The reviews are in for In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the solo piece Roger Guenveur Smith has written, directed and performs at New York Theatre Workshop about the friend he met in a Los Angeles dance hall in 1982, when Smith was rapping as Hollywatts and Basquiat was on his way to becoming the most talked-about painter in America. Thirteen New York critics have filed since opening night, and the five who score it average 4.3 out of 5 — a warm reception for sixty minutes of spoken-word memoir delivered barefoot at a microphone, with Marc Anthony Thompson supplying live sound from the shadows. The reservation, where there is one, is the same in almost every notice: this is a portrait of a friendship rather than of the paintings, and Basquiat himself stays out of focus. The run has been extended to October 10.
The verdict: thirteen reviews so far. Only five of them carry a score — most American outlets publish none — and among those five the average is 4.3 out of 5, from 1MinuteCritic’s five down to fours from Time Out New York, New York Stage Review and Culture Sauce and a 4.3 from The Front Row Center. Praise for Smith’s delivery is close to unanimous: mesmerizing, hypnotic, “an unforgettable composition of verse.” The dissent comes from Talkin’ Broadway, StageBuddy and, more gently, Exeunt NYC, all of whom wanted more of the artist named in the title and less of the man remembering him.
What are critics saying about In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat?
TheaterMania
Reviewer: Kenji Fujishima
“That turns out to be all Smith needs to mesmerize us for 60 minutes. Even while mostly fixed in place speaking into a microphone, he keeps us rapt as his soothing voice weaves effortlessly between his and his friend’s lives, as if he was contemplating Basquiat’s influence on him out loud for our benefit. However much In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat may leave you feeling on the outside looking in, there’s no doubting the depth of feeling underpinning Smith’s virtuosity.”
Time Out New York
Reviewer: Tim Teeman · 4 out of 5
“Other dualities—between distance and intimacy, life and death, art and commerce—pervade Smith’s quietly shattering piece of remembrance and reclamation. Barefoot and dressed in a chic suit, the writer-performer-director recalls his first encounters with Basquiat and the latter’s subsequent flowering as an artist, “writing acrylic poems and philosophy on concrete walls and canvas and refrigerator doors.” And he weaves his memories of Basquiat into broader examinations of race, legacy, culture and history; in Smith’s account, systems of anti-Black oppression and violence thrum alongside Black resistance and artistic excellence.”
New York Stage Review
“A Poetic Tribute”
Reviewer: Frank Scheck · 4 out of 5
“The substance of the show proves less important than its style, with Smith proving mesmerizing in his smooth, beat poetry-style delivery of the elliptical text. Adding greatly to the overall effect is the sonic backdrop provided by Smith’s frequent collaborator Marc Anthony Thompson, performing live and combining sound effects with musical accompaniment featuring such styles as jazz, hip-hop, and blues. Arlo Sanders’ lighting design, frequently showcasing Smith surrounded by a sea of darkness, makes another important contribution.”
The Front Row Center
Reviewer: Kendra Jones · 4.3 out of 5
“A light shines from a doorway upstage, where steps lead “up.” Smith’s deliverance itself is striking and haunting. It’s not simply a monologue; it’s an unforgettable composition of verse. He approaches a microphone—barefoot—and for sixty minutes, a bright light shines down on him as those above are restored through his rhythm and energy. If just for the production’s run, Smith resurrects the celebrated artistry and community from the 80’s. With only Smith’s words and the sounds of the landscape, by Marc Anthony Thompson, we are transported through the 28 years of Basquiat’s life.”
Culture Sauce
“Roger Guenveur Smith riffs on history, art, and racial justice”
Reviewer: Thom Geier · 4 out of 5
“This is language elevated to the syncopated freedom of a jazz solo, that simultaneously celebrates the frantic energy of artistic creation. In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat is fascinating, discursive, poetic — and delivered in about an hour with the barefoot confidence of a veteran sideman from some smoky downtown club.”
1MinuteCritic
Reviewer: Matthew Wexler · 5 out of 5
“This is downtown theater at its best. But make no mistake: In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat is not a commodification of the artist. At one point, Smith, while on an All Souls Day bike ride at Green-Wood Cemetery, encounters a “celebrity grave tour” where the guide calls Basquiat a “protege of Andy Warhol”—yet another posthumous minimization of the artist’s impact.”
