The University of Iowa

Roger Guenveur Smith

Roger Guenvuer Smith's Frederick Douglass NOW examines the life and work of the self-liberated abolitionist and pioneering orator Frederick Douglass. Smith has edited Douglass's 19th century texts into a jazz-infused narrative bookended by original writing.

Roger Guenveur Smith

Roger Guenveur Smith calls forth two essential figures of the American narrative. This performance is inspired by Smith’s friendship with the young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose meteoric rise was halted by his tragic death at the age of 27.