Great Performances

Twilight: Los Angeles

In response to the national crisis in the aftermath of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery (Brunswick, GA), Breonna Taylor (Louisville, KY), and most recently George Floyd (Minneapolis, MN) THIRTEEN’s Great Performances resumes free streaming of Marc Levin’s film adaptation of Anna Deavere Smith's play "Twilight: Los Angeles." It originally aired on PBS in 2001.

Twilight: Los Angeles - Latasha Harlins

2m 47s

In 1991, Soon Ja Du, a Korean store owner, received a light sentence in the shooting death of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African-American. Anna Deveare Smith portrays an African-American community activist who repudiates defense attorney Charles Lloyd and draws a parallel between Latasha and Rodney King. Smith also portrays a Korean liquor store owner describing tensions with young customers.

Previews + Extras

  • Twilight: Los Angeles Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Twilight: Los Angeles Preview

    S42 E23 - 34s

    On the 23rd anniversary year of the Los Angeles riots, Great Performances presents a special encore of Twilight: Los Angeles. Anna Deveare Smith provides a new introduction to her landmark piece as its themes continue to reverberate powerfully within the context of today’s current events.

  • Twilight: Los Angeles - The Beverly Hills Hotel: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Twilight: Los Angeles - The Beverly Hills Hotel

    S42 E23 - 3m 3s

    Elaine Young, a real estate agent to Hollywood stars, and Henry "Keith" Watson, a co-assailant of Reginald Denny, are two of the real people depicted in Anna Deveare Smith's one-woman show Twilight: Los Angeles, about the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. See Smith transform from one person to the next, using Young's and Watson's own words.

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