Talkin' Broadway
Reviewer: Marc Miller
“But you'd expect something called In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat to contain at least a smattering of the title subject's work, wouldn't you? Raphael Mishler's spare scenic design includes a backdrop behind a small upstage doorway that does reveal a Basquiat-like background, but that's it. It's indicative of Smith's focus that the show's poster, of which many in the audience took selfies pre-curtain, writes out the title in Basquiat-esque lettering, but is mostly a shot of Smith. If you want to know more about the latter, his impressive career, and what inspires him, you'll probably enjoy this exactly 60-minute journey. If you came for a fix of Jean-Michel, you may walk out a Basquiat case.”
Exeunt NYC
Reviewer: Cameron Kelsall
“There is no question that Smith honors Basquiat. But even though he doesn’t set out to paint a reverential picture, the artist himself remains somewhat abstract. So, too, do the hidden colors upstage. But when you can catch a glimpse of them in the warm glow of the stage lights, they absolutely shine.”
New York Theatre Guide
“Roger Guenveur Smith celebrates not just an artist, but an artistic community”
Reviewer: Gillian Russo
“Smith's monologue is not a plainspoken speech, but a kind of extended spoken-word poem that thrums with the energy of city streets, with grit and edge and rhythm. In a way, Smith's script is a kind of verbal equivalent to Basquiat's vibrant Neo-Expressionist style, shaped by his roots as a graffiti artist and further influenced by his Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage, his extensive time in both NYC and LA, and an ever-charged sociopolitical climate for Black men. Even in the moments when he isn't explicitly talking about Basquiat, Smith honors him through form.”
Theater Scene
Reviewer: Deb Miller
“Roger Guenveur Smith’s homage to his late friend is moving and evocative, delivered in a singular style that streams snippets of nonstop memories into a revealing retrospective of their times, their time together, and their impact on one another and the world.”
Pages on Stages
“Performance of a Lifetime”
Reviewer: Mason Pilevsky
“In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat is a clear example of the disorientingly startling effect when poetry in motion stops moving. In this tremendous, touching tribute, Roger Guenveur Smith paints a poetic picture of Basquiat that is vivacious and alive. Smith’s feet are planted firmly in place at a microphone, and the motion in his body is almost entirely restricted to above the waist. He is, in a sense, a rock, refusing to bend or break despite the loss of a dear friend. His narration through the story paints vivid pictures of specific moments, rather than an overall overview of Basquiat’s life, and the lighting (Arlo Sanders) infuses these moments with color and movement, essentially creating the world the play inhabits. Live sound design (Marc Anthony Thompson) adds its own striking contributions, including highlighting how long the audience should dwell in certain moments.”
StageBuddy
"Ode to a friend"
Reviewer: Elyse Trevers
"The audience learns a little about Basquiat’s life, but more about Smith’s. He says that the artist died of a broken heart at age 27. (Yet the official cause of death was drugs.) Smith includes information about his own life and career but this detracts from his subject. The material he creates consists of personal reminiscences as well as the name dropping of creative figures of the time, civil rights leaders and personal friends and fellow collaborators of the two. Smith laments the fate of Black artists and mentions several who died young."
Blogcritics
Reviewer: Carole Di Tosti
“With superb live sound design by Marc Anthony Thompson and Ario Sanders’ atmospheric, symbolic lighting, the one-hour show zips by. In fact Guenveur-Smith leaves one wishing for more. He stands barefoot in a natty suit on an empty stage, a doorway (part of Raphael Mishler’s scenic design) suggesting an otherworldly entrance/exit.”
Production photographs by Marc J. Franklin and Marcus Middleton.
More of what the critics made of this month’s New York openings: our roundups of Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library at 59E59 Theaters, How Shakespeare Saved My Life at the Public Theater, The Invention of Love at Theaterlab and Arias with a Twist at HERE Arts Center.
In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat runs at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street in the East Village, through October 10, 2026, having been extended from an original closing date of October 4. The running time is 60 minutes with no intermission.
