramento's B Street Theatre, as well as roles at Marin Theater Company (Displaced, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Encore Theatre Company (The Typographer's Dream), Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and American Conservatory Theater.

"While I am sad to see Julia leave ‘A Delicate Balance,' I am so excited for her to have this opportunity to showcase her considerable talents on the Broadway stage," says Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross. "At the same time," continues Ross, "this is also a wonderful opportunity to work with Jamie Jones, an actress I have long wanted to bring to the Aurora stage. We have a magnificent ensemble set for ‘A Delicate Balance'; it is the perfect production to open our 20th anniversary season."

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 20th anniversary season in September with Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning brutal comedy of manners A Delicate Balance, helmed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross. The cast includes Aurora co-founder Ken Grantham and the company's first leading lady (Candida), Kimberly King; Anne Darragh, Charles Dean, and Carrie Paff also return to the Aurora stage, rounding out this spectacular ensemble.

In A Delicate Balance, Tobias and Agnes are a typical long-married couple living in the suburbs. With several bedrooms and a well-stocked liquor cabinet, their home provides a refuge of sorts, and a measure of comfort, to their friends and family. Over the course of two evenings however, the "delicate balance" of their uneasy existence begins to topple. Agnes' alcoholic sister, Claire, has already set up camp, and when their adult daughter comes home after her fourth failed marriage, and lifelong friends Harry and Edna arrive on their doorstep, frightened and seeking sanctuary from an unnamed terror, the many well-mannered and well-masked feelings finally erupt.

This sharp, witty examination about the limits of our responsibility to others plays at Aurora Theatre Company September 2-October 9 (opens September 8) at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($10-55) and more information, the public may call 510-843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.