Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy Extends at Second Stage

Anna Deavere Smith’s new solo play Let Me Down Easy will extend for four weeks at Second Stage, through December 6. Conceived, written and performed by Smith and directed by Leonard Foglia, Let Me Down Easy opened off-Broadway on October 7 and had been scheduled to run through November 8.

Channeling a range of interview subjects, from artists and athletes to doctors and those they treat, Let Me Down Easy explores the power of the body, the price of health, and the resilience of the spirit. Combining the journalistic technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their words through performance, Smith performs first-person accounts from sources that include Lance Armstrong, former Texas Governor Ann Richards, supermodel Lauren Hutton and film critic Joel Siegel.

Smith’s plays include Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; the Pulitzer Prize runner-up Fires in the Mirror and House Arrest. As an actress, she was a regular on Nurse Jackie and has appeared on The West Wing, Presidio Med and The Practice. Films include Rachel Getting Married, The American President, Philadelphia, The Human Stain, Life Support and Dave.