Can an Anna Deavere Smith docu-play work without, well, Anna Deavere Smith? Michael Benjamin Washington (“The Boys in the Band”) more than proves that it can in Signature Theater Company’s stirring revival of “Fires in the Mirror,” which opened Monday night.
Washington takes on nearly 30 different roles in the course of the two-hour, intermissionless production — from well-known figures like Angela Davis and the Rev. Al Sharpton to anonymous Orthodox Jews and African American teenagers living uneasily in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The subject is the race riots that broke out in 1991 after a car driven by a Hasidic Jew sped through a red light, hitting another car and then swerving onto a sidewalk and killing a 7-year-old black boy named Gavin Cato. (That night, a group of African Americans retaliated by stabbing an Australian Jewish scholar — who died in the same hospital as young Gavin.)
The tragedy of that epoch in New York City life was amplified by long-standing grievances and misunderstandings by both communities — something that Smith documented in a series of interviews with key players that formed the basis for her 1992 play.
Like Smith, Washington delivers a tour-de-force performance that makes limited use of props — a head shawl, a pair of glasses, a teacup — to suggest each of his characters in the broadest physical strokes. He leans heavily on vocal distinctions, both accents and pacing, as well as posture to portray individuals from very different backgrounds and walks of life.
He’s also slavishly faithful to the transcription of Smith’s interviews with the various characters in the drama, black and white, Christian and Jew — though sometimes his insertions of ums and uhs sound more like read-backs of a transcription than the natural utterances of people stumbling for the right words.
What emerges most clearly in director Saheem Ali’s thoughtful revival is both the technical brilliance of Smith’s play — anticipating as it did other documentary-style theatrical works like “The Laramie Project” and even the output of the Elevator Repair Service company — as well as the sturdiness and durability of its craftsmanship. This is a one-person show that doesn’t depend on its creator alone to bring it to full and vibrant life.
Broadway's 12 Top-Grossing Non-Musical Plays of All Time, From 'War Horse' to 'Harry Potter' (Photos)
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to June 2, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
12. "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" (2000-02)
Total gross: $29,310,727
Charles Busch's play about an Upper West Side matron's mid-life crisis played for nearly two years in a production starring Linda Lavin, Michelle Lee and Tony Roberts.
11. "Network" (2018-)
Total gross: $30,234,206* (as of June 2, 2019)
Bryan Cranston starred as crazy TV newcaster Howard Beale in this hit stage adaptation of the classic 1976 movie.
10. "700 Sundays" (2004-05; 2013-14)
Total gross: $32,029,177
Billy Crystal's autobiographical one-man show found favor in two separate runs on Broadway nearly a decade apart.
9. "August: Osage County" (2007-09)
Total gross: $32,835,606
Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning drama became a huge hit on stage without any big stars -- and then a 2013 movie starring with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
8. "Proof" (2000-03)
Total gross: $32,896,994
David Auburn's drama about a woman with a troubled legacy of both mental illness and genius-level math skills earned multiple Tony Awards, including for star Mary-Louise Parker.
7. "The Play That Goes Wrong" (2017-19)
Total gross: $34,341,708
This farce about an amateur theater company's mishap-prone production of a mystery play is another London import that found popularity on this side of the Atlantic.
6. "God of Carnage" (2009-10)
Total gross: $37,345,584
Yasmina Reza's barnstorming dramedy about two dueling couples earned the Tony for Best Drama -- as well as nominations for James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis.
5. "It's Only a Play" (2014-15)
Total gross: $37,500,966
Terrence McNally's backstage comedy was a huge hit thanks to the Broadway reteaming of Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, stars of the Tony-winning musical "The Producers" a decade before.
4. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (2018 - )
Total gross: $46,597,980* (as of June 2, 2019)
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee novel may have been snubbed by Tony nominators for Best Play, but it has been drawing crowds since opening in December 2018.
3. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (2014-16)
Total gross: $68,321,435
Another London import, Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's YA novel follows an autistic boy on a quest for the killer of his neighbor's dog.
2. "War Horse" (2011-13)
Total gross: $74,975,253
Michael Morpurgo's YA novel about a British boy's search for his horse in World War I inspired both this epic play, complete with life-size puppets, and Steven Spielberg's 2011 film.
1. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two" (2018 - )
Total gross: $124,990,844* (as of June 2, 2019)
The stage sequel to J.K. Rowling's saga about the now-grown boy wizard has extra advantages -- since it's a two-night (and two-ticket) epic that plays in a musical-sized auditorium to diehard Potterheads.
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You don’t need an orchestra — or songs — to draw audiences
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to June 2, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
