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Anna Deavere Smith: Let Me Down Easy



wexner center for the arts
Anna Deavere Smith
Columbus, OH—One of the foremost solo theater artists of our time, Anna Deavere Smith performs her Off-Broadway hit Let Me Down Easy in seven shows presented by the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus's historic Lincoln Theatre, February 22–27, 2011. These shows mark the first Midwest performances of this one-woman tour-de-force about the power of the body, the cost of health care, and the resilience of the human spirit, revealed through the voices of 20 real-life characters—from celebrities to everyday citizens—whose stories offer various perspectives on dealing with injury, illness, and mortality. Together, these dramatic vignettes add up to a night of moving, thought-provoking, and entertaining theater.

To create this show, Smith drew verbatim from hundreds of interviews she conducted over a period of nine years to develop the play's text. In the show, Smith portrays—with uncanny versatility—20 public figures and others who have dealt with serious health issues and challenges, including cycling champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong; regularly banged-up rodeo star Brent Williams; supermodel Lauren Hutton; a physician in a New Orleans hospital, post-Katrina; and movie critic Joel Siegel and former Texas governor Ann Richards, both of whom eventually succumbed to cancer.



Let Me Down Easy—which had its Off-Broadway run produced at New York's Second Stage in the fall of 2009 and is now going on a tour organized by Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage—became a handy reference point for the media at the height of the national health-care debate.

The New York Times called the show "continually engaging" and an "engrossing collection of testimonials," noting that "[Smith] seeks answers to more open-ended questions about the power of the human body, its susceptibility to disease, and the divide between spirit and flesh that poses mysteries no one can really elucidate."

ABOUT ANNA DEAVERE SMITH: An award-winning solo theater actor for decades, Anna Deavere Smith is noted as being a pioneer of the journalistic style of portraying multiple characters drawn verbatim from interviews she conducts. In addition to Let Me Down Easy, other stage shows in which she has "channeled" dozens of real-life people have included Fires in the Mirror (1993), about the racial tension that was rife in Brooklyn in 1991, and Twilight: Los Angeles (1994), about the riots there following the Rodney King verdict—each of which won her a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show. In addition to her theater career, Smith has appeared in such films as Philadelphia (1993), The American President (1995), The Human Stain (2003), and Rachel Getting Married (2008). Her TV credits include The West Wing, The Practice, and, currently, the acclaimed Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie, in which she plays hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus. Smith, who won a MacArthur Fellowship in 1996, has performed at the Wexner Center once before (also in 1996). She is a professor at New York University.

Smith will also engage in a Director's Dialogue on Monday, February 28 (7 pm in Mershon Auditorium) with Steven G. Gabbe, senior vice president for Health Sciences and chief executive officer at the Ohio State University Medical Center, and prominent legal scholar Patricia Williams, about the process of creating Let Me Down Easy and the past, present, and future of medical care in the United States on. This event is free and open to the public and will be live-streamed at wexarts.org/live.

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From the reviews

"Spectacular....It's the best theatrical experience...this season."--The New York Observer

"Fascinating....Anna Deavere Smith�s remarkable new show is a joyous celebration of human perseverance."--Associated Press

"Thoughtful and vibrant�tracing a graceful—and, at 95 minutes, nimble—arc from lighthearted and funny to downright philosophical."--New York Post

"There are screamingly funny moments as when Smith's aunt recalls the startlingly unusual last words spoken to her by a dying sister, and heartbreaking ones exemplified by the recollections of a South African orphanage director."--Backstage

"It has a terrific cumulative impact....It's bracing, poetic stuff."--New Yorker

"The most exciting individual in American theater."--Newsweek

Key points

  • The Wexner Center presents a weeklong run of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway show Let Me Down Easy in its first Midwestern performances. Performances are February 22–27, 2011 in the Lincoln Theatre just east of downtown Columbus.

  • This solo show is performed by Anna Deavere Smith, considered one of the foremost theater artists of our time.

  • She is the star of TV (West Wing, Showtime's Nurse Jackie) and stage (award-winning solo shows), as well as film (Rachel Getting Married, The American President).

  • Nominated for a 2011 NAACP Image Award.

  • Onstage, she is a pioneer of the journalistic style of portraying multiple characters.

