Anna Deavere Smith's 'LET ME DOWN EASY' Set for Second Stage Theatre, Previews B

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will launch its 31st season this fall with the New York premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY. Conceived, written, and performed by Ms. Smith and directed by Leonard Foglia, LET ME DOWN EASY will begin preview performances on Tuesday, September 15 and will officially open

in early October.

Channeling a dramatic range of interview subjects, from artists and athletes to doctors and those they treat, LET ME DOWN EASY is a virtuosic and moving exploration of the power of the body and the resilience of the human spirit, featuring first person accounts from a wide variety of sources, including Lance Armstrong, Anderson Cooper, and former Texas Governor Ann Richards.

With her trademark journalistic precision, Anna Deavere Smith, one of the most acclaimed and provocative theater artists of our time, explores the world of healthcare from both the patient and practitioner perspective in this timely and absorbing new play.

 

"At once epic and intimate, the works of Anna Deavere Smith have continually
explored the pressing issues of our day, whether the ostensible topic is the
American presidency, racial tensions, or, in the case of LET ME DOWN EASY,
the world of healthcare," explains Artistic Director Carole Rothman. "And
while the subject matter is politically charged and topical, the beauty of
Anna's work lies in her ability to humanize the issue by focusing on the
personal, singular stories of those affected. She is an original and
visionary theatre artist and we are very honored to have her new work at
Second Stage Theatre."

During the eight-year development of this project, Ms. Smith interviewed
hundreds of subjects, including doctors and patients at MD Anderson Cancer
Center, Yale University School of Medicine and Stanford School of Medicine
and Hospital, as well as healthcare practitioners in Rwanda, Uganda, South
Africa, and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Working closely with director Leonard Foglia, Ms. Smith has re-conceived LET
ME DOWN EASY from the earlier developmental versions presented at New
Haven's Long Wharf Theatre (winter 2008) and Boston's American Repertory
Theatre (summer 2008).

The complete design team will be announced shortly.

Anna Deavere Smith's work in the theater explores American character and our
multifaceted national identity. She has won numerous awards, among them two
Obies, two Tony nominations and a MacArthur fellowship. She was runner up
for the Pulitzer Prize for her play Fires In the Mirror. She is said to
have created a new form of theater. Her work combines the journalistic
technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their
words through performance. The New York Times called her "the ultimate
impressionist, she does people's souls." She has appeared on the television
shows The West Wing, Presidio Med, The Practice, and the new Showtime
television series, Nurse Jackie. Films include Rachel Getting Married, The
American President, Philadelphia, The Human Stain, Life Support, and Dave.
Her plays include Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Fires in the Mirror; and
House Arrest. Her books include Talk To Me and Letters to A Young Artist.
A professor at New York University, she is also the founding director of the
Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, a center for artistic excellence
addressing social change. She is the recipient of several honorary
degrees.

Leonard Foglia most recently directed Laurence Fishburne in Thurgood. Other
Broadway credits include Master Class with Zoe Caldwell (also national tour
and West End), On Golden Pond with Leslie Uggams and James Earl Jones, and
Wait Until Dark with Quentin Tarantino and Marisa Tomei. Off-Broadway:
Encores! One Touch of Venus (City Center), The Stendahl Syndrome by Terrence
McNally (Primary Stages), By the Sea (Manhattan Theatre Club, Bay Street
Theatre Festival), Lonely Planet (Circle Repertory Company), If Memory
Serves (Promenade, Pasadena Playhouse). Regional: Paper Doll (Pittsburgh
Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre); The Last True Believer (Seattle Rep.);
Seascape, The Woman in Black and A Coffin in Egypt by Horton Foote (Bay
Street Theatre Festival); Dinner With Friends and God's Man in Texas (Old
Globe Theatre); Art, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Heidi Chronicles,
Reckless, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Trinity Repertory
Company). Opera: Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie, Terrence McNally (New York
City Opera, Opera Pacific, Cincinnati Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre,
Pittsburgh Opera); The End of the Affair by Heggie, Heather McDonald
(Houston Grand Opera). He is co-author of the mystery novels 1 Ragged Ridge
Road and Face Down in the Park, both published by Pocket Books.

 

Currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre
recently concluded an extended critically-acclaimed production of Gina
Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, directed by Peter Dubois. The season kicked off on
October 2 with the 20th Anniversary staging of Howard Korder's 1988
breakthrough play BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif and starring Jason
Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino.

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman,
SECOND STAGE THEATRE produces a diverse range of premieres and new
interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including Tiny Alice
and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda
Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by
Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn
and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy &
Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Painting Churches and
Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On
the Stem by Ricky Jay; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The
Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice
by Sarah Ruhl; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor;
Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael
Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L.
West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic
Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da
Vinci by Mary Zimmerman. The company's more than 125 citations include the
2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog
Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin,
...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler,
...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary
Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding
Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence
Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11
Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre,
designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage
launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and
coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists
through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and
commissions, and engages students and community members through education
and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to
purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street.
With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theater company on
Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of
contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become
one of only four non-profit theater companies that own and operate theaters
on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original
theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

For subscription or ticket information, please call the
Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website,
www.2ST.com.

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