In Performance: Roger Guenveur Smith Performs Monologue from RODNEY KING

This week's New York Times In Peformance video features Roger Guenveur Smith in a scene from his monologue "Rodney King." The play, set in 1991, recalls the true story of the construction worker whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police sparked deadly protests after the officers were acquitted the following year. Click here to watch the performance.

The show plays Wednesday and Saturday at The Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival.

About the play:

In this riveting, improvised performance, Smith unravels the myth of the late Rodney King, revealing a man besieged by the Los Angeles Police Department and an unrelenting media spotlight. Smith's rhythm-charged narrative navigates King's fatal descent into his backyard pool, the peaceful punctuation to a life unwittingly distinguished by violence. "Can we," King implores from the deep end, "all get along?"

Writer, performer and director Roger Guenveur Smith adapted his Obie Award-winning solo, A Huey P. Newton Story, into a Peabody Award-winning telefilm, scored by Marc Anthony Thompson. Their many collaborations for the international stage also include Iceland, Who Killed Bob Marley?, The Watts Towers Project, and Juan and John.

Click here for tickets and more information.