NOTES FROM THE FIELD

This audio version of an acclaimed fact-based one-woman play is performed by its author and star. It is excellent and quite intense. Part of it is about Freddie Gray, who died of spinal injuries in 2015 after being arrested by Baltimore police. It is also about activism, school, prison, and race, among other things. Smith reveals much about her characters through her command of their voices. She varies her delivery to become the minister, the witness, the mother, the NAACP official, the student, the educator, the politician. She is equally effective portraying a man or a woman and people of different backgrounds. This is a first-rate performance of material that is not always easy--but is always worthwhile. G.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2019]