The duties of the actor are akin to that of the athlete. Each endeavor requires focus, endurance, and agility. Roger Guenveur Smith has melded both ventures into a single one-man show. Juan and John is inspired by a true-life baseball memory from Smith’s childhood.
On August 22, 1965 Smith watched it on TV in the Los Angeles home of his boyhood; that was the day the oak cracked the skull: During the third inning of a game being played in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, S.F. Giant’s pitcher Juan Marichal – referred to as the Dominican Dandy – was at bat. Dodger’s pitching great Sandy Koufax was on the mound. Koufax let loose with a throw that flew way over Marichal’s helmeted noggin. Catcher John Roseboro is said to have grazed the batter’s ear in his ball toss back to Koufax. That’s when Marichal belted Roseboro with his wooden club.Presciently, the Watts Riots had taken place only days earlier. Smith juxtaposes these two violent eruptions and adds to them a myriad of personal anecdotes, a lot of historical references, and unifying observations. Word-thick and laden with arcane sports statistics, the first act of this two-hour presentation can feel overwhelming at times. In the second act, however, we begin to rest assured that even though we theatergoers might not know where he’s headed, Smith surely does.
With the physical dexterity of a sportsman, and the vitality of a major leaguer, Smith performs, emotes, and moves his audience emotionally. Collaborating again with videographer and sound-smith Marc Anthony Thompson --both earned Obie Awards for their earlier project, A Huey P. Newton Story-- Smith brings us a collection of swirling images – from baseball face-offs to war images from Vietnam – while providing a strong, albeit, elliptical portrait of race, rage, and reconciliation. It’s a lot to bite-off, but Smith’s narrative talent, commitment to drama, and devotion to catharsis makes Juan and John a theatrical experience well realized.
Juan and John, a production of the Latino Theater Company, continues at the Los Angeles Theatre Center – 514 South Spring Street, Los Angeles – through November 13. For reservations and schedules, dial (866) 811-4111. For online ticketing and further information, visit thelatc.org.
