Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

By Anna Deavere Smith

Starring Andresia Moseley

Aug. 18 – 27, 2023

Preview Performances: Aug. 16 – 17

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

On This Page

Distinctions

BroadwayWorld Nominated

What It's About

As radical as ever - The LA Times.

Over thirty years after the Los Angeles uprising following the Rodney King verdict, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 continues to be a potent experience, now for a new generation of audiences. A powerful piece of living record, Twilight is a stunning and seminal play that explores the devastating human impact of the five days of uprising following the Rodney King verdict. From nine months of over 300 interviews conducted during the year following the uprising, playwright and scholar Anna Deavere Smith crafted a play that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class. Twilight offers stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the verdict and ignited a conversation about policing and race that continues today.

When this drama premiered shortly after the uprisings, the LA Times called it “the most comprehensive literary response” that channeled “the cacophony of voices at the city’s heart.” Anna Deavere Smith’s (perhaps best-known as an actress from shows like The West Wing, Nurse Jackie, For the People) one-person masterpiece continues to reverberate in the context of our current times.

Jobsite Artistic Associate and nationally-recognized spoken word artist Andresia Moseley breathes new life into Smith’s script, taking on over two dozen perspectives including victims, their families, witnesses, law enforcement, politicians, celebrities, and activists.

A “living newspaper,” Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 doesn’t take sides or offer solutions to the complicated, fraught issues but instead presents the consequences from that moment, leaving it in the hands of the audience to consider.

Andresia Moseley in Jobsite's TWILIGHT: Los Angeles, 1992.
Andresia Moseley in Jobsite's TWILIGHT: Los Angeles, 1992.

Twilight is the time of day that exists between darkness and light — a fleeting purgatory between one place and another. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 traverses the ambiguity of that in-between state through compassionate yet unflinching examination of inequality, racism, [and] injustice – Stage Raw

Production History

TWILIGHT was one of the first shows produced indoors not just in the state but the country after the 2020 lockdown. The show was part of the re-opening plan created by the Straz and Jobsite to safely bring people back to the theater. held inside the socially distanced Jaeb Theater. The audience was 16 feet away from the stage and held to “pods” at tables all 12 feet away from one another. The 320-seat Jaeb sat just over 80 people during those first few fall shows. TWILIGHT went on to receive rave reviews and land on the annual “best of” lists.

Critic Reviews

"one of the finest performances I have seen to date … this is what Top-Notch Artistry looks like” - BroadwayWorld. – BroadwayWorld

2020 Reviews

Andresia Moseley is a force of nature untouched in this realm ... a performance so needed, so revealing, so raw ... this is cemented in my memory as the Best Performance of 2020. – BroadwayWorld

[Moseley's] performance and Mr. Jenkins' direction of same are a combination that are a tour de force--never for one moment do we doubt what we are seeing as merely a stretch of the imagination of the author, the actor, or the director. – Stage, TV, and Cinema Art & Artists – Stage, TV, and Cinema Art & Artists

In a word, superb ... an unflinching look at race relations from the voices of the people that were there ... If you think something is missing in translation by viewing a recorded live stream performance online, the magic of theatre is not lost. The film technique employed that brings Andresia into your home is as perfect as her performance ... you will not be disappointed. – BroadwayWorld

entertaining as hell and hard to watch ... [Jobsite] has done Anna Deavere Smith’s riveting script justice in this live capture from last fall’s production ... there’s a benefit that this multi-camera shoot affords. We’re able to view the 27 characters portrayed by the versatile Andresia Moseley pouring out their souls in closeup ... This is 1992, but it could just as easily be the L.A. Watts riots from 1965, or torn from the headlines following George Floyd’s murder ... Watch this with your friends and children and answer the call to action. – Creative Loafing

News

Cast & Crew

  • David M. Jenkins – Director
  • Teah Banks – Stage Manager

Cast

  • Andresia Moseley

Crew

  • Jo Averill-Snell – Lighting Designer
  • Julia Rifino – Scenic Artist
  • Brian Smallheer – Scenic Designer
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer

2020 Cast & Crew

  • David M. Jenkins – Director
  • Matthew Ray – Stage Manager/Associate Producer

Cast

  • Andresia Moseley

Crew

  • Jo Averill-Snell – Lighting Designer
  • Rebekah Lazaridis – Scenic Consultant/Artist
  • Chloe Belle and Tea Roberts – Scenic Painters
  • Brian Smallheer – Scenic Designer
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer

Patron Reviews

BRILLIANT Performance!!! 👏👏🙌 – saloncypresstpa

In many ways Twilight Los Angeles serves as a companion piece to the Broadway Series presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird. From the depression era of Mockingbird to the 1992 LA riots of Twilight to today it is clear progress is not being made and that in many ways we are going backwards. The show is a stark reminder of the institutionalized inequities and racism in this country and the fact we can no longer ignore, that this country wants to be this way and may not be fixable. The show is uncomfortable and it should be. Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
You will not find any easy answers or hope here. You will find one actress doing great work in every role in the show from the famous to the unknown. – David Hood

I had the honor of seeing Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 at Jobsite Theater last night. Do yourself a favor and see this powerful work! – Nicole Jeannine Smith

Andresia Moseley is an absolute powerhouse in Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. I can’t recommend enough to catch this unique and powerful piece during its two week run at Jobsite Theater. – Blake Smallen

Andresia Moseley is absolutely incredible in this show! You definitely cannot miss this show! – Brenton Wiernick

Phenomenal work! Not to be missed! – Colleen Cherry

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