A-LISTS theatre by john solleder LIFE, DEATH AND LAUGHS SHINES A LIGHT ON HEALTH CARE
ANNA DEAVERE SMITH
“You show me a poor doctor and I’ll kiss his ass.
ealth Care has been in the headlines a great deal lately. When President Obama took office, he wanted to push through a comprehensive health care bill to guarantee insurance for everyone, but as it turned out, he fumbled the ball, letting the Republicans dominate and steer the debate and the end result was a watered down, impotent new law that the GOP
nevertheless wants to repeal. Sadly, what gets lost in the political debate, blustering and posturing on both sides of the aisle, is that what it all boils down to is people and bodies. Cancer, chemotherapy, disease, surgeries, death, loss and grief; these topics aren’t
your usual comedy fodder, but when Anna Deavere Smith brings her one-woman, 20-character show to San Diego’s Repertory Theatre, she makes the audience think and reflect, but most of all, laugh. Smith may be best known for her performances as National Security Advisor, Nancy McNally on The West Wing and as tough as nails ad- ministrator Gloria Akalitus, on Nurse Jackie, but where she really thrives is on the stage. In preparation for Let Me Down Easy, Smith interviewed more than 300 people, on
three different continents, discussing health, health care, insurance, life, death and grief. Among the people interviewed were former Texas governor Ann Richards, cyclist Lance Armstrong, bull rider Brent Williams, actress Lauren Hutton and many more. From those 300 interviews, Smith selected 20 of the most touching, inspirational and hysterical stories to bring to the stage. When Smith takes the stage she transforms into the people she interviewed, telling
the interviewer (aka the audience) their stories. Ruth Katz, Associate Dean of Yale Medical School, tells the story of how her doctor
once told her that he couldn’t find her records, when she went in because of the side effects of her chemotherapy. She becomes upset because of her doctor’s blasé attitude as he tells her that it’s not just HER records, it happens a lot with other patients. Smith, in her dialogue as Ruth, tells the audience about the exchange: “I said, ‘I am appalled for every patient who comes on this unit,’ I had to start from like
the beginning, tell my whole story. Well I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you as an aside, eventually I knew, I could tell by his inquiries, that he was going to get to the question of ‘do you work?’ I’ve never advertised my position around here, I just wanted to get treated like everybody else,
and so he says, ‘do you work’ and I said, ‘I do’ and he said, ‘are you working full time?’ and I said, ‘I am’ and he said, ‘where are you working?’ and I said, ‘I’m Associate Dean at the medi- cal school.’ NOW he looks up! He said, ‘at THIS medical school?’ and I said, yes, ‘at the Yale School of Medicine!’ He found my files within a half an hour.” One of the characters most popular with the audience is rodeo bull rider Brent Wil-
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liams. As Williams, Smith relates the story, with a thick southern drawl, cowboy hat and a beer in his hand, of his visit to a Veteran’s hospital after being gored by a bull, resulting in the loss of half of his kidney: “You know, it cost me a $1,200 flat rate.... and I think we need to go to a deal like that. I think–I think that I had better doctors there, doctors who really want to be doctors, instead of the pricks these days who just go to college, spend all their parents’ money, get out, make a killing and don’t really give a shit. You show me a poor doctor and I’ll kiss his ass. I think, you know, we’ll see what doctors really want to be doctors, when there’s not as much money in it. Then you’ll get your good doctors.” Smith steps into each new character with an ease most people have when slipping on new shoes. With each transformation, the audience sees her envelop that character completely. The ease with which she transitions from a young white woman to an elderly black man, or from Texas governor to professional athlete is amazing. Yet, her acting, fantastic as it is, is not necessarily the best part of the play. What makes this play truly amazing, are the touching, real life stories at the same time both comic and tragic, that Smith portrays for the audience. Too often politicians debate the topic of health care in our country, without realizing the real world implica- tions and consequences it has on actual people. If only the officials we elect to congress could be forced to watch this play before making health care policy. You will laugh, you will cry and you’re going to want to see it again with friends in tow.
Let Me Down Easy is a joint production of the San Diego Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and Vantage Theatre, in association with Arena Stage. The show runs April 27 – May 15 and tickets can be purchased through the San Diego Repertory Theatre box office by calling 619.544.1000 or online at
sdrep.org
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RAGE monthly | APRIL 2011
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