Frederick Douglass Now presented by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Roger Guenveur Smith returns to the stage with his signature solo show, Frederick Douglass Now.  The concept of this play was initiated as a senior honors project in American Studies at Occidental College. At Yale University, Smith, worked as a graduate assistant at the Frederick Douglass Papers collection.  He has since continued to play Douglass to international acclaim, while constructing an unparalleled body of work for the stage and screen. Smith has been inspired by the pioneering abolitionist and feminist to combine Douglass’ classic texts with original narrative to create and perform what the Los Angeles Times calls “a personal benchmark for this remarkable artist.” This production of Frederick Douglass Now will take place on Martha’s Vineyard at Trinity Park Tabernacle.

In 1841, Frederick Douglass delivered his first public address on Nantucket at a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.  He is documented to have spoken in Edgartown in 1857, and in 1876 in Oak Bluffs at the Tabernacle.

Tickets purchased for this event will be general admission and all tickets must be presented upon arrival.  The venue will be outdoors in a covered location.  Frederick Douglass Now is presented in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association.

Run time is 60 minutes.

“Roger Guenveur Smith gets it all and gets it brilliantly” —New York Times