Interview: 'Roger Dodger' on 'Juan and John'

Here are excerpts from a recent conversation that Patch had with alumnus Roger Guenveur Smith, whose play Juan and John ran through Sunday, May 29, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Smith, who lives in Echo Park, said he would like to remount the play further east at a location closer to Dodger Stadium.

Patch: You said a great thing about Echo Park is walking to Dodger games. Have you been a life long fan?

Roger Guenveur Smith: My relationship with the Dodgers goes back a long way, such that my childhood nickname was “Roger Dodger.” So when Juan Marichal hit John Roseboro with a baseball bat in 1965, I burned my Marichal baseball—which is the impetus for my new show.

Patch: You were at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day when Giants fan Bryan Stow was attacked.  What did you see?

Smith: We have in 40 or so years not found a way to resolve conflict nonviolently. In Juan and John I talk about 1965, when John Roseboro had to go home from Dodger Stadium to where he lived in Compton through the riot zone. He went home to his family and sat on his porch with a loaded gun after entertaining 40,000 people at Dodger Stadium. Opening Day 2011 at Dodger Stadium we heard nine cannons going off and a stealth bomber strafing. What does that have to do with baseball? Pro baseball has become connected with not just nationalism but militarism.

Patch: You’ve been doing your show Juan and John for more than a week now. Is there anything that surprises you about the audiences’ reaction?

Smith: At one point I tell how I went to visit 76-year-old Juan Marichal in the Dominican Republic.  He says,” I hope you can forgive me, and I say, “F**k the Giants,” and then I walk out. This didn’t really happen, but I play it that way for dramatic purposes. Well, at a recent performance, the audience started clapping. They thought it was the end of the show.

Patch: Is there a take home message for audiences, especially people who live close to Dodger Stadium?

Smith: Juan Marichal meant to kill John Roseboro with the bat. You don’t as a strong pro athlete take a piece of hardwood and go upside his head without the intent of killing him. But they forgave one another. Juan Marichal even came to Los Angeles to pitch two games as a Dodger. I think they offered a détente that can be sold to nations.