Top things to know
- NY Theatre Workshop will open its 2026‑27 season with the solo show *In Honor of Jean‑Michel Basquiat*.
- Obie‑winner Roger Guenveur Smith created and performs the piece, drawing on his 1980s friendship with Basquiat.
- The production, featuring live sound design by Marc Anthony Thompson, follows a sold‑out Under the Radar Festival run.
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) will launch its 2026‑27 season with a one‑person show that puts the life and legacy of Haitian‑American artist Jean‑Michel Basquiat at its centre. Titled *In Honor of Jean‑Michel Basquiat*, the performance runs from September 9 through October 4, 2026, offering audiences an intimate, music‑driven portrait rather than a conventional biography.
The piece is the brainchild of Obie Award‑winning actor, playwright and director Roger Guenveur Smith, who also assumes the sole on‑stage role. Smith, who first encountered Basquiat in the 1980s while the painter worked out of a Venice, California studio and Smith performed on the local club circuit as the rapper “Hollywatts,” draws on that personal connection to shape the narrative. He weaves storytelling, monologue and live sound to trace Basquiat’s meteoric rise from Brooklyn street art to the heights of the downtown New York art world.
Their Los Angeles friendship left a lasting imprint on Smith’s career. Decades later, he channeled Basquiat’s visual language into the character Smiley for Spike Lee’s 1989 film *Do the Right Thing*. Smith says the memory of Basquiat’s restless creativity continues to inform his own artistic practice, and the solo work becomes a conduit for revisiting that shared energy.
After a sold‑out run at the 2026 Under the Radar Festival, the production returns to NYTW with live sound design by longtime collaborator Marc Anthony Thompson. Thompson’s atmospheric score underscores the performance, punctuating Smith’s narration with the kind of rhythmic pulse that mirrors Basquiat’s own blend of graffiti, jazz and pop culture references. The limited engagement, scheduled for three weeks, promises a close‑up experience for each audience member.
NYTW Artistic Director Patricia McGregor describes the show as an exploration of “Black genius in America,” positioning it as a thematic cornerstone for the theatre’s upcoming season. She notes that Basquiat’s work, rooted in his Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage, reshaped the visual vocabulary of the 1980s and continues to influence contemporary Black culture. By foregrounding a personal recollection rather than a textbook chronology, the production aims to illuminate the social forces that propelled Basquiat’s art and the enduring relevance of his voice.
The revival of *In Honor of Jean‑Michel Basquiat* underscores NYTW’s commitment to presenting work that bridges performance and visual art while spotlighting historically under‑represented creators. As the theatre prepares for a bustling season, Smith’s solo tribute stands out as both a celebration of an iconic figure and a reminder of the collaborative spirit that fuels New York’s artistic ecosystem.