Cristina García's Play THE LADY MATADOR'S HOTEL Premieres In October At Central Works

Central Works 2019 Season closes with an exploration into the sensual world of writer Cristina García in The Lady Matador's Hotel running Oct 12-Nov 10 (previews Oct 10 & 11). The play is adapted from García's novel, which was described by the NY Times as possessing "...the energy of an obsessive tango.

Or, indeed, a bullfight." García, author of last season's hit adaption King of Cuba now returns to Central Works to adapt another of her lush, sensual novels. The Lady Matador's Hotel follows the denizens of a luxurious hotel in the capital of an unnamed Central American country in the midst of political turmoil.

There is the matadora in town for a bullfight. There is an ex-guerrilla now working as a waitress in the hotel. And there is a colonel who committed atrocities in the country's long civil war. Each day, the pull of revenge and desire draws them closer and closer together. The cast includes Rudy Guerrero (member AEA) , Sylvia Kratins, Gabriel Montoya, Steve Ortiz, Neiry Rojo and Erin Mei-Ling Stuart. The production has stage management by Callie Garrett, costume design by Tammy Berlin and prop design by Debbie Shelley, with sound design by Gregory Scharpen.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Central Works on our second project together, The Lady Matador's Hotel. Based on my 2010 novel, the play interrogates many issues seizing our public discourse today: the fallout of war, immigration, extreme politics, as well as the personal and public responsibilities we bear in fraught times." Cristina García

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, Cristina García's King of Cuba and Patricia Milton's Bamboozled emerged from this program, followed by two more this season. For more information, visit our website: www.centralworks.org

Cristina García (playwright) has been developing new plays and stage adaptations of her novels in the Central Works Writers Workshop for the past 3 years. She is playwright-in-residence at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco. Her first produced play, KIng of Cuba, was part of Central Works 2018 season. García is the author of seven novels, including: Dreaming in Cuban, The Agüero Sisters, Monkey Hunting, A Handbook to Luck, The Lady Matador's Hotel, King of Cuba, and Here in Berlin. García has edited two anthologies, Cubanísimo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature and Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a Literature. Two works for young readers, The Dog Who Loved the Moon, and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox were published in 2008 and a young adult novel, Dreams of Significant Girls, in 2011. A collection of poetry, The Lesser Tragedy of Death, was published in 2010. García's work has been nominated for a National Book Award and translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers' Award, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, and an NEA grant, among others. She is the founder and artistic director of Las Dos Brujas Writers' Workshops and lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Gary Graves (director) has been a resident playwright, director, and company co-director at Central Works since 1998 where he has been a writer, director or collaborator on 63 world premiere productions, including directing García's King Of Cuba. He earned an MFA from Southern Illinois University and PhD from UC Berkeley, where he lectured for 10 years. Mr. Graves developed the company's education program and facilitates the Central Works Writers Workshop, where oversaw the development of The Lady Matador's Hotel. He has taught playwriting year-round at The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre for the past 14 years.

The Cast

Rudy Guerrero* (Ricardo) is an actor, singer & dancer performing internationally. Local credits include ACT, Magic, SFPlayhouse, Theatre Rhino & Central Works. *member AEA Sylvia Kratins (Gerturdis) appeared in Central Works award-winning A Man's Home (Best New Play, SFBATCC). She has also performed with Off-Broadway West, TheatreWorks, Pear Avenue & TheatreQ.

Gabriel Montoya (Julio/Miguel) has local credits at Berkeley Rep, Brava, SF Playhouse, SF Shakes & in the original cast of The Speakeasy. Steve Ortiz (Colonel), last seen in Central Works King of Cuba by Cristina Garcia, has performed with the Asian American Theater, African American Shakespeare, SF Playhouse, Thick Description, Teatro de la Esperanza, Teatro Campesino and more.

Neiry Rojo (Aura) has local credits including SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Cutting Ball, TheatreWorks and now, Central Works. Erin Mei-Ling Stuart (Suki) is an actor, dancer, choreographer & director. Her credits include Central Works, Mugwumpin, Shotgun, Crowded Fire, Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project, Word for Word and more.

Central Works the Company 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. For almost three decades Central Works has filled 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 products of the Central Works Method, some are developed in the Central Works Writers Workshop, and some come to the company fully developed.

The Lady Matador's Hotel Oct 12-Nov 10 written by Cristina García, based on her novel directed by Gary Graves Two-ticket Subscriptions are still available for ONLY $59 Use any ticket anytime!.

Performing at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley Tickets: $22 - $38 online at centralworks.org or $38 - $15 sliding scale at the door. Previews and Thursdays are always pay-what-you-can at the door! For more information call 510.558.1381 or visit centralworks.org.