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In Rehearsal for Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror

Saheem Ali directs the solo show starring Michael Benjamin Washington.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff

| New York City | Off-Broadway |

September 26, 2019

Signature Theatre has released rehearsal photos from Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror. Performances run October 22-December 1, with an official November 11 opening in the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Anna Deavere Smith, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Saheem Ali.
Anna Deavere Smith, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Saheem Ali.
(© Omar Khan)

Conceived, written, and originally performed by Smith, the production is directed by Saheem Ali and will feature Michael Benjamin Washington (30 Rock).

The Fires in the Mirror team.
The Fires in the Mirror team.
(© Omar Khan)

Fires in the Mirror is described as follows: "There are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth. Following the deaths of a Black American boy and a young Orthodox Jewish scholar in the summer of 1991, underlying racial tensions in the nestled community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn erupted into civil outbreak. Fires in the Mirror was Anna Deavere Smith's groundbreaking response. Birthed from a series of interviews with over fifty members of the Jewish and Black communities, the Drama Desk award-winning work translated their voices verbatim, and in the process revolutionized the genre of documentary theater. As much provocation as it is exploration, this landmark play launches Anna Deavere Smith's Residency 1 at Signature."

The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic design), Dede M. Ayite (costume design), Alan C. Edwards (lighting design), Mikaal Sulaiman (sound design), Hannah Wasileski (projection design), and Dawn-Elin Fraser (dialect coach).

Playwright Anna Deavere Smith and director Saheem Ali.
Playwright Anna Deavere Smith and director Saheem Ali.
(© Omar Khan)

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