Great Performances

Let Me Down Easy

Conceived, written, and performed by Smith in her signature one person performance style, the play examines the miracle of human resilience through the lens of our current national debate on health care. To create Let Me Down Easy Smith interviewed an eclectic group of people (300 on three continents) and performs several in an evening that is funny, moving and engaging.

Let Me Down Easy

2m 54s

Anna Deavere Smith's latest production, Let Me Down Easy airs on Great Performances Friday, January 13 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The Great Performances production was recorded in February 2011 in the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC, launching a national tour that concluded in September.

Previews + Extras

  • Paula Zahn Interviews Anna Deavere Smith: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Paula Zahn Interviews Anna Deavere Smith

    S39 E8 - 14m 40s

    Paula Zahn interviews Anna Deavere Smith about her play Let Me Down Easy. They discuss the development of the play in the 1990s to the present, how the politics of national health care organically became part of the piece, and Smith's favorite portrayals.

  • Anna Deavere Smith Talks About "Let Me Down Easy": asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Anna Deavere Smith Talks About "Let Me Down Easy"

    S39 E8 - 2m

    Anna Deavere Smith talks about the process by which her play "Let Me Down Easy" was created. Called "the most exciting individual in American theater" by Newsweek magazine, Smith turns her theatrical exploration to matters of the human body.

  • Let Me Down Easy - Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Let Me Down Easy - Preview

    S39 E8 - 30s

    Meet a range of individuals — portrayed by Anna Deavere Smith — confronting the price and politics of health. 8/17/2012

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