THE MUSEUM ANNEX By Mildred Inez Lewis Extended Through November 20 At Central Works

Central Works' closing production of its 2022 season, the new comedy from the Central Works Writers Workshop The Museum Annex written by Mildred Inez Lewis has extended through November 20 (originally scheduled to close November 13).

From the get-go playwright Lewis' The Museum Annex has taken audiences and press alike on an entertaining gambol through a metaphoric museum. At the opening the audience was laughing and literally dancing in their seats with the cast in this "comic, kaleidoscopic romp..." joining an "intense and comic tour of a hidden history." Each "Exhibit" exposes "another subtle modality of racism" where "Black women's incredible bravery is wrapped in the most unanticipated packages." The Museum Annex performances are Thur & Fri 8pm, Sat 7pm, Sun 5pm at the historic Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley.

"A comic love letter to African American women with everyone invited to listen in, engage, heal and laugh." Mildred Inez Lewis.

Written by Mildred Inez Lewis, The Museum Annex is directed by Elizabeth Carter with a cast that features Juanita Harris, Julia Jackson, Brenda Miles, Brittany Nicole Sims and Ije Success. Production stage management is by Natalia Rivera Ramos, costume design by Tammy Berlin with lighting design by Stephanie Anne Johnson and sound design by Gregory Scharpen.

Central Works is committed to premiering new works inspired by social issues, contemporary texts, and history. In 1986, George C. Wolfe's play The Colored Museum premiered. The play imagined a series of 11 scenes, or "exhibits" in a metaphoric "museum," where each of these exhibits addressed a range of different themes and aspects of the African American experience. The Museum Annex, is an homage to Mr. Wolfe's play, adding something of a "new wing" onto the original museum.

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. This season in addition to The Museum Annex by Mildred Inez Lewis, Cristina García's Dreaming in Cuban and Patricia Milton's Escape from the Asylum also emerged from this program.

To post a comment, you must register and login.