Central Works Opens Season With BOSS MCGREEDY Premiere At Berkeley City Club

Central Works 2024 season opens March 2 with Boss McGreedy (Mar 2–Mar 31) by Gary Graves, at the historic Berkeley City Club.

In this Gilded Age comedy Boss McGreedy, the former boss of New York City languishes in prison. He yearns for freedom and a chance to “get back in the game” despite his 200 convictions on fraud and corruption. Written and directed by Gary Graves, the cast features Brian Herndon* as Dudley Townsend, Anna Ishida* as O'Brian Bryant and Michael Ray Wisely* as the eponymous Boss McGreedy. Costume design is by Tammy Berlin, props by Cyndi Lagodzinski, sound by Gregory Scharpen, and Stage Management by Natalia Rivera-Ramos.

“Early on in the development of Boss McGreedy, we came upon an old saying, first attributed to the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus; it's come down to us as, ‘The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.'  I'd love to believe that's true.” remarks playwright Gary Graves.

Bill McGreedy, the former boss of New York City, in 1876 is in prison on Blackwell's Island in the East River.  Convicted on over 200 counts of fraud and corruption, he fears he may spend the rest of his days in the slammer. When an unexpected offer comes from the Attorney General's “Special Counsel,” Bill sees a chance to regain his freedom and get back in the game. All he has to do is…tell the truth.

The 2024 season will continue with Accused! by Patricia Milton (Jul 13–Aug 1), and The Contest by Gary Graves (Oct 19–Nov 17).

GARY GRAVES is a director and playwright living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1998, he's been a resident playwright and company co-director at Central Works, developing 73 world premiere productions with the company, many of which were either written and/or directed by him. Some of the plays he has written for the company include Mondragola, The Lion & the Fox, Machiavelli's The Prince (all part of his cycle of plays on the life of Niccolò Machiavelli), Wonderland, Chekhov's WARD 6, Palace Wreckers, Edward King, Project Ahab, Lola Montez, Enemy Combatant, The Mysterious Mr. Looney, Misanthrope, Mata Hari, and Pyrate Story. He directed the company's first collaboratively developed script, Roux, at the Berkeley City Club in 1997. He also leads the Writers Workshop at Central Works and teaches playwriting regularly at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater.

Anna Ishida* (O'Brian Bryant/Aparishio) was last seen at Central Works (10 years ago) as the title character in Red Virgin. Currently based in the Bay Area but also performs on the East Coast - recent credits include: originating the role of  Natalya/B in This Much I Know (Aurora Theater), Olga in The Three Sisters (Two River Theater, NJ), The Antelope Party (Dutch Kills, NYC), Shipwreck (Woolly Mammoth, DC), Moby-Dick (American Repertory Theater, MA), Henry VI Parts 1 & 2 (NAATCO, NYC - Drama Desk Nomination: Best Revival), Trigger (Leviathan Lab, NYC), It Can't Happen Here (Staged & Radio Play @ Berkeley Rep, CA), Mr. Burns: a post-electric play (American Conservatory Theater & The Guthrie, CA/MN), Water by the Spoonful (Theatreworks Silicon Valley, CA), Beowulf—A Thousand Years of Baggage (Shotgun Players/Banana Bag & Bodice: US/UK tours). Film: I Am a Ghost and Bitter Melon (writer/director/composer: H.P. Mendoza). annaishida.com

Brian Herndon* (Townsend/Hunt/Flanagan) is delighted to return to Central Works, last appearing as Louis in Robert Louis Stevenson: Jekyll and Hyde in 2016. He performed with Michael Ray Wisely in The Tempest with SF Shakes, and shared the stage with Anna Ishida in The Comedy of Errors with SF Shakes and Seussical with Berkeley Playhouse. Brian has done many shows at TheatreWorks, most recently Pride and Prejudice, and Marin Theatre Company, most recently Pass Over, and just finished his second year as Mr. Fezziwig with A Christmas Carol at American Conservatory Theater. Next up for him will be Bright Star with 42nd Street Moon. He holds an MFA from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and studied at the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre.

Michael Ray Wisely* (William “Boss” McGreedy) is an award-winning actor well known to Bay Area audiences with a career that spans three decades. Recent roles include: Cymbeline in Cymbeline (PacRep), Col. Mustard in CLUE (SF Playhouse), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (CenterRep), Bill in August:Osage County (San Jose Stage), and Iago in Othello at (African American Shakespeare. Off-Broadway, international, and regional credits: 59E59 Theaters (NYC), Teatro Santa Ana (SMA), Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Shakespeare, Sierra Repertory Theatre, Actors Reading Collective (ARC) and others. Michael Ray is a proud member of the performing unions Actors Equity, SAG-AFTRA, and ARC and works as a director and actor in film, television and radio. Find out more at michaelraywisely.com

*all actors appear courtesy of Actors Equity Association

Now in its 34th season, Central Works continues to fill a special niche for theater artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, producing more new plays by local playwrights than any other company in the region. “The New Play Theater” utilizes three basic strategies: some are developed in the Central Works Writers Workshop, some are products of the Central Works Method, and some come to the company fully developed.

The Central Works Writers Workshop is an ongoing commissioning program established in 2012.  Twice a year, in 12-week sessions, 8 local playwrights are selected to develop projects through informal readings and carefully directed discussions.  Last season, both Patricia Milton's Engine of Our Destruction and Lauren Smerkanich's The Dignity Circle emerged from this program. For more information, visit our website:  www.centralworks.org

Central Works Method plays bring together writer, actors and director at the very outset of the playwriting process. In a supportive workshop environment, group research and collective brainstorming contribute to the entire development of the script.

Company Co-directors Jan Zvaifler and Gary Graves remain steadfast in their mission to develop and produce new works. “New plays are the lifeblood of the theater,” says Ms. Zvaifler. “We look at current events, politics, classic literature and traditional storytelling to bring our audience face to face with the challenges of our lives everyday, juxtaposed against the reflections of history, both recent and far-reaching. Given our current harrowing times, we all need an opportunity to pause, feel, think and act.” The special intimacy of the Central Works theater offers this in a truly unique package.

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