Michael Benjamin Washington, recently seen on Broadway in The Boys in the Band, will star in the upcoming Signature Theatre production of Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror. Helmed by Saheem Ali, the landmark monologue play marks the first production of Smith's residency at the Off-Broadway theatre.
Fires in the Mirror is MacArthur Award winner Smith’s response to the 1991 riots that took place in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Following the deaths of a Black American boy and a young Orthodox Jewish scholar that summer, underlying racial tensions erupted into civil outbreak. Smith's documentary play is the result of interviews with over 50 members of the Jewish and Black communities.
The Signature production of Fires in the Mirror will begin performances October 22 ahead of a November 11 opening. The run is scheduled through November 24.
The creative team is made up of scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado, costume designer Dede M. Ayite, lighting designer Alan C. Edwards, sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman, projection designer Hannah Wasileski, and dialect coach Dawn-Elin Fraser. The production stage manager is Alfredo Macias, and casting is by Caparelliotis Casting.
