FREDERICK DOUGLASS NOW and RODNEY KING Return to Bootleg Theater

Award-winning actor, writer and director Roger Guenveur Smith announced today that he will be performing two of his critically acclaimed and award-winning one-man shows Frederick Douglass NOW and RODNEY KING in March at Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles.

Bootleg Theater will kick off the international tour for Smith's revival of Frederick Douglass NOW, a performance that brings to life the work of pioneering abolitionist, feminist, and statesman Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass NOW will be at Bootleg theater March 16, 17 & 18 at 8pm and March 19 at 2pm.

In anticipation of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Rodney King tragedy and the LA Riots, Smith for the final time will perform his Bessie-Award winning RODNEY KING at Bootleg theater on March 23, 24 & 25 at 8pm. Tickets are available beginning today and can be purchased via: http://www.bootlegtheater.org/theater/.

Bootleg Theater is a year-round inclusive art space for original, boundary-defying live theater and performance born from the diverse cultural and artistic landscape of Los Angeles. Bootleg supports and collaborates with the best of established and emerging theater artists to create daring multidisciplinary live experiences that are striking, contemporary and non-traditional.

Smith's RODNEY KING has toured internationally and features history, poetry, catastrophe and culture in a riveting performance as he tackles Rodney King, who was caught in the glare of the national spotlight as the victim of police brutality that ignited the 1992 LA riots. Smith offers a meditation on a man behind the myth and reveals America's relationship with its racial past and present.

"I am honored to reprise Frederick Douglass NOW and RODNEY KING for the tenth season of extraordinary and essential theater at Bootleg," said Roger Guenveur Smith.

"It's here that we've achieved an intimate collaboration among artists and audiences which has resonated in the international arena. DOUGLASS, initially sketched during my undergraduate years, now anticipates the pioneering abolitionist and feminist's Bicentennial in 2018. And, after a world tour, KING returns for the final time on the stage where it began, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots April 29. The ongoing journey has been a rewarding one, but there's no place like home. Bootleg Theater has provided a safe space to do dangerous work."

"Roger and his art are exactly the kind of theater that Bootleg was created to support: brave storytelling reflecting the world we live in, that illuminates humanity in all it's beauty and flaws," said Jessica Hanna, co-founder and Producing & Managing Director of Bootleg Theater, "His artistry is unsurpassed and we are always honored to have him at Bootleg. And these two shows are deeply relevant to the conversation on race and power in our country right now."

Smith, who is known for his history-infused one-man shows including his Obie Award-winning A Huey P. Newton Story and the Bessie Award-winning Rodney King, has performed Frederick Douglass NOW for over 20 years at prestigious venues around the globe. In Frederick Douglass NOW, Smith bookends Douglass' classic 19th century texts with original narrative, achieving a stylistic mash-up which speaks to the current American moment. Inspired by HAl Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight, Smith has been interpreting Douglass materials since he was an undergraduate at Occidental College, subsequently serving as graduate research assistant at Yale University's Frederick Douglass Papers. Smith has since taught at Occidental, Yale and Cal Arts, where he directs his Performing History Workshop.

Written and Performed by Smith, RODNEY KING and Frederick Douglass NOW are both produced by Luna Ray Media's Steven Adams and Bob Johnson. Smith also recently hosted Rise Up: the Legacy of Nat Turner, a documentary for National Geographic.

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