ANNA DEAVERE SMITH: [as Gov. Ann Richards] No, I was not the first woman governor of Texas. Well, in the ’20s, there was Pa Ferguson, who was governor, and Pa was married to Ma. And Pa died.

Anna Deavere Smith — Baltimore native, award-winning playwright, professor, author and self-described clown — has listened to 320 people on three continents tell their stories of health-care ...