  • This is a solo show, with Smith portraying 20 real-life characters (some famous, some not) using verbatim text from interviews about their experiences with health care, illness, injury, mortality. The show features humor and compassion. The 20 were chosen from 300 interviews conducted over several years. Characters portrayed include cancer survivor & star cyclist Lance Armstrong; former Texas governor Ann Richards; supermodel Lauren Hutton; rodeo star Brent Williams; a physician in a New Orleans hospital, post-Katrina; many others.

  • The show is supported by Ohio State Medical Center's STAR program, with an accompanying benefit performance that includes dinner hosted by Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee and a post-show reception with Smith.

  • A Director's Dialogue featuring Smith in conversation with Steven Gabbe from Ohio State's Medical Center, and moderator Patricia Williams from Columbia University, will take place Monday, February 28 at 7 pm. Admission is free.

  • Tickets for the performances are $48 for the general public, $42 for members, and $20 for students. Group rates are available. 614-292-9923 or ticketmaster.com (and 1-800-745-3000).


    • Image selection

    These images are provided exclusively to the press and may only be used for promotional purposes directly related to the corresponding Wexner Center for the Arts production, or surrounding events. All reproductions must be accompanied by the proper credit line and copyright information provided below. Images must be reproduced as presented here and may not be distorted, mutilated, or cropped without permission. Images must be reproduced in full color or black-and-white. Text may not be laid over the images without express approval. For more information please contact Tim Fulton (614) 688-3261 or TFulton@wexarts.org.

    Click image for high-resolution version. Anna Deavere Smith is shown in all images.

    wexner center for the arts wexner center for the arts
    Anna Deavere Smith. Photo: Mary Ellen Mark Portraying Peter Gomes, reverend at Memorial Church, Harvard University. Photo: Joan Marcus
    wexner center for the arts wexner center for the arts
    Portraying Phil Pizzo, Dean at Stanford University School of Medicine. Photo: Joan Marcus Portraying Brent Williams, rodeo bull rider. Photo: Joan Marcus
    wexner center for the arts wexner center for the arts
    Portraying Lorraine Coleman, retired teacher and Anna Deavere Smith's Aunt. Photo: Joan Marcus Portraying Elizabeth Streb, choreographer for Streb Dance Company. Photo: Joan Marcus


    Characters presented

    JAMES H. CONE, "Let Me Down Easy"
    Author, Reverend & Professor, Union Theological Seminary, NYC

    ELIZABETH STREB, "Fire Dance"
    Choreographer, Streb Dance Company, NYC

    LANCE ARMSTRONG, "Right on Time"
    Tour de France Victor

    SALLY JENKINS, "Ashes"
    Sports Columnist, The Washington Post

    EVE ENSLER, "A Raisin a Day"
    Writer, Activist

    BRENT WILLIAMS, "Toughness"
    Rodeo Bull Rider, Idaho

    MICHAEL BENTT, "When Boxers See Lights"
    World Champion Heavyweight Boxer

    HAZEL MERRITT, "A Sheet around My Daughter"
    Patient, Yale-New Haven Hospital

    LAUREN HUTTON, "Mojo"
    Supermodel

    RUTH KATZ, "That Bedrock of Care"
    Patient, Yale-New Haven Hospital

    KIERSTA KURTZ-BURKE, "Heavy Sense of Resignation"
    Physician, Charity Hospital, New Orleans

    PHIL PIZZO, "Takes a Lot of Time"
    Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

    SUSAN YOUENS, "Passing Bells"
    Musicologist, University of Notre Dame

    EDUARDO BRUERA, "Existential Sadness"
    Palliative Care, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

    ANN RICHARDS, "Chi"
    Former Governor, Texas

    LORRAINE COLEMAN, "Gloves"
    Retired Teacher, Anna Deavere Smith's Aunt

    JOEL SIEGEL, "3,000 Years of Being Kicked Around Europe"
    Former ABC Movie Critic

    PETER GOMES, "Why Don't You Stick Around"
    Reverend, Memorial Church, Harvard University

    TRUDY HOWELL, "Don't Leave Them in the Dark"
    Director, Chance Orphanage, Johannesburg

    MATTHIEU RICARD, "Tea Cup"
    Buddhist Monk, Author, French translator for the Dalai Lama

    Promotional collateral

    Click image for high-resolution version.

    Poster

    Postcard front

    Postcard back